David+Hammer

I remember the day as clear as glass. I was in 6th grade and my teacher had just announced it was recess， a time we were allowed to eat snacks and move around the classroom. But on that day， break time would have been a much more fitting phrase—I had reached a breaking point.

My friend sat across from1） me. Two classmates who were attention seekers were teasing him again. They did something mean to him every day. On this day， they were singing a song about him： "Chicken， chicken Josh." They sang relentlessly2）， while the teacher chose to ignore them. Those words were like a bite of jalape?o3） to my friend， who turned red with rage and embarrassment， while tears of frustration dripped from his eyes. This made the other kids in class laugh. I could see how hopeless he felt.

On other days， they would steal his school supplies， call his sister ugly， and make fun of his big head.

Normally， I would just sit and watch it all. I was very shy. I rarely spoke during recess or raised my hand in class. I was so shy， in fact， that the school assigned me a social worker. In an effort to get me to participate more， she made me a chart to check off4） every time I raised my hand. She said I&apos；d receive a prize if I filled it up. But I never did. It didn&apos；t help with my shyness； it just made me more self-conscious. I felt like my teacher and social worker were too focused on me.

But on this particular day， I took a stand. I&apos；d had enough. I stood up and shouted， "Leave him alone！" Silence broke out， all eyes in the room locked on me. But the silence was short-lived as everyone went back to enjoying their break. For the rest of the day， every time the bullies would taunt my friend during class， I would scream， "Stop annoying him，" or， "It wouldn&apos；t hurt to be nice，" or， "You don&apos；t have to be mean."

But these words didn&apos；t help. In fact， it made the situation worse： I too became a victim. That afternoon， the two bullies began to make up songs about me. My friend said， "Looks like you&apos；re a target now."

That night， I told my father about what had happened. He begged me to forget about it until after winter break， which started the next day. I did my best to do that.

Now I&apos；m the Target

When it was time to return to school in February， I was nervous. I thought to myself， "What if they bully me？ What will I do？" But then I thought， "Maybe it was only a one-day thing， maybe they forgot about me." It was this mindset that gave me the courage I needed that early February day.

Boy， was I wrong！ In the early afternoon my tormentors5） began to whisper songs about me. They chanted， pronouncing my name in a different dialect to show I was different from them.

This mocking and disrespect upset me a lot. I felt helpless. Here&apos；s how a typical afternoon went： I&apos；d hear the bullies whispering songs about me. Nobody heard them except me and it upset me so much I couldn&apos；t stand it another second.

"Stop！" I screamed. My teacher turned from the whiteboard and said to me， "Don&apos；t interrupt the class."

"But they are making up songs about me！"

"I don&apos；t care. Ignore them."

Speaking Up

A few weeks later， I spoke to my teacher after class. He promised to help me with the conflict and even volunteered to tell my two other teachers about it. It was a relief hearing comforting language from a grown-up. I thought， "Maybe I can help my friend and myself and end our trouble." But the disciplinary6） method my teacher used couldn&apos；t force a rock to stay still.

Speaking Up—Again

This was the case every day until a few weeks later， when I decided to talk to my social worker.

She told me， "David， no one deserves to be bullied. I want you to keep me up-to-date on this. I&apos；m going to handle it."

"What if the bullies find out I told on7） them？"

"Everything is going to be fine. I want you to promise me you won&apos；t worry about the bullies； I will take care of everything. I&apos；m going to notify your teachers that whenever you want to speak to me， you can come to my office."

My confidence soared after that conversation. I was a bold eagle. I flew up the stairs back to class.

But she didn&apos；t take care of it. The rogues8） continued to harass me and my friend. The only change was that now I had my social worker to talk to. Whenever I felt hopeless， I went to her office. One day， she finally said： "David， I think it&apos；s time to get the principal involved."

"I don&apos；t know if I like that idea，" I said hesitantly. "Let&apos；s say my enemies find out from the principal that I spoke to her. Then what？ They&apos；ll threaten me."

"David， I don&apos；t know what the principal will do， but whatever she does it will be for your own good."

I didn&apos；t want to be the guy who gets other kids in trouble， but it had to be done.

當校园欺凌事件发生在你身边，你会置之不理还是伸出援手？你要相信，帮助别人就是帮助自己。

我依然清楚地记得那一天。当时我上六年级，老师刚刚宣布下课，课间休息时我们可以吃吃东西，在教室里转悠转悠。但那天，爆发时间也许是个更合适的词语——我当时达到了爆发点。

我朋友当时坐在我对面，两个平时就喜欢出风头的同学又开始戏弄他。他们每天都会对我朋友做一些不友好的事情。那天，他们在唱一首关于他的歌：“胆小鬼，胆小鬼乔什。”他们唱个不停，而老师却选择视而不见。那些话对我朋友来说像咬了一口墨西哥胡椒一样，他既愤怒又窘迫，脸都红了，沮丧的泪水从他眼里吧嗒吧嗒往下掉。这一幕让班上其他孩子哈哈大笑起来。我能看得出他有多无助。

其他日子里，他们会偷偷拿走他的学习用品，说他妹妹长得丑，还取笑他的脑袋大。

通常，我只是坐看发生的一切。那时的我非常害羞。我一般不怎么在课间休息时说话，也很少在课堂上举手。我太过害羞了，事实上，学校都给我指派了一位社工。这位社工为了让我更多地参与课堂，给我做了一张表，让我每举一次手都在表上打个钩。她说如果我能把那张表上的格子都打满钩，我就会收到一份礼物。不过我从没填满过那张表，它对我克服害羞一点帮助都没有，只是让我更难为情而已。我觉得我的老师和社工有点过度关注我。

但就是在这一天，我表明了我的立场。我受够了。……