In honor of this year's Unity Day, a day to unite against bullying, I thought I'd post this animated spoken-word poem titled “To This Day” by Canadian poet Shane Koyczan, which beautifully expresses, with more eloquence than I could, the pain and scars bullying can leave behind.
DoSomething.org reports that "over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year" and one in seven students in grades K-12 is said to be involved in bullying -- whether as a bully or a bullying victim. More than 160,000 U.S. students stay home from school each day from fear of being bullied. It’s up to parents, teachers, and students to stop a problem the National Education Association says has reached epidemic levels.
Talk to your kids and empower them with information, as well as your love. Teach them that the rhyme "sticks and stones, may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is a lie; words can hurt but they can also heal and comfort, and by speaking up and being more than a bystander, they can be someone's hero.
