I made 1/2 of my class stay in while I gave them a speech I had worked on all weekend after a student asked me why she had to live during lunch break on a Fri at my school. I made them cry which was very satisfying. The bullying stopped immediately. The parents knew their kids were bullying her yet did nothing (I found this out later during parent/teacher conferences).

in any way I can. This is ripping my heart out.

And then let’s tell him, that he can gain strength, courage, and friends by speaking out, and by standing up for the other kids being bullied.

What a fine young man.

His thoughts are exactly right and he demonstrates high resolve and character.

Besides the bully and the victim, there are the bystanders who remain silent.

I never remained silent. I was not raised that way. If I saw bullying, I called out the bully. And it stopped. I am not particularly big or strong. I just knew how to make bullies ashamed---and the reason kids bully is because they are insecure and they think that bullying will make them feel better about themselves. Children become insecure when they are taught that their emotions and opinions have no value. So parents, start young validating your children' emotions, encouraging them to ask "why"? And, if you can't think of a good answer for their "why" maybe what you are demanding that they do is not really so important.

but I wanted to add this tweet:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet