Paraphrase Activity

In these video interviews, two English boys reveal their experiences with being [?] at school. Both interviewees share their thoughts and feelings about the effect that name calling and bullying had on them, and offer sound advice for other [?] of bullying.

Interviewee 1

The younger interviewee was bullied when he changed schools in Primary Year 4. At the new school, he remembers that there was another boy with whom he did not get on with, and who bullied him verbally and physically.

This interviewee feels that people may become bullies because they may feel [?] of a person and wish to be like them. He also feels that bullies may not know how to release their anger, so they pick on [?] targets, forcing them to prove that they are not weak in order to stop the bullying.

This younger interviewee also states that he often feels [?] and uncomfortable because he needs to be ‘[?]’ or ‘on guard’ when walking in the corridor, as he can never be sure if or when bullies will target him.

To protect himself, he first [?] who his friends are and then escapes to this group in safe areas of the playground. He does not [?] into groups of people that he does not know or who may not be kind. This was an even greater challenge when he started secondary school because he was unsure who his friends were and who the bad people were, and that he needed to think about this carefully.

Interviewee 1 states that bullying left him feeling lonely and [?], but that it is important for victims to ‘[?]’ those feelings and to tell other people when they are being bullied. He in fact did tell his mother and father when he was bullied and he recommends that all bully victims do the same because parents themselves may have personal experience with bullying and may be able to offer advice. He also feels that teachers need to be informed immediately as they have the power to stop it.

Interviewee 2

This interviewee was happy in early Primary school but by Primary Year 5 other children started repeatedly calling him ‘gay’ and other names. These children [?] him from playing games and ignored him, which upset him deeply.

This continued when he moved to secondary school, where no one used his real name but referred to him simply as ‘the gay kid’. He remembers that this name calling was [?] and that other people told him to go away with very unkind, derogatory words.

To escape this situation, he [?] to the library, where he would read books, thus becoming more and more [?].

Interviewee 2 feels that people become bullies to [?] with their group, and to show that they are cool. He explains that most of the time the bullying he received was verbal rather than physical, but that he was kicked on occasion.

Like Interviewee 1, this boy feels that bullying has a depressing effect on victims, forcing them to become withdrawn, which has a lasting impact on one’s [?] and whole life.

This interviewee felt that he could not tell his parents because he thought they may not [?] well, or handle the situation appropriately. He also did not want to be [?].

This boy’s strategy to [?] himself was to observe people who were not bullied, to learn clever sentences that would let others know he was not weak, and to care much less what other people thought of him.

Despite not telling his own parents, he advises that victims of bullies tell other people so that they do not [?] in silence. He also advises victims to not care what others think about them, and to always be themselves.