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Bullying is a serious problem for children and teenagers around the world which can have a traumatic and lasting effect on its victims. Listen to these eloquent British youngsters describe their experiences with bullying, and complete each accompanying task to understand how and why it starts, what its effects are and what can be done to deal with the problem.

 

Instructions:

 






































Video ©TESConnect


Video ©TESConnect


Video:
http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Verbal-and-Physical-6084599/

Verbal and Physical (Bullying)

Well, it all started mainly in Year 4 because I moved, uhm, primary schools, so in Year 4 there was new people and everything and there was this one boy that I just did not get along with. It started with verbal bullying and then again, a long time, that turned into physical bullying.

Well, they do it because uhm I think they’re a bit jealous in a way, because they see you and they want to be like you and they don’t really know how to take their anger out. So they just like see somebody and then see them as a prime target , but they pick on the weak ones. And if you prove to them that you aren’t weak, then you’re, not going to get bullied.

The first time you get bullied you think, is it a one-off, is it going to happen again? And all these things going through your mind. So it’s quite nervous as well. You’re quite wary if they, if they walk up to you in the corridor and stuff, you’re quite are they gonna do something or aren’t they going to do something? So you’re always like on guard and it’s not very nice to have to walk around like that.

And the place usually you can escape to when you’re getting bullied I think is like groups within your friends, because you work out who your friends are then you go with them and you find areas of the playground as it were at junior school, then you just stay there like. You don’t venture into people that you know aren’t that nice.

And then when you come to secondary school, it’s quite a big shock because you don’t really know who your friends are and you’ve got to work out who are the nice people and who are the bad people.

Well, bullying can make you feel de.., …very depressed and very lonely. But the thing to do is to override that and say, put your hand up and say, ‘actually, yes, I am getting bullied’.

Well I told my Mom and Dad, the first time I got verbally bullied, which was in Year 4 at junior school. I told them about it because some of the stuff was it was like well over my head. And then my Mom like told me, that, uhm, perhaps I should go tell my teacher about it.

The advice that I’ll give to people who thought they were being bullied is the first thing to do obviously is tell your family because they will understand your feelings and perhaps everyone has got bullied, so your parents will be able to give you advice and feedback of what to do. And the other thing to do is go straight to a teacher because they’ve got the authority at school to put an end to it.

Video:
http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Name-calling-6084601/

Name- Calling

Uhh, my primary school was like, very nice because everyone was all happy and uhm and I got on pretty much generally with everyone else.

In Year 5, people started to uhm call me like gay and stuff like that and I didn’t even know what they meant at the time.

And then at primary school I pretty much got pretty upset with it, they met up with people and then it happened again and again. They started to exclude me, uhm, from games, and things that seem really silly now but like really hurt me at the time. Uhm, and they wouldn’t talk to me. They’d ignore me. And, yeah…

As time went on, I thought that I shouldn’t be treated this way, and then uhm, when I went to my secondary school, it started again, but with different people. Uhm, they never used my name. I was just simply ‘the gay kid’.

Uhm, the worst thing that happened to me when I was bullied was pretty much, uhm, being called names again and again. It didn’t stop. It just went on continually. I didn’t know how to stop it.

I really wanted to play a game with lots of other people… …well they basically told me to get lost. They used some words I didn’t like.

Uhm, I found escape by being by myself. I didn’t trust other people. And sitting in the library and reading books.

I became really withdrawn, uhm introverted, and pretty much like didn’t be myself.

I think they were doing this simply to be cool. Uhm, to kind of like join in the fun with everyone else. There was only like one person that really started. The rest of them were really like tagging along. And it never really got physical, although once or twice they did start kicking me, out of nowhere really.

I think being bullied makes you feel very withdrawn, introverted. It changes your whole life and personality and it doesn’t make you the person that you used to be.

Uh,I didn’t really feel I could tell my parents because they wouldn’t handle it properly or, I’d blame myself most of the time. I didn’t want them to kind of react in a bad way. And I didn’t want them to uhh embarrass me in any way.

Uhh, I came to a resolution. I started to look towards the people who weren’t bullied. And I started to learn witty comebacks, and… I didn’t change myself, but I started to, kind of not care what anyone thought and I started to redeem myself.

I think, uhh being bullied has made me a stronger person. I tell everyone else, if they are being bullied, to tell someone. It’s worse to suffer by yourself. And to really be themselves, and to not care what anyone thinks.
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