Telling the Teacher

[Microcosm]

This is a bullying thread.

There is a kid who always comes by my desk and slaps me in the face--not super hard, but it's annoying. He does weird stuff like sticks his fingers in my ear.

I've just sort of stopped reacting to it completely in hopes that it would make him stop, but he keeps doing it.

Anyways, I'm not sure whether I should tell the teacher or not. I know I'd get called a "pussy."

In this thread, I'd like to discuss what the right response to bullying is: Fighting back, telling the teacher, ignoring them, etc..

Also, is telling someone something you shouldn't do because it would make you look weak?

Personally, I hate the stigma against telling a teacher. Bullying is unacceptable and an authority figure should be able to step in without feeling like they're embarassing the victim.

Of course, there's the other side of that coin which is that being bullied and learning to stand up for yourself is helpful to character building.

Given all of this, I'm just not sure what to think or do. I'm so confused about what action to take.

[Phosphene]

My first advice would have been to ignore him and not make a reaction as that's most likely what he's shooting for, but since you have already tried that, further action should be taken. Standing up for yourself is important, so what I would first do is tell him to stop and that you don't like what he's doing. If he still continues to do it, tell a teacher. Telling someone does not make you look weak - it shows you aren't just going to sit around and take what the bully's giving you and that you want it taken care of. Good luck and keep us updated :)

[eric2001]

Tell him, "You pay so much attention to me so you must like me in a very special way". He might think you're saying it's gay without saying so and stop all that. Besides, it might even be true anyhow.

[Microcosm]

Thanks for the responses. I told the teacher today. He wasn't in class though so she'll talk to him tomorrow I assume.

[Shock96]

The attitude "snitches are b******" is unfortunately present even in adult life, not just school. But the thing is, the people that most often have this attitude outside of high school are usually immature, criminals, gang members, or all of the above.

You need to take action to stop it, which I see you have told your teacher recently- good for you! I assume you talked to him or told him to stop before you stopped reacting, and that didn't work. So what you did wasn't weak, or anything like that, it was just the reasonable next step.

If your teacher doesn't put a stop to it, don't be afraid to take it higher than them. Counselor, another teacher, principal, etc. I agree that learning how to stand up for yourself is important, but I would disagree with your comment that being bullied builds character. It often does quite the opposite and leaves lasting harmful effects on people... overall not good.

Let me know how your situation has turned out!

Matt