Zack’s story:
Zachary Jamison, age 11, attended American Heritage Academy,
a school outside of Atlanta. He played
baseball but had to stop when he was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis. Juvenile Arthritis causes pain, joint
swelling, and joint stiffness. The joint
pain and stiffness caused Zach to limp and exhibit clumsiness. This caused students at Zach’s school to
begin making fun of him. This is where
the bullying began. Even some of the
kids who had been friends with Zach since he was 4 years old had turned against
him. Zach was being both physically and
emotionally tortured, so much so that he contemplated suicide. Zach said that he felt humiliated and embarrassed
all because kids were laughing at a painful disease that he was not in control
of. This caused him to become withdrawn
and in despair.
Most parents are aware that when our children are in pain,
we are also in pain. Zach’s parents went
from doctor to doctor for nearly a year trying to get a correct diagnosis. After that they went from doctor to doctor to
find successful treatment for Zach’s disease.
“As time passed, the relentless physical
pain morphed from frustration to depression. Zach was losing his fight with the
disease, and his parents were losing their son.” , AJC- Local News, Jan.
17, 2011
At first even Zach’s parents were dismissive about the
comments the other kids were making about their son. Like many parents and adults alike, we often
tend to think “kids will be kids” and that a lot of what they say is just
harmless joking. But when Zach told his
parents about thinking about killing himself it became a sobering realization.
Zach’s parents found counseling for Zach and got him
involved in Bridgepointe Church’s youth group. There he befriended two boys named Paul Guebert and
Caleb Boerner, who thought Zach was pretty cool. Paul and Caleb not only put Zach’s needs
ahead of their own, but they also know the power of prayer and prayed regularly
for Zach.
Many school systems, administrators, teachers, and even counselors
don’t take bullying seriously and often do not have a clue as to what to do
because there commonly are no policies, procedures, or rules regarding
bullying. The Department of Education reports that 1 in 4 American Students are
bullied, at least, once a day.
But, it’s not what
went wrong with the school system. It’s
what went right with the school system that makes this story a good one.
Because Zachary expressed how he felt and school authorities
took it seriously enough to have meetings with his bullies, Jacob, one of Zach’s
bullies, realized the pain he was causing Zach and ceased his bullying. Jacob, now his former bully, suggested that
he become manager of the Cross Country Team, where he gained more friendships.
I often say that the education process is a continued
partnership between the school, student, and the home (guardians/ family). Because of this fact, it is important that we
all take an active role in addressing bullying.
Many times the reasons bullies bully is because they can. Why can they?
Because there are adults / persons of authority that allow it. As a
teacher I would be sensitive to differentiate the difference between mutual
joking and hurtful teasing. When I am
uncertain about how a comment or joke is taken I will speak with the child
privately to see how that joke or comment was received.
I will also look for sudden signs of change in the
disposition of a student and sudden lack of interest in activities that the student
once enjoyed. In addition, I would
conduct discussions and written exercises, similar to one we’ve completed,
where students would discuss experiences where they have been bullied, witness
bullying, or may have even been the bully.
These expressed and sometimes shared experiences can change a student’s perception
of bullying.
I would create or contribute to a standardized policy on
bullying that would be disseminated to students, parents/guardians, and
faculty. Finally, I would involve the parents of the bullied and the
bullies. We can be most effective if we
are aware of a bullying situation and are working together to remedy the
situation.
Brenda High, mother of a son named Jared who committed
suicide because of bullying and author of the book “Bullyside in America” says
to “Take it seriously the first time they mention it. Don’t push it aside. Don’t let them down”. The
reasons that bullies bully is because they can.
Why can they? Because there are
adults / persons of authority that allow it.
When we cooperatively make a stance and let students know that bullying
is not only wrong but will not be tolerated, it significantly decreases, if not
eliminates, instances of bullying.
Now Zach continues to gain more and more confidence every
day. There are still times when some may
tease him but he has gained many more friends than before.
I chose Zack’s story because of all of the stories, his was
the only one with a positive outcome.
Many are not as fortunate.
References
March, 2009 – “Juvenile Arthritis.” Fast Facts About. -
National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin
Diseases , http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/juv_arthritis/juvenile_arthritis_ff.asp
2012, Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. (n.d.). – Mayo Clinic
January 17, 2011 –Friends help boy overcome arthritis pain,
social ostracism -APC Local News
October 24, 2012 - Arthritis Foundation Campaign Video 2010
Zach Jamison – RA
February 7, 2011 - Bullied Kid Turns Survivor by Steve
Hartman, CBS News –
February 18, 2015 - Judge Alex special on bullying. (2011,
August 11)., from
No comments:
Post a Comment