BURRILLVILLE – In light of the number of recent television news stories that feature students hazing and bullying other students I have decided to submit this “stop bullying” message for this week’s Sunday feature.
After my meeting with middle school students at the Burrillville Middle School and the Burrillville Police Department a couple of years ago, the students created an anti-bullying slogan, and I was asked to illustrate a poster that could be placed on the interior walls of the schools as well as copied and distributed to students as a focus and discussion visual for new student arrivals. The three-tier artwork depicts students on the computer, cell phone and face-to-face interactions, which are common atmospheres for bullying others.
Millions of students nationwide stay home from school daily due to bullying. It’s absolutely unacceptable behavior for anyone to bully someone else in schools or anywhere else for that matter. Bullies come in all shapes and sizes, and walks of life, and can have a direct negative impact on their victim’s lives. Schools should be a safe space for every student, and bullying isn’t something that should be dismissed or swept under the rug hoping that it disappears. Students allowed to be bullies without repercussions end up turning into adult bullies, and that’s not good for their future families and friends. Bullying should be addressed and stopped earlier in a child’s life. Eventually, that individual grows and interacts with others in a positive way that includes human compassion, caring and empathy towards others.
Jim Weicherding is a Burrillville resident, and the founder and creator of an award-winning traffic safety effort Seasons of Safety. Weicherding contributes kids’ coloring cartoons, which can be printed and used to help parents discuss safety issues with their children. He has a long list of police officers and firefighters in his family and has worked with law enforcement and firefighters in a creative public safety capacity for more than two decades.
