there was i kid i knew at my old middle school. he had aspergers. he couldn’t write or read very well. he was extremely tall, a ‘giant’ as others had called him. He was such a sweetheart, but nobody seemed to care. they judged him because he had a disorder. he had close to no friends…
he met me when we were assigned to be in a group together. he told me that i was the first person to actually care what he had to say. i felt super bad for him.
days went by, and we would hang out. we talked, laughed, made jokes, he showed me stuff on his iPad, played me songs, me and him were in another project together, and he was so proud that we let him speak. he said he felt like he had true potential.
a couple weeks later, he told me he had thoughts of suicide because all the kids made fun of him, and called him really rude things. All he ever did was try to help, and people would scream at him and call him names. He was kicked one time. It got really bad. He also told me that if i wasn’t there to keep him company, he would have done it a long time ago. i couldn’t think after that. i cried my eyes out for weeks straight.
i told the principal what he had told me, and she took immidiat action. she talked to him, and called his parents. Was that the right thing to do?
Just wanted to share my story
5 comments
there’s no right or wrong .. only actions and consequences
No.
You were trying to help him; regardless of how things end up you were just trying to look out for him, right? It’s hard to say weather it will help or not. Maybe this will be just the thing he needed. Try to stay positive and continue being there for him.
Us adults have been through school, we all know what its like yet most of us say that going to the teachers is the best course of action. Even though we’ve experienced it, it’s like adulthood completely changes your perception of the whole experience. Of course if going to the teachers always solved problems like this then all the kids that were being picked on would do it. Going to a teacher doesn’t mean that it will stop. Even if the physical bullying stops they will adopt a subtle approach because that’s what they are like. He might still feel like shit and could even resent you if things escalate.
I think you did the right thing but that’s only part of it. Now you need to explain why you did it so that he understands it was because you care and also continue to support him. Make sure that he’s not alone.
If that fails you might want to think about buying him a few Bruce Lee videos and some nunchucks.
hi taaliya 🙂