When I was a kid, I got made fun of because of my name mostly, but I also had a big head for my size and my body didn't catch up with my head size until the 7th grade. Even then, I still got picked on because I wouldn't "conform" and do what everyone else was doing (sneaking out of the house at night to go to parties to get stoned or drunk or pick on other kids that just didn't fit in which meant I had to "join" their clique) It was hard to just "ignore" kids that pushed me around and tried to trap me in a place where a teacher couldn't see what was going on. The positive side to this story is that when these and other incidents occurred near a teacher or coach, most would grab the other kid and keep him locked down until the situation got calmed down and they wouldn't be afraid to give that bully a piece of their minds, but that was a different time. Today the schools tell the teachers not to raise their voices or touch the students in any way for fear of getting sued and traumatizing the bullies. I think that is part of the problem! It's bad enough that some parents don't teach their kids respect for others and let them "run wild", but then when the schools turn a blind eye because they're too "afraid" to reprimand anyone for getting out of control, that just makes the bullies think they can get away with anything! It seems to me that all the districts care about is that all the kids show up and have good attendance records so they get more funding and could care less about the kids' behavior. SAD!

By the time I was a senior the bullying stopped because one, I started lifting weights in 9th grade and by the time I was a junior I was pretty big but also was able to and did stand up for myself more. It cost me a few suspensions and a lot of detentions but it stopped. I was lucky though. I had good parents that stood up for me and for what was right and also as I stated, the teachers could act more then. I think that if the judges didn't allow the schools to be sued for doing what was right, and not get away with these "frivolous lawsuits" more kids would still be alive today!