Caitlin Fowler

Elizabeth Cyr

English 11

14 May 2019

Lesson of The Day: Surviving

“You’re fat.” “You’re not like us.” “You’re too ugly.” Those are the words you hear

trickle out mouths of students as you walk down the halls of a ​living​ ​hell​. It’s like you’re locked

inside a prison cell that’s engulfed in flames while you’re trying to breathe. They’re just trying to

make it through school without feeling like they are enduring some cruel and unusual

punishment. School is not about learning anymore. It’s about how to survive, not let the words of

your peers pierce into your spine, and writing your final wishes on paper hoping your parents

don’t blame themselves.

The lesson of the day: surviving.

The school system failed by not stepping in when a kid’s stepping down. Teachers are

giving students F’s when they deserve A’s for making it through the day; teachers deserve F’s

for failing to keep students safe. 1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with a kid being bullied and

they only intervene 4% of the time (11 Facts about Bullying). Only 36% of students report being

bullied (Bullying Epidemic); however, that will decrease. The school system’s to blame. Not

every teacher is at fault. Some teachers help, but not much. Parents also do not help the situation

with allowing their kids to act that way, but it is also the schools job to help prevent bullying on

their premises. There are over 160,000 students that refuse to go to their ​jailhouse​ every day

because of what they encounter (Bullying Epidemic). 10% of the students that are supposed to be
our future are throwing away their education because they are tired of being bullied (Bullying

Epidemic).

Cyberbullying is growing like wildfire because of social media. 43% of students have

been bullied online; however, that’s quickly increasing (11 Facts about Cyber). Cyber bullying

makes you crawl in your skin looking at words on a screen. You feel like you can only be pretty

by asking two fingers to reach for your last meal. This can be because of your appearance,

hobbies, home life, friend group, religion or any number of reasons. I feel as if schools are

attempting to prevent cyberbullying and trying to address it as an issue, but with the evidence of

how they handle the regular bullying problem, I don’t feel as if they are doing the best job at it.

Child Bullying Statistics states that victims of bullying are 2-9 times more likely to

commit suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teens, about 4,400 per year.

For each death, there are 100 attempts. That 44,000 lives that could have been taken all because

teens make you feel like you can not talk to someone.

People say you can’t change how kids act because they are taught that at home. If that’s

how you’re teaching your kid to act, then stop complaining when someone corrects them for

making someone think they aren’t good enough for the world. No one deserves that. So help.

Report to OK2Say, tell someone, if serious enough, call 911 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). School

districts across America should enforce the no bullying policy a lot stricter. There should be

some type of punishment (like fines) if a school district is found to have knowledge of a kid

being bullied before they harmed themselves or dropped out of school. Telling a kid to cut it out

or giving them detention for bullying another student could be the breaking point for finally

getting this horrific problem to stop.

 The new lesson of the day: standing up.

Works Cited

"Bullying Epidemic: Facts, Statistics and Prevention." ​Education Corner​, 2019,

www.educationcorner.com/bullying-facts-statistics-and-prevention.html. Accessed 7

May 2019.

"Child Bullying Statistics and Info." ​Ark of Hope for Children,​ 3 Aug. 2017,

arkofhopeforchildren.org/bullying/child-bullying-statistics-info. Accessed 7 May 2019.

"11 Facts about Bullying." ​Dosomething.org,​

www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-bullying. Accessed 7 May 2019.

"11 Facts about Cyber Bullying." ​Dosomething.org,​

www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying. Accessed 7 May 2019.