Showing posts with label Bullying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bullying. Show all posts

October 8, 2014

The Pro’s of Exercise

Watching TV on the couch on a Friday night, flipping through the channels when you come across the sports channel, seeing all the professional athletes do their thing, Kobe Bryant shooting round the arc and swishing a three, Usain Bolt tearing up the track and Michael Phelps speeding down the cold pool, you get the point.

In all seriousness, many adolescents are worried and concerned about their bodies. Teens these days suffer a negative body image. Negative body image is when someone thinks that they are too fat, too skinny, too weak, too short. Maybe for girls it is when they are not pretty enough. Research has shown us that exercise boost our self-esteem and helps tone our bodies and keeps our hearts healthy. Exercise is something that everyone needs. It also helps us stay positive and mindful as well as keeping us fit.

If exercise is not in your daily regime, you may face many physical problems, Obesity being one of many. Not only does Obesity cause physical problems but also social problems. If you don’t exercise, Obesity is inevitable. Bullying is something that could be one of the consequences of being obese. People may tease people or make fun of them for being obese but it is not entirely the obese persons fault. Genetics play a major role on obesity.

On the plus side, exercise also helps us perform better in school. Scientists have observed students activity levels in a 7th grade classroom. The results came out just as expected. The students who played a sport almost every day were more attentive and performed better.

Sure exercise is tiring, maybe even boring for some people but it should not be treated like a chore. People should think of it as something that you do mindlessly, without thinking about like brushing your teeth every morning or night and eating your breakfast. Lots of people love exercise and sport, just like many people in Middle School. Harit Raghunathan, from 8JRa said “ I really enjoy playing a sport and exercising, it helps me reduce stress. Another reason is it gives you a sense of determination and the drive to become better. If you are competing in an ACSIS team, you find that there is a sense of competitiveness in everyone, the fact that you want you and your team to win and even if you don’t, you will feel proud that you have at least gotten that far.” Almost everyone in 8JRa said that they love sports, depending on which one. Sport is a part of exercise, so it counts. No one can live without exercise, it is a need.

Written by Arjun

October 7, 2014

Popularity Doesn't Last

It’s a sunny day, flowers blooming and the grass is green...BRRR!!! The school bell rang signalling lunch to start. Students scrambled out of their classes and overflowed the hallways in a hurry to buy lunch. “Hey! I’m sorry but that seats taken. A ‘popular girl’ stated clearly to a ‘not-so popular’ girl. A hurt look sprawled across the ‘not-so’ popular girl’s face. One mississippi, her eyes strolled her surroundings, only to be rewarded by stares of passing students. Two mississippi, a blush crept onto her face. Three mississippi, she sped away, noticing that no one ever took the seat. BRRR!!! The school bell rang once again to signal the end of lunch. Yet the girl observed that no one ever occupied the seat.

It’s a sunny day, flowers blooming and the grass is green...BRRR!!! The school bell rang signalling lunch to start. Students scrambled out of their classes and overflowed the hallways in a hurry to buy lunch. “Hey! As I told you, that seats taken! And I am SO sorry!” The ‘popular’ girl spat out rudely. The ‘not-so popular’ girl however did not budge. But quietly muttered “But no one sat there yesterday...” The ‘popular’ girl glared at her, settled her bag on the seat. “Well it IS and I am SO sorry!” The ‘not-so popular’ girl then shuffled away nervously, silent as a rabbit.

What is the real definition of popularity? The state or condition of being liked, admired, or supported by many people. But in the last few years, it seems like popular people have a lot more ‘power’ over not-so popular kids. Is that really popularity or bullying? If you hangout with the popular kids, they most likely talk about ‘mature’ topics, and you might feel left out. The risk is that after you feel left out, and you might change to fit in with them. But the truth is, they don’t have the power over you.

Popular kids shouldn’t be bossing over you, they have no right to say ‘you just simply aren’t good enough’. Words hurt and so do actions. We are all humans and they is real benefit to be mean and unfair. In fact, studies show that average popular kids have lower grades than non popular kids. Popularity increase bullying too, when you have the power, you have the choice to take advantage, and the result is bullying. 20 percent of U.S. students in grades 9-12 reportedly have experienced bullying or are feeling bullied, while 28 percent of students in grades 6-12 report the same. Experts agree that most incidences of bullying occur during middle school. 70.6 percent of teens have seen bullying occurring in their schools and approximately 30 percent of young people admit to bullying themselves.

Surprisingly, popularity of their own kids is a problem to parents too. Some parents worry about their child's prom and are aware that not-so popular kids are disliked by popular kids. In other words, popularity today is another word for ‘likability’. But even if you are popular, doesn’t mean that you might not experience being rejected and left out. Those are things that are normal in life. Be nice and live a fair life. And the truth is, you won’t be popular forever.

Written by Karen

October 3, 2014

Racism: Does It Happen in Schools?

A few months ago, in a local school in the United States, a student was restricted to join a student run activity because of his colour and was falsely accused of forcing the students to give him money.

Racism is when a person is treated less favorably and is not treated equally because of their colour or race. Racism has been a global issue for ages but now has started widening in schools as well. According to Mr. Raisdana, an English teacher who taught in a school where racism was very common, “The main source of Racism is the lack of education and money”

When someone with a dark colour comes across white people with more money and higher standards, the richer starts insulting the poor to protect their pride and identity. Why is racism a problem? According to itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au, a Australian human rights campaign, A study of over 800 Australian secondary school students found that racism had huge mental health impacts on young people who experience it, including:
  • ongoing feelings of sadness, anger, depression and being left out 
  • headaches, increased heart rate, sweating, trembling and muscle tension 
  • a constant fear of being verbally or physically attacked 
  • not wanting to go to school 
  • having little or no trust in anybody apart from family. 
These impacts can reduce people’s ability to work or study, and to achieve their future goals.

Racism also affects people’s general well being when they are denied equal access to jobs, services and education.

How to stop bullying? According to youngscot.org, these are the following ways to stop individual racism:
1. Don’t Take The Abuse
You don't have to accept any form of racist abuse. Everyone, no matter what their nationality or race, has a right to live happily and free from discrimination. Yep, that includes right here in Scotland.

2. Realize That You're Not The One With The Problem
It can be hard because your self-esteem does sometimes take a knock if you're having grief from someone, but the thing you have to remember is that you are not the one to have caused the problem. You’ve done nothing wrong.

3. Keep Some Evidence Of What's Happening
You should write down what's been happening, like a diary of events, for example, and also your thoughts on what you would like to happen. This will be useful to show others that you need help and to what extent it’s affecting you.

4. Be Prepared To Speak Out
Be prepared to speak out and tell people just how it’s affecting your life and your well-being. If you are going to alert someone to the fact that you're being threatened, abused or bullied, then do it properly.

5. Never Give Up!
You might not be able to tackle racism by yourself. Seek out support and accept help where you can.

According to racismfreeedmonton.ca,
Support and participate in initiatives to increase awareness of and combat racism.

Volunteer for an organization that reflects your values and does anti-racist work.

Get involved with boards and community groups to help ensure that they are serving the needs of diverse communities.

Support ways to identify, monitor and respond to acts of racism, such as hate crimes. (Link to the Alberta Government Hate Crimes report)

Racism is a problem that can only diminished by bystanders becoming upstanders and just stand up for it.

Written by Luvish