The name calling.

The pointing.

The laughing.

 

It's a burden I quietly bear.

I see it happen to other students

Every.

Single.

Day.

 

You're fat,

You're ugly,

You're different,

They say.

 

The words,

Though not targeted at me,

Haunt my thoughts through the day

And all throughout the night.

 

"Go kill yourself,

Faggot."

And

"You look just like a

Terrorist.

Don't blow me up!"

Are all too familiar phrases to me.

 

They don't think about the feelings

Of those being told that

They should die

Because they're different.

 

A lot of the time,

It seems,

A teacher will hear a student say something hurtful

And ignore it.

On occasion they even

Go along with it,

Without quite realizing the effect

Of their words and actions.

 

But sometimes,

A teacher overhears those comments,

And berates the students saying them,

Asking how they could be so cruel

To someone that didn't do

A single thing to them.

 

The students almost always

Make excuses for their words.

"Oh, it was just a joke."

Or

"Oh, they knew we were kidding."

These are the types of lies that

Come out of their mouths

When confronted.

 

Sometimes,

A teacher knows when they are being lied to,

And they take action.

 

They take the bullied student aside,

Ask them if they are okay,

Tell them that they are there for them

No.

Matter.

What.

 

They notify the principal,

They notify the parents of the bullies,

And they take action.

 

To those teachers that take action,

To those teachers that help the bullied,

To those teachers who aren't afraid to stand up for others,

 

Thank you.

Thank you for helping,

Thank you for caring,

Thank you for doing the right thing.

 

Those teachers that help

And that care

And that do the right thing

Are saving lives.

 

More teachers need to be like the ones

That help and care and stand up for others.

More teachers need to take action,

Because unfortunately,

The teachers that do are rare.

 

Too many students take their lives

Every day

Because of bullies and undeserved hate.

 

But some students live to see another day,

Thanks to teachers who go

Above and beyond to help out.

 

If more teachers start to help

And start to recognize the signs of being bullied,

More and more lives can be saved.

 

Teachers, do your part

And maybe you, too, can help

Save a life.