“I am an upstander: I intervened to stop the bullying”, by Sydney Davis Physical and verbal bullying can never be fully eliminated from schools Teachers only have limited control; the students really have the power to suppress the abuse In the past, a person who stood up for the victim or told an adult was called a “tattle-tale” or “snitch.” But times have changed Today, one attempting to halt the actions of a bully is considered an “upstander,” which surely carries a more positive ring I have had several experiences as an upstander; yet, one stands out During a free period at school, I was sitting in the lobby near a group of boys One of the boys, Eric*, suffers from Tourette syndrome, causing him to twitch constantly Eric is well liked, and, to my knowledge, had not experienced any bullying because of his disorder Yet, while I was sitting near these boys, I overheard Eric’s friends poking fun at him, possibly just a little too much One of the boys, Colin*, said he would pay Eric twenty dollars if he could go a minute without twitching I was bothered by the comment, but I knew Colin and Eric were friends, so I opted to mind my own business A few minutes later, I turned around to witness many of the boys mimicking Eric’s quick spasms, laughing hysterically Eric forced a smile and some fake laughter, but it was clear he was uncomfortable To me, the boys were crossing the line I waited until Eric walked away to confront his friends, not wanting to embarrass him I calmly approached the group of boys and asked why they were taunting their friend Laughing, they said they were just kidding and that Eric was used to it I explained that, from my experience, even though he acted unaffected, the teasing and taunting hurts I revealed that when I was in lower school, my friends would occasionally joke around and tell me I was fat I always laughed it off, but it really got to me, and also made me extremely self-conscious regarding my weight As I was speaking, the boys seemed to understand where I was coming from Their eyes became sympathetic as they realized what they had been doing With some help, they realized that sometimes, when someone is your friend, you fail to sensor yourself appropriately The line between taunting and teasing is thin, and it is easy to unknowingly cross it With this in mind, it is important to keep other people’s feelings in mind, and to stand up for what you believe is right, even if it may cost you a bit of your popularity By Sydney Davis http://yourteenmag.com/2010/05/i-was-the-upstander/ A) Say who or what the following words refer to who one him he he he it B) Match the words on the left with their equivalent on the right limited ● ● restrain suppress ● ● entrance hall stood up ● ● go into spasm lobby ● ● disturbed twitch ● ● defended bothered ● ● false fake ● ● partial C) Say if the following statements are true or false Correct the false ones Sidney, the author of the text, bullied her classmates -2 Teachers fully control bullies -3 Nowadays it is accepted that teenagers defend others from bullying -4 Sidney has got some bullying stories to tell -5 She suffers from Tourette syndrome -6 The author of the text thinks one should what we think is right, even if that implies losing some of your friends D) Answer the questions about the text According to the author, who can really help preventing a student from being bullied? How we call a person who helps a bullied student? Why was Eric bullied? -4 How did he react? -5 What did Sidney, the upstander, when she realized the situation Eric was in? Explain the meaning of the following expressions: a) “Their eyes became sympathetic as they realized what they had been doing” -b) “The line between taunting and teasing is thin” E) Topics for discussion What you know about bullying? Why students bully other students? What can we to protect ourselves from bullies? Have you ever been a victim of bullying? Which punishment should a bully have at school? Would you defend someone in trouble, like Sidney did?