Request for parents...... (By: Jess)

Bullies.
Ugh.
If you are the parents of a bully......and you are aware of it.....shame on you.
If you are the parents of a bully......and you are not aware of it......shame on you.
These kids make me want to scream, cry, pull my hair out, and stomp my feet.
I also want to pray for them. Very hard. Cause these are the types of people who need it the most.
Unfortunately, there are so many bullies in this world. They are all races, male and female, and come in all ages. Bullies are old and young, round and slim, perfect and awkward, strong and weak. Sometimes you can recognize a bully just by looking at them, and something they can shock the pee outta you.
I think everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) has been bullied at some point in their life, in some from or another.
I also think everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) has bullied someone, at some point in their life, in some form or another, whether they have realized it or not.
I can remember specific times when I was bullied. I can remember being called four-eyes. I can remember being picked last for the team. I can remember being placed with the "bluebirds". (AKA: the slow-reader class) and being made fun of for it. I can remember being called a "spoiled brat" (by a family member). I can remember being ignored by girls at school.... for no reason. I remember a girl pretending to be my friend and wanting to talk to me, only to lure me away from the group I was with and attempt to "beat me up" because she was jealous of the boy I was dating. I remember trying SO HARD to be friends with certain girls and they just didn't want to be my friend. I remember rumors that were spread about me. I can remember a boy at a Jr. High dance requesting the song, "I Hate Everything About You" and dedicating it to me. Yeah..... kids can be mean. And people don't forget things like this.
I also remember the day when I stopped caring so much about what people thought of me or how people perceived me. It was the summer of my Senior year...... and I finally felt FREE.
Don't get me wrong...this is not a sob story or an attempt to get you to feel sorry for me, cause I don't need it. I'm a strong person and all of the above situations did not have HUGE impacts on my life. They are just specific things I vividly remember and probably always will.
I'm sure I played my part in creating negative memories for other people. But, I will say with total and complete honesty, that if I ever did something to another person that was negative and could be considered "bullying", that it was absolutely unintentional. I wasn't raised that way.
As a teacher I am blessed in so many ways for all I get to accomplish every school day. I get to play such a huge role in my students lives and that is a huge responsibility. The kids I teach are so impressionable, so I have an important job......at least I think so.
Anyway- there is something that I have to witness everyday that I wish to God that I didn't have to.
Bullying.
I hate it.
It makes my heart hurt.
I'm so emotional and passionate about bullying, that I don't even think I can blog about it. I'm afraid that I will go too far. I know for a fact that I will ramble and ramble and ramble and eventually loose my point......cause I just deleted 5 paragraphs of emotional jabbering.
So, since I can't control my emotions on this topic, I'm just gonna say this.....
Parents, please raise your children right.
Please tell them how ugly it is to make another person cry because of the words you say. Please explain to them that they should never (never) put their hands on another person, for any reason. Please help them understand that all people are different and unique in their own way, that God made everyone, and that they have no right to criticize God work. Please teach them to always stand up for themselves in respectful and dignified ways and to never tarnish their name or yours. Please love them with all you have and always be available for them. Please don't allow them to be angry kids. Please spend time with them and make them feel important, respected, and proud of. Finally, please please please talk to your kids about bullying and all the forms of it. Please tell them to never do it. And please tell them that if you ever witness them doing it or hear of them doing it, then you make them regret it. A lot. Please do this for me. It will make my life easier. Thanks.
P.S. To all the parents who already do this......THANK YOU for having some sense.