I remember every single person who bullied me. Those are memories that are hard to forget. The sad part about majority reason of why children get bullied is that it’s because the person doing the bullying doesn’t know any better. Mostly they’re afraid of what they don’t know, or don’t understand.
Long story short, once upon a time I wore a hijab. Although I went to a very multicultural elementary school downtown Toronto, there were a few children who just didn’t understand why I wore it, didn’t want to learn and just felt better by calling me and my friends names, physically abusing us and just making our lives miserable. It went on for months until we stood up to the bullies. We didn’t want it to come down to fighting back, but it did. After that day, that was the end of it. Or so I thought.
First year of high school, I remember someone in Science class asking if I was bald underneath. Stupid question because I unfortunately never wore my hijab perfectly covering my hair. The worse part was that the Science teacher responded with ” …is it true? Are you all bald underneath?” Like what the —?? At that time because of all the bullying I had been through prior to high school, that comment meant nothing to me. I was numb to bullying and just answered the question with a mundane “No.”
#DidYouKnow 70% of reported bullying is because they either look or act differently? (race, weight, height, clothing, and any physical, religious and sexual differences.)
No one should be bullied and schools should have more programs that help students being bullied and help everyone understand the importance of why bullying is wrong. In elementary school when I addressed the bullying that happened to our vice principle, he created a mediation program. Where volunteers were given whistles/school bells and would walk around at recess time keeping the peace. If they found a situation where someone was being bullied we would blow the whistle or school bell and teachers would come take over. Proud to say my friends and I were the first people at our elementary school to be a part of it.
What I love about this campaign is that the money is to go towards educating students to understand that we are all the same. The same people but in different bodies. Check out this video.
Open your mind.
So why the funky green socks? They’re to represent that we are all unique and this is what makes us amazing individuals! You can purchase these socks at YoSox on Queen Street, or online. For every pair of socks purchased, Yo Sox will donate a portion of the proceeds to Canadian Safe School Network to help fund new anti-bullying programs for youth and to promote wellness.
Teachers/School Professionals: Here’s the link to some #StandTogether Educational Resources to add valuable lessons about bullying, diversity, and kindness into your classroom!
You can donate to the Canadian Safe School Network, here.
