Ask any bullied child what they hate most about life and they’ll answer – school. A school is a place of learning but with time has evolved into a competitive and at times, scary place for our children to gain their education. Along with studies, a child has to pay attention to his or her social life, home life and make sure that they are on the top of their game. But if the child’s surroundings are not helping him move on then there is a big problem at hand.
Many schools are turning a blind eye to bullying. Bullying doesn’t range from teasing to violence; bullying is always violent. It’s the sort of mental torture that one cannot get used to, and in many cases makes the bullied child see themselves in a terrible light. They feel as if they are not worth the love that should be given to them, and start degrading themselves.
Racial bullying is a new type of bullying which is becoming a permanent menace for society. Not only are we judging people for what a specific group of them are doing, but many are just judging for the hell of it, and our children are learning it from us. When we see a child on TV who stood up against bullies, we applaud them, but then we see someone from that same child’s race that did something wrong and suddenly declare them all to be a mark on society without understanding that one person or even a group of people’s actions do not define the whole.
Humans have taken the world for granted for a long time. We feel like we are entitled to everything we have without considering that we are given gifts. Every person has their place in this world and by bullying them because we feel they are beneath us, or lesser than us proves that thousands of years of evolution has still not taken out the animal from us.
Racial bullying at school
A school is a diverse place for studying. It is where we learn different forms of education, but never really gain any wisdom from it. Our curriculum is the combined effort and achievement of thousands of geniuses and scholars from all around the globe, and if we can learn from them, why must we argue that somehow we are still better? Children get teased for having dark skin, or wearing a headscarf. Albino children are teased for their appearance, while Aboriginal children are mocked mercilessly because of their indigenous origin. Not only in school, but with the advent of social media, cyber bullying is rampant and has driven a lot of children to suicide.. Since they are young and impressionable, persistent degradation can do horrors for their self-esteem, thus ultimately leading to suicidal thoughts.
While the school administration is aware that bullying isn’t stopping, taping up posters and having people give speeches is not making any difference. Markers that children are suffering from anxiety and depression are visible, and being silent and hoping that this bullying will go away is not beneficial. Institutions have taken it upon themselves to bring some awareness amongst children and make them realize that bullying only makes them weak, but if education and awareness doesn’t start at home than such institutions can only go so far.
Understanding other cultures is crucial, not only because it shows us different traditions and methods of acceptance but because we are not supposed to be defined by race. We are all humans and the fact that we are all different from one another makes us unique. It means that we are meant to be different. Knowledge is not only learnt at school and can only become wisdom if we take a lesson from all moments from which we can learn and use it to create an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance.
