A friend asked me about the middle school, wanting to know if there were drug problems, bullying, etc. Her daughter is getting close to the middle school age and she seemed concerned after hearing about all the bad things that go on in middle school. We've all gone through that as parents, the scare of sending out children off into the middle school oblivion were kids have to change clothes for P.E. and parents no longer volunteer in the classrooms. Nicholas keeps a tight lid on school happenings but he really opened up when I asked him detailed questions about school because I was asking on behalf of my friend instead of being a prying parent.
Do you know anyone who uses drugs? no
Anyone who smokes? no
Are kids pairing up as boyfriend-girlfriend? not very many, some kids say they are boyfriend-girlfriend but never actually speak to each other at school
Are there any gay students? yes, a boy who sits next to me in Social Studies.
He's only in 7th grade, how does he know he's gay? he acts and talks like a girl and tells everyone he's gay
Does anyone tease the gay student? no
Is there bullying that goes on at the school? no
Really? No bullying at all? well, maybe but I don't see it
Do you hear about cyber bullying? yes, the teachers talk about it all the time (Nicholas does not have a cell phone or a Facebook profile so he's still oblivious to the cyber world)
Ok, is there teasing that goes on? of course, everybody teases everyone else
Who's worse at the teasing, boys or girls? definitely boys
Do you get teased? of course, everyone does
What do kids tease you about? being Mormon, one boy sings a song from the Book of Mormon musical every time he sees me, I have the entire song memorized now (have you heard those songs? they're foul)
Really, does that bother you? no, they're just teasing
Are you sure it's not bullying? I'm sure
And the memories came flooding back to my high school years, defending my religion against repeated attacks and teasing on the part of my so-called friends and classmates. I never felt sorry for myself. I just put up with it and I believe it made me a stronger person and a better missionary because of it. But hearing him talk of coping with the constant teasing because of his religion still made my heart ache for my 7th grade son.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
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3 comments:
I was never teased about my religion, even growing up in a random town with few of us! However, I'm REALLY happy with our choice of school for Sammy so we can just skip the whole big middle school experience. Not sad about that at all.
Very interesting and good for you for figuring out how to get some answers out of your son! I never got teased about being Mormon. I am sorry Nicholas has to hear about it at his school. It sounds like he is a very strong young man though and doesn't seemed to be bothered much by the kids who do tease.
I love that your son opened up to you. It is sad that kids are being "teased" about religion. Hopefully it never escalates into something more. I don't ever remember being teased about being Mormon even though there were very few LDS kids in my schools. I do remember attending a church youth group with a friend. When I got there, the adult leaders cornered me and challenged me about my beliefs and tried to convince me that my church was wrong. I stood up for myself and the church, but it sure felt like bullying to me!
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