Here is a post from a friend of mine. It speaks volumes about what our schools are not doing to protect the children from bullies. I know some do try but there are so many that do not. Please share, maybe some administrators will stand up and say NO to bullies and YES to protection.
“I found out this morning that one of my more recent former youth group kids committed suicide yesterday morning. He was 14. In his letter found in his pocket he wrote that he was mercilessly bullied by one student day after day. They bully recently created a rumor that my former youth grouper, [Bob (Name Changed)], had done something to a girl that would never be excused or lived down. He said he was sorry and that he loved his family. More recently his family has been going through some major stuff, His mother has stage 4 breast cancer and had a double mastectomy last Friday, and before I left for seminary his father was diagnosed with early stages of Parkinson’s Disease. My former boss/pastor of the UCC church I most recently worked called me to let me know and offered that I come to the funeral because I am someone all of his friends at the church connect with rather than the new youth person. I would really like to come as a person to support those who are grieving but more just to be another person in the congregation not a leadership person. I also don’t know if I will be able to get time off to go. Overall, I just feel super sad, he was a great kid who was one of my favorites. We really need to get something in place to help people feel more comfortable reporting this kind of stuff so people don’t feel so alone and resort to suicide as the only answer.”
Christians are called by God to protect the least, the last and the lost. We are not to conform to this world but transform it through spreading the Word. Christians are in the schools and although religion has been bullied out of the schools, who we are cannot and should not and we must still follow our call to the least, last and lost.