According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, nearly one-third of all school-age children are bullied annually which works out to be upwards of 13 million students. So it’s reassuring to know that at least in the Garden City Middle School, proactive measures are being taken to countermand this societal scourge that leaves psychological and oftentimes physical scars that last way beyond childhood. Thanks to reading teacher Kim Greenwald, an Anti-Bullying Club (ABC) was formed. Thanks to its advisor and 30 members, the ABC works at educating fellow students about bullying, its detrimental effects and ways to handle situations like these whether you are a victim or a bystander. The ABC’s work has been so effective that it was one of only four schools in New York State that was recently given a Promising Practices Award from the Character Education Partnership. It’s these kinds of socially conscious actions that more school districts need to become a part of rather than brushing bullying incidents under the rug and pretending that it’s just another phase of growing up.
— Dave Gil de Rubio
