An Open Letter to All Educators in the United States and Beyond

Dear Educators of the World,

I recently read a news article about a mother going into a school in South Carolina classroom and confronting the kids in there for bullying her son. I don't blame her. If the teachers and the other staff did their jobs, instead of letting her son be harassed and physically abused then, she wouldn't have to do their jobs for them.

I was bullied mentally, emotionally and physically when I was in school and my parents got the same answers. Boys will be boys and such, and I'M A GIRL! It is NEVER okay for another student to harm another student, especially when they have been beaten! He had scratches and bruises, but because they and the school district is more concerned with test scores, attendance, and private donations to get their money they ignored the real problem and let him be mistreated.

It's this type of behavior by school staff that leads to kids committing suicide, shooting up schools, turning to drugs and other outlets.

KIDS ARE PEOPLE TOO!

I am so glad that my son will not be going to that school, and I don't live in that state (thank god), but I am sick to my stomach of seeing these types of stories.

If you let these kids be monsters to other kids, the next headline your school will be involved in will not be a mother defending her child, it will be a suicide or murder. It's a logical step to take.

A little boy was killed when a kid threw cheese at him when he was deathly allergic to dairy, an eight year old committed suicide because of her bullies, and more kids around the country are becoming statistics of the rising opioid epidemic. Do you want this to be your schools legacy too?

I get that parents are responsible for their kids behavior, but while the children are at school and in your care its your job. It's your job to protect children from their bullies, and themselves.

The scars from being bullied never heal, and those are experiences that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Bullying is becoming a problem in all schools, not just the South Carolina school. Use some of that money to not only educate the students, but protect them. If our younger generations kill themselves, we won't have a future. They won't have a future. Stop thinking about the money, and start thinking about your students.

We have, as a nation have been ignoring the rise of bullying issues and the fallout that happens because of them. I don't know how many articles I've read about school shootings, suicide, murder and extreme, debilitating injuries that are a result of bullying in the last year, but its WAY too many.

Its not gun regulation, funds, or any other symptom that is the problem. The root of the problem is turning a blind eye to the bullying that is happening in our schools. It's the bullying our children are enduring, not only from fellow students, but educators as well.

I propose that just like police officers that each and every teacher, staff, and adult that works in every school district wear a body camera. That there are cameras placed in every nook, cranny, hallway, and classroom. This will not only capture kids bad behavior, but good behavior, and the behavior of each and every adult a student encounters in the school.

I also propose a universal convention about bullying, how its done, the lasting effects, and how to prevent and solve bullying issues, and it be attended not only by teachers, but staff, students, parents and any adult that is going to be involved with education take.

All cliques between teachers, staff and adults be absolved. You must be a united front! If you have cliques, how can you expect the student population to not have cliques too? We all need to work together to wipe out bullying. All of us! Teachers, parents, staff, all adults involved in education.

Investigate all complaints thoroughly! Don't just hear one or both sides, don't be biased based on grades, school popularity, how powerful, rich or poor a students parents are. You are the students voice! You are their protector! These kids count on you! You are supposed to be their role models! Now, act like it! Do not half ass it! They deserve better than that.

After the complaints are thoroughly investigated and solutions, punishments and etc are found we need to get both sides into counseling. Counseling for the bully to help them understand why they seem to need to bully people weaker than themselves, and counseling for the victim to help them heal and to cope. I would have benefited greatly from this. The counselor also has to be a professional therapist that is a third party with no bias to the school, staff, students or anything therein to prevent the therapist taking sides. The therapist will also have to wear a body camera and have cameras in their office. HIPPA and FERPA laws will still be in effect, though. It wouldn't be wise to not have them apply.

I'm not saying that bullying will be wiped out overnight. It's going to take a lot of work and cooperation from everyone. This is a deep seeded problem all over the world. Thats why we are seeing things like the shootings as public gatherings, and people of the LGBTQ+ community being physically attacked, people in ethnic groups being attacked, the Pulse shooting two years ago, the shooting in Las Vegas at a country concert, the shooting at a showing at The Dark Knight back when that came out, and many more.

Its because these kids weren't listened to, if they were the victims or weren't stopped if they were the bullies. There are problems on both sides. The disenfranchised find a way to reclaim their power and sometimes its with greater violence than what they were victim of, so they feel like they will never be a victim again.

I really hope my words have not fallen on deaf ears. These kids are our future. They are so important. Let's make this world a better world for them, not only environmentally, but mentally, emotionally, and physically as well. Let's help our future generations feel safer in school and the world than we did.

Sincerely,

A formerly bullied Mother