Bullying and Charity
Who can tell me what happened at Dawson college in Montreal this week? Who can tell me what happened at columbine a few years ago? Why did these things happen?
In both cases the young men acted because they hated their classmates, and, it turned out, they had been bullied.
Personal Story
When I was in grade 6, I was somewhat oblivious to the fact that I wasn't popular. It wasn't until one day a teacher was yelling at the class for lack of Charity, and he said "And why doesn't anyone like Peter? He's a nice guy! I can't figure out why no one likes him." That I realized that people didn't like me.
It got worse. In Junior High, people would make fun of me for my clothes, since I didn't have the name brands. I had a pair of jeans that were "spider" brand jeans- not a cool brand! Everyone made fun of me for them- so one day I realized that the brandnames on Jeans didn't really matter. So I took scissors, and cut off the tag that said "Spider". But underneath that tag was another one- and this one said "Alley Cat."!
You know how in most schools there are a couple of kids that nobody likes, that everyone kind of thinks is a loser? Those kids thought I was a loser! I basically had 2 friends. They were both imaginary. And they wouldn't play with me- they only played with each other.
Then one day, between the summer of grade 9 and grade 10, I went to a camp called "Our Lady of Victory Camp." At that camp there were tons of cool people- who thought I was cool too! I remember we did Jesus letters. That's where you write a letter to Jesus, and then at Camp we burn them, and they go up to God in smoke. "Holy Smoke!"
My letter was very simple. I wrote "Dear Jesus, I just want to be loved."
From camp I made a lot of good friends. And then in High School I mad lots of friends, and I actually became popular! Something changed between grade 9 and grade 10. Part of it was maybe the prayer- but more of it was that people in High School were more mature. They didn't care so much about stupid things like what brand my Jeans were. They cared more about people, and getting to know them.
At CWA there are a few bullying issues, both in this class and in other classes. We need to find a way to address it! As Christians, we can't just say we love Jesus and not let it affect our lives- our love for God has to be transforming. We have to become the kind of people who actually make a difference in others lives.
Get a scribe to write answers on the board:
What kinds of bullying are there?
- Physical
- Name calling- "Sticks and Stones"
- Ignoring
- Hiding peoples stuff.
- Just purposely being annoying
- Intimidating
Why do people bully?
- To feel better about themselves
- just to be mean
- because it's funny to watch the other persons reaction
How does someone feel if they are bullied?
- Embarrassed
- Mad
- Sad
- stupid
- hate people
What can we do to stop bullying in our school?
If you personally have the vice of being a bully, what virtue do you need to work on? Charity. Don't just try not to bully. If there is someone you have bullied in the past, ask that person for forgiveness, and purposely choose to do nice things for them!
Introduce Poster idea.
Split them into groups.
In both cases the young men acted because they hated their classmates, and, it turned out, they had been bullied.
Personal Story
When I was in grade 6, I was somewhat oblivious to the fact that I wasn't popular. It wasn't until one day a teacher was yelling at the class for lack of Charity, and he said "And why doesn't anyone like Peter? He's a nice guy! I can't figure out why no one likes him." That I realized that people didn't like me.
It got worse. In Junior High, people would make fun of me for my clothes, since I didn't have the name brands. I had a pair of jeans that were "spider" brand jeans- not a cool brand! Everyone made fun of me for them- so one day I realized that the brandnames on Jeans didn't really matter. So I took scissors, and cut off the tag that said "Spider". But underneath that tag was another one- and this one said "Alley Cat."!
You know how in most schools there are a couple of kids that nobody likes, that everyone kind of thinks is a loser? Those kids thought I was a loser! I basically had 2 friends. They were both imaginary. And they wouldn't play with me- they only played with each other.
Then one day, between the summer of grade 9 and grade 10, I went to a camp called "Our Lady of Victory Camp." At that camp there were tons of cool people- who thought I was cool too! I remember we did Jesus letters. That's where you write a letter to Jesus, and then at Camp we burn them, and they go up to God in smoke. "Holy Smoke!"
My letter was very simple. I wrote "Dear Jesus, I just want to be loved."
From camp I made a lot of good friends. And then in High School I mad lots of friends, and I actually became popular! Something changed between grade 9 and grade 10. Part of it was maybe the prayer- but more of it was that people in High School were more mature. They didn't care so much about stupid things like what brand my Jeans were. They cared more about people, and getting to know them.
At CWA there are a few bullying issues, both in this class and in other classes. We need to find a way to address it! As Christians, we can't just say we love Jesus and not let it affect our lives- our love for God has to be transforming. We have to become the kind of people who actually make a difference in others lives.
Get a scribe to write answers on the board:
What kinds of bullying are there?
- Physical
- Name calling- "Sticks and Stones"
- Ignoring
- Hiding peoples stuff.
- Just purposely being annoying
- Intimidating
Why do people bully?
- To feel better about themselves
- just to be mean
- because it's funny to watch the other persons reaction
How does someone feel if they are bullied?
- Embarrassed
- Mad
- Sad
- stupid
- hate people
What can we do to stop bullying in our school?
If you personally have the vice of being a bully, what virtue do you need to work on? Charity. Don't just try not to bully. If there is someone you have bullied in the past, ask that person for forgiveness, and purposely choose to do nice things for them!
Introduce Poster idea.
Split them into groups.
posted by Peter van Kampen at 8:52 AM
1 Comments:
Your friendship in highschool meant the world to me. It still does. Thank you.
Marie Picken
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