I want to tell you this week about Sammy, a ten-year-old budding astronomer, fishing enthusiast and outdoorsman. As is the case with any child, Sammy went through a mouthful of primary teeth which were quite a sight. He also used glasses.
The family, including Sammy’s parents and siblings, moved to Indiana from Florida, and Sammy was not warmly welcomed by his fellow students. An article in People alleges that Sammy attempted to bring his teachers’ attention to the bullying he experienced, and was promptly disciplined for being “disruptive.”
Beatings were ignored. Girls told Sammy he should hang himself. He did. While his family went out to buy ingredients for pancakes for breakfast, rather than face another morning of terror at the hands of people–both kids and adults–who hated him, Sammy left this world. His brother found him when they returned home.
At his funeral, one of the girls who prompted Sammy to use this very exit option, snapped a photo of his open casket and was seen laughing at the image on her cell phone later. It’s unclear what became of this bully or her photo.
Who do we hold responsible for these actions? Among people ages 10 to 24, death by their own hands is the leading cause outside of any diseases, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
We grownups frequently wonder how prejudice and hatred continue in our country, and the answer is right here in American classrooms. If the teachers and faculty do nothing, why should children follow any protocol when it comes to acceptance, empathy and compassion?
I could also tell you the story of Adriana, who died/was proxy killed by the Central Regional School District in New Jersey, or another student named Olivia. Every state has at least one name to atone for. All of these first names have one thing in common: bullying permitted by adults.
There is a movement to make bullying legislation into law and name it after Sammy. It cannot bring back the countless children who cut their lives short to avoid a school environment where beatings are allowed and trying to point them out is punished, but it can make adults answer for their ignorance.
Here is Change.org’s link to their petition to make bullying seen and heard so it can be stopped: https://www.change.org/p/tell-congress-to-enact-anti-bullying-legislation-in-honor-of-10-year-old-sammy-teusch/psf/share?source_location=default_membership
Here is an article link as well: https://people.com/parents-10-year-old-boy-killed-himself-bullied-file-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-school-district-8763274
Susan's Scribblings the Blog 