Schools

Eisenhower Students Share Stories of Surviving Bullying

The student council members spoke at an anti-bullying assembly Tuesday at Lace Elementary School.

eighth-grader Eddie made a brave confession Tuesday during an assembly at .

“When I was 11 years old, I was a bully,” he said. “I really regret it.” 

Eddie bullied a classmate named Sylvia by calling her names — until one day he realized how hurtful his words were. 

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Bit by bit, Eddie worked to make amends, and Sylvia stood behind him at Lace as a friend while he told the younger students his story.

Eddie was one of several EJH students who shared their stories of bullying or being bullied during a Character Counts assembly for the third- through fifth-graders at Lace. 

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As part of a new anti-bullying initiative, Lace’s students will this school year for an assembly with a message about caring for their fellow classmates. 

, former EJH teacher Dean Rodkin demonstrated that once hurtful words are spoken, much like toothpaste squeezed from a tube, they can’t be put taken back. 

Lace Principal Marty Casey encouraged his students on Tuesday to defend their peers if they see one of them being bullied.

“We all know that bullying is wrong,” Casey said. “The No. 1 way to stop bullying if you see it happening at the bus stop, at lunch or at recess is to stand up for what you know is right.” 

An EJH student named Simone said that she was bullied relentlessly in seventh grade — pushed into lockers, her books knocked from her arms — until friends defended her.

“It touches my heart that someone who isn’t being bullied would come in and stop it,” she said. “Whoever stands up for the person being bullied is truly a great person.”

In addition to sharing their stories, the student council members performed a skit where each student danced and dressed in a different style. 

At first, they made fun of each other for wearing cowboy boots or having dreadlocks. Then one student pointed out that each should feel free to “dance to the beat of (his) own music.”

“Besides,” the student said. “You’re at Lace. All the people are very respectful and don’t judge others.”


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