COMMENTARY | In response to an article on the Huffington Post about a 10-year-old girl who killed herself after being bullied at school, I can attest that being bullied at school is psychological torment, one that can be prevented. Ashlynn Conner, a student at Ridge Farm Elementary School, complained to her mother about being bullied at school, and asked her mother if she could be homeschooled. After denying her daughter’s request, Ashlynn Conner hung herself in a closet with a scarf, and was discovered by her sibling. Ashlynn’s mother said she was unaware that the bullying was as severe as it was.
As a person who experienced bullying in high school, I can relate to the pain that Ashlynn felt, and as a future teacher, I plan to enforce a strict no-bullying policy in my classroom.
Only a person who has been bullied knows how hurtful bullying can be to a child. During my freshman year, I was bullied to the extent that I tried to commit suicide, too. When you’re being made fun of in your classes, in the gymnasium and at lunch, an eight-hour school day seems to last a lifetime. I was physically assaulted on numerous occasions at school and verbally assaulted every day.
The pain from being bullied was so intense that I begged my mother to stay home from school. She even went to the principal and complained about the bullying, but that only made the situation worse. The only end I seen to the torment was suicide, so when I was 16, I took a couple of bottles of pills, kissed my parents goodnight, and went to sleep. I awoke to severe vomiting an hour later, and survived.
As an adult, we understand how frivolous bullying remarks are, but to children, the pain is psychological torment. Bullying causes profound depression, anxiety and hopelessness in its victims. This issue of bullying at school can be combated by teachers and parents alike. It is the responsibility of parents to educate their children not to bully other children, and it’s the responsibility of teachers to strictly enforce a no-bullying policy in their classrooms and schools. I am about to graduate with a degree in education and when I’m a teacher, I will be adamant with my students that I absolutely will not tolerate bullying in my presence.
Parents and school systems could nearly eliminate bullying if they would advocate and enforce zero tolerance for bullying. It’s a shame that it is going to take the suicide of a 10-year-old girl for people to realize how severe bullying is to children.