Bullies.

I remember when I was young.

School: “Tell your teacher if you get bullied.”
Student gets bullied, tells teacher.
Teacher does nothing.
Student gets bullied until last day there.
Finds it hard to trust people as they move onto the next school or college or wherever
It affects people badly.
They stand up to the bully and fight back and they’re the ones that get in trouble. It’s all just lies.

I can vouch for this.  I was bullied.  But all that was 30-40 years ago. It has changed now, hasn't it? 'No Bullying' policies have changed all that.

Haven't they?

I did not actually write the above 'bolded' text based on my own experience, rather it came from an article written in 2015! Clearly things have not always changed that much. Human nature, for example. Propensity to hurt others for example. Take a look at the news, at the world - the school ground is a microcosm of the way we treat each other in the world.

There has to be a better way.

My better way was a technique called 'tongue-fu'. A way of responding with humour. It worked for me. It won't work for everyone.

What will work for everyone, a universal and generic 'better way' is better supervision and better response to bullying. Responses that cares for the individual and foster environments where bullying can no longer occur.

Build better children and you build better adults. And ultimately, the giant school ground that we call the world will benefit too.