Marius's story

I was walking on the hall in a break. It was a sunny day and I wanted to go outside.

Suddenly , a guy taller than me appeared around the corner. He pushed me back and started screaming something that I didn't understand. I tried to avoid him but he followed me in the schoolyard. He grabbed my T-shirt and pulled me on the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"You make me feel stupid because you're smarter!"he replied.

" What's you problem ? Try to learn and you'll be as smart as I am!" I replied trying to get up.

He looked at me and than ran in his class. Now every time I see him on the hall I get back in class, I don't want to talk to him again.

by Marius

Andrei's Story

     One day, when I was at school, I was rushing, going through the school's hall in the middle of the break, because I needed to go to the toilet. If it wasn't that problem, believe me, I wouldn't dare to go out of the class-room.    

    Yeah, how all know that, I was staring to the right then to the left, searching for bullies, of course, trying to avoid them like every kid nowadays. Suddenly, I changed my mind: how it could be if one day someone would face a bully. Maybe if I would be the first one, who knows...maybe I could win a price, or money, or could be seen in different magazines OR be invited at televisions to explain the people how brave I have been, BEING THE FIRST ONE WHO FACED A BULLY.

 One day, when I was at school, I was rushing, going through the school's hall in the middle of the break, because I needed to go to the toilet. If it wasn't that problem, believe me, I wouldn't dare to go out of the class-room.    

    Yeah, how all know that, I was staring to the right then to the left, searching for bullies, of course, trying to avoid them like every kid nowadays. Suddenly, I changed my mind: how it could be if one day someone would face a bully. Maybe if I would be the first one, who knows...maybe I could win a price, or money, or could be seen in different magazines OR be invited at televisions to explain the people how brave I have been, BEING THE FIRST ONE WHO FACED A BULLY.

    So I started going faster, having in my mind that crazy thing. Then, the worse came: in front of me was standing a bully, who was getting money from a little boy. The first instinct was to run away, but then, that thought with facing a bully came quickly. I didn't know what to do...

    Finally, I decided to go and face that guy. I went to him and said like this: "Leave the boy and do not ever mess with the small ones!" But I quickly realized that it wasn't the best choice, because he angrily pushed me and started to say that I mustn't tell him what he need to do.

    When I almost thought he was going to hit me, a teacher heard the argue and started to scold him. I felt so relieved... After that, I understood that is not a good idea to mess with the bullies, contrary, leaving them alone, because finally, someone will realize what they are doing and certainly, those people will know what to do, at last, violence will be ruined like no one could ever be forced to use it.

By Andrei                              

Adi's School story

This year I witnessed how my best friend was beaten by our school's bully. I, Adi and my best friend, Michael were waiting for the gym class to start the boys' locker.

As usual we were chatting. Our conversation was interrupted by the bully, who yelled at Mihai "This is my place! You are sitting on my PLACE! Get lost or I'll beat you up!”. My best friend tried to negotiate with him, but unfortunately the bully got so mad, that he pushes Mihai. The two of them started fighting and continued that way until the gym teacher arrived.

Both of them arrived in the principal's office, where they got suspended for a week. Later that exact day, Mihai's parents went to talk with the bully's parents. The parents had a great shock.

The bully hadn't got any parents so he lived in an orphanage. The woman running that place told Mihai's parents that the bully, Mike, was abandoned when he was five, by his father only. Apparently, his mother died when he was born, so his father was left alone to take care of him. She explained that Mike had several soul wounds, that couldn't be cured, only maintained in place, and unfortunately that only with the help of anger release.

Mihai told me everything at school and I understood. From that point we all started to treat Mike well. Since we treated him nicely, the fearless bully from our school turned into a little lamb, which was happy all the time and helped everyone.

by one of the creators of this blog, Adi

Nico's story

  Many people think that being in a ‘‘looser’’’s shoes is the last thing they'd want. Well I totally agree! More or less....

I can't say I'm a super popular guy, because I'm definitely not, but the contrary. Yes, I'm a geek nerd who's always physically, verbally, emotionally abused when I step on the school's property. It usually goes fast, or perhaps it's because I'm used to it after all these years.

   My daily school life usually is like this: When I first get into the school, I'm awaited by my hunter, Radu next to the corner.  I'm brutally forced to lend him all my money I have, including those for my lunch. If I'm lucky enough I can get away with my home made lunch, or sometimes it happened to lose that too, on top of that I got my eye shriveled. I really don't mind at all, since I think, as my friends tell me, that I've lost all my confidence.

     However, after a time Radu became a nuisance, first I thought not to care about it, but he ruined all my chances of getting into an elite college. He destroyed my recommendations; I've been working like a dog to get! Secondly when I've finally got my first date ever, after school, he locked me in a locker and I managed to escape, after hours of yelling for help, when the janitor noticed that someone was left in school. Since then I've been treated worse than ever not only by my bully, but the rest of the school: my friends started to exclude me from their meetings and funny activities. I was a nothing and I dead mean it! It felt like I was no longer part of this society, like I vanished somewhere, anyone forgot about me, I’ve never existed....

    One night, as I was fretting in my bed, I suddenly realized the ball was in my court:’ This must come to an end. I can no longer endure this. It has been going like this for way too long. I'll face him! I'll face Radu!''

   So, confident in myself I went directly (however he would have popped up) to Radu and faced him! Despite he was going to beat me to death, I was surprised (in a good way) and relieved that my friends, alongside teachers interfered in this quarrel. The injures cured very fast and the jerk was expelled from the school due to ''behavior problems''.

 Since that day, all of the other preys like me have stood up against their bullies and pointed out their opinion! As for the heckles they had to attend a lot of ''communication meetings'' and take part in interactive games, along us and some of them even learned what respect and teamwork is. Actually they thought that respect is aka teamwork, but never mind at least their low brains figured this as a positive thing. No more bullying in our school! And this is a story told by one of the victims!

By Nico P. grade 8th

We count of you

All of us are writing this to thank our viewers and especially our followers for reaching the incredible amount of 1000 views!
THANK YOU and keep up the good work!

A wareness Week Overview

The first day was "Tolerance Day". One of us distributed some Tolerance surveys. The results were pleasantly surprising. For example, our classmates have found many 'soul mates' after completing the “Me and We” handout . It was a beautiful day in which our schoolmates were able to know each other better.

The poetry contest organized on “Don’t stereotype me“ Day had many contributors. Not only that we learned about how unique is each of us, but we discovered some talented poets.

The third day was “Stand Up Against Bullying". Throughout the day our school counselor, Mrs. Loana Ionita, led workshops on bullying to secondary school children. After a short presentation about forms of bullying and consequences they have on victims, she engaged them in an interactive activity that taught them how to react to bullying. During the breaks, many pupils showed their support to our initiative by signing "I am too against violence" poster. Volunteers draw self-portraits which were exhibited in a designated “No Bullies” zone.

The fourth day, "Carrying Makes a Difference“ was marked by an interesting exhibition of objects or drawings illustrating kindness and created by pupils. Our team members walked through classroom and in the hallways and “rewarded” pupils who were caught doing something nice with raffle tickets. At the end of the day, the raffle winners received books and school supplies.

We can work it out“ was the motto for our last day. In the morning, one volunteer from each class offered each pupil in the class were given a “badge” that had a promise written on it. Pupils could choose the promise they pledged to respect. all of students wore a wonderful badges with different solution. Our design team realized a poster entitled “Coloring a Peaceful School” and displayed it at the school entrance This week was interesting for all participants in this project and I hope that most pupils got to reflect on the seriousness of the problem and became aware of their role in keeping violence away .The survey next week will tell us more about the impact this week had on pupils.

Day 5: ''We can work it out''

                                                                                                                                                 

Today was a very uplifting day. We had volunteers from each class that helped us distribute the resolution "badges" to their classmates who had to wear them during the day. Our daily radio programme was a presentation of positive examples and wisdom words. Every class had to choose a color for "peace". Together we painted "Coloring a peaceful school" poster in the colors our schoolmates had chosen. And, I must say it was very colorful!

Word of the week: insult

INSULT - a remark or action that is offensive or deliberately rude

"insult". Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 3rd edition. 2008.

Day 4 - '' Carrying day makes difference''

       "Carrying Makes a Difference“ was the motto for the 4th day.  During the morning announcements Miruna talked about domestic violence and its impact on children and recommended ways of dealing with this problem in case it occurs.  The famous person of the day was Jesus Christ. “Isolation “ was the word of the day.      

     Volunteer children drew pictures or created objects that illustrated kindness. The most inspiring of them were displayed in the hallway.    

     

    Our teams members awarded the acts of kindness reported or seen in school with a raffle ticket. At the end of the day, the winners left home with books, school supplies and a big paper heart.

Day 3

 Today we addressed the problem of bullying. "No Bullies Zone" was full of self-portraits realized by pupils who wanted to show their pledge for non-violence. Many more signed our poster, "I am too against violence". Our school counselor visited all classes to advice pupils on bullying. She also led workshops where pupils learnt how to deal with bullies and why there was need for active attitude.

Stand up against bullying day-Class discussion

Today Mrs. Luana Ionita led special activities on the topic ''What can you do to stop being bullied?'', in which she encouraged pupils to stand up against bullying and bullies. Apart from this, some of the young audience came up with a few ideas to decrease the rate of bullying.

Here's a list with some of the suggestions:

• Bullying should be severely punished
• There must be some hall observers so they'll interfere if a fight starts
• The school troublemakers should attend regular counseling sessions 
• There must be set up some special classes  when kids will be able to freely talk about their issues and get to know each other better

Also take a look at these class activities during that time!

Violence in the world - wars

  Unfortunately, people start wars for many reasons: to exert influence, to impose a religion, or to exploit people or resources. The history has recorded so many wars, but still it seems that of some today's nations haven't learned from the lessons of other wars. Here are some of the recent conflicts:

  Malvine war - ( 2 April 1982- 14 June 1982) it was a conflict between Argentina and Great Britain. The main cause was the sovereignty of the islands (Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands). It made a lot of victims and injured people from both parts, even some citizens of the island, which were not involved in the war.  

   Gulf war - (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991) a conflict between United States and Iraq. It was the United States response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. It finished with injured and dead people, and also  with damage that costs lots of money.


"Falklands War". Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.14 March 2012. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 March2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War. 

"Gulf War". Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.14 March 2012. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 March2012.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War

Day 2 : "Don't Stereotype Me!"

Today we focused on raising awareness of the dangers of stereotyping. During the radio announcement we explained terms like "stereotype “and "discrimination" and illustrated with examples.

The main activity was writing poems with the title "I Am Unique". Many of our colleagues amazed us with their rhyming skills or personal talents and interests. That definitely proved Uniqueness!

I Am Unique!

Here are some poems that entered (and won) the competition.

I''m unique!

EN:I'm mocked

I'm soaked

I'm bullied

I'm excluded

I'm laughed at

They call me a rat

But it's time

To shine

And state my point

The decision is mine
To say no!
And stop this bullying!
(by Andrei Tanase, 7A)

Day 1: Tolerance Day

Today was the first day of the Awareness Week: Tolerance Day. During the
announcements I recited the pledge and presented the schedule by days. Miruna introduced everyone to the word of the day and Georgiana talked about Nelson Mandela, the famous
leader who is an inspiration for all. We asked everyone to take a quiz to see
how tolerant they were. The exercise of the day was a little challenge: teachers
seated pupils differently. We distributed the “Me and We” handout and asked
desk partners to complete it together.
We got our first feedback: many pupils realized even they were different from their new
partners, they had many things in common. And I’d say they’ve made the first

step to tolerance.

Tolerance Survey

1. What would you do if a little kid would constantly piss you off?

a. beat him

b. ignore him

c. yell at him d. talk nicely o him

2. Can you live near a family which has a different religion than yours?

a. yes

b. no

3.Your friends don't have to...

a. share the same interests as you do

b. have a different belief

c. have another skin color

d. withstand your bad behaviour

4. Do you have any friends from another country?

a. yes

b. no

5. What do you think it's better to do if a homeless person keeps bothering you?

a. give him some money and tell him to get lost

b. call the police

c. give him some money and tell him to take care of himself

d. punch him

Me and We

1. Your favorite movie is.....................

2. You prefer going to................... in your free time

3. Eating...............makes you feel sick

4. You are allergic to................

5. When you grow up i want to become a....................

People who fought for peace

One of the famous people who fought violence in peace is Mahatma Gandhi, who was the father of India's independence and non-violent rebel movements initiator.

    In 1893 he went in South Africa, where he remains for 21 years. Here is faced with a terrible reality, thousands of Indian immigrants are victims of racial segregation, which leads him to engage in the struggle against British rule.

      South African government admits the adoption of reforms for Indian workers. In 1906, Gandhi fought for recognition of rights of its compatriots.

      He is arrested and, after a trial, is sentenced to several months in prison. Just released, continue to work, is again arrested, then released, part of the London Conference on Indian problem, demanding the independence of his country. British authorities arrested him with his wife and 50,000 other Indian militants.

   Gandhi's moderate attitude on the issue split the country has caused hatred of Hindu fanatic who assassinated him on January 30, 1948, during a religious ceremony.

       Besides he was faced with many bad situations, he continued to fight against violence, the result being very simple: if you fight for something that you care, you are going to realize it, for sure.

Photo Source:

"Mahatma Gandhi". Photo. 10 April. 2012. 10 April 2012  <http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi>

Word of the week: anger

 ANGER - a strong feeling of wanting to hurt or criticise someone because they have done something bad to you

"anger". Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 3rd edition. 2008.

Violence awareness week

The activities in this week are for helping the children to realize that the violence is not an option, and they can live together without fighting. Here is the program:

 Day 1 - Tolerance day

 Radio news: Pledge              

                    Blog presentation

                    Violence around us: media, movie, television

                    Personality of the day: Nelson Mandela

                    Word of the day: tolerance \to tolerate

Survey: How tolerant are you?

Activity:    Know your classmates!

Day 2 - Don't stereotype me day

Radio news:  Last day summary        

                  Violence around us: violence on streets

                  Personality of the day: Martin Luther King Jr.

                  Word of the day: Stereotype

Poem contest: I am unique!

Day 3 - Stand up against bulling!

Radio news:  Last day summary

                     Violence around us: wars

                     Personality of the day: Mahatma Ghandi

                     Word of the day: bully\ intimidate

                     What can I do?

Selfportrets exposition: I love peace and respect!

Poster: I am too against bulling!

Day 4 - Kindness makes the difference!

Radio news:  Last day summary       

                     Violence around us: violence in family

                    Personality of the day: Jesus Christ

                    Word of the day: to marginalizaze

Paintings exhibition:,,I wanna be good!''

Raffle:, I caught you caring!''

Day 5- We'll succeed!

Radio news: Week's result

                     Violence around us: violence in school

                     Personality of the day:

                     Word of the day: humiliation/to humiliate

                     What can I do?

Activity: ,,Wear the badge of the day!''

Poster:  ,,There's no violence in my school!''

Word of the week: squabble

SQUABBLE - to argue about something unimportant

"squabble". Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 3rd edition. 2008.

Ways to express anger that won't hurt people around you you

  We all get angry at times and cannot control ourselves, right? 

   I believe the worst thing we can do when we’re angry is to react impulsively. We’re not thinking clearly and we say things we will regret later. But how can we express our emotions other than showing anger?

Here are some tips to help you be cool and get others’ trust and respect:

• Avoid cursing or using profanity. This will definitely impress negatively upon others.

•Take a deep breath and accept that you’re angry.  Pause to calm down and reflect ( maybe count down to ten).

•Be open, say what made you angry and express your needs.

•Compromise. Try to listen and understand to the other’s point of view.

•Think first, then think again. Act after you thought it carefully.

•Treat your peer as yourself.

•Usually, before you get angry, your body gives you some warnings (you cannot concentrate, you breath faster, you have a headache or your heart is pounding). Watch yourself and become aware of these signs. This way you’ll learn how to control your anger before it breaks out.

          Sources:

How to Express Anger in a Positive and Healthy Way

by PHIL STARN on FEBRUARY 23, 2010    http://www.philstarn.com/how-to-express-anger-in-a-positive-and-healthy-way/         
   http://lovesagame.com/wp-content/uploads/dealingwithanger.gif 

Violence around us:Schools

A common environment influences kids to use violence is school.
A lot of weak and very sensible students become afraid of their peers and they are likely to become victims. Bullies intimidate the pupils and situations are not reported to an adult/teacher/friend because of some unpleasant consequences. A lot of weak and very sensible students become afraid of them and likely one of their mocked victims. If I have to name common violence types in schools I'd say intimidation, physical, verbal ,emotional aggression. The shy children are so called ''losers’ by others because they don't dare/have the courage to face the bullies.

To start with, these bullies usually intimidate the pupils, so a great percentage of them refuse to confess the problems to an adult/teacher/friend. Mainly because they're very afraid of being even more mocked than usual by their ,,hunters''.

However these jerks may have developed their fierce behavior from similar bullying that had been through. Namely the school/college, where they were influenced by other tormenters, whom they'd chosen to admire.

Icing the cake, those easily affected may ,,wear this make-up'' all their life, which may cause them to get in trouble with the law or worse.

Of course these behavior problems can be solved  through counseling  with a psychologist. In addition to this, these kids will be taking part in communication/interactive games along other classmates, from which they'll learn what teamwork stands for. Along years they'll learn to respect the people around them and be respected in return.

To finally end it, a sensible child can be easily influenced to becoming like of his aggressors, but also the weak prey for those hooligans. Parents/teachers should take the opportunity to discuss more frequently with them about their issues and try to make them have more confidence.

Violence Around Us - Street Violence

    We hear daily about street violence, but we don't heed until someone you love becomes a new victim of it.

      According to statistics, street is the most common place for violence acts. 

      Violence is categorized according to the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. It has a high likelihood of resulting in, injury or death. A typical situation might involve two men arguing in a bar, then one suggests stepping outside, where the fight commences. Thus, it is often possible to avoid the fight by backing off, while in self-defense, a person is actively trying to escape the situation, using force if necessary to assure his or her own safety.

     You must avoid these things, for example avoiding the dark streets, the late hours and the odd strangers who might meet.

Violence Around us: Families

It's called "domestic violence" any act injurious, physically or emotionally that occurs between family members. Family violence can take many forms: verbal abuse, denial of access to financial resources, isolation from friends and family, threats, theft attacks. Although until recently it was assumed that women are often victims of violence in the family, after some research discovered that in fact the number of men assaulted is quite high.

On the other hand, violent men have personality characteristics that lack skills and joy of communication. Violence in family most often happens due to alcohol.

Children who grow up in violent homes have different problems:

• physical problems: unexplained illnesses, slower physical development

• emotional and mental problems: fear of abandonment, isolation, anger, fear of injury and death

• psychological problems: self-doubt, depression

• problems of behavior: aggression, trouble sleeping, fighting, running away from home

• problems at school - distrust, lack of concentration

One thing less considered until now is that young people want to commit suicide because there is no communication in their family.

Sources: -Stanciu, Mihaela. "Baby who's crying". Photo. February 2010. 11 April 2012  <http://www.google.ro/imgres?start=98&hl=ro&biw=1024&bih=655&gbv=2&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=xmbg1BemQTZxIM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bebecurier.ro/articole/%3Fp%3D500&docid=eQeMaSvm6_s0cM&imgurl=http://www.bebecurier.ro/articole/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/copil-care-plange.jpg&w=400&h=400&ei=dcmYT-TUBoHTsga7te21AQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=374&vpy=105&dur=2060&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=135&ty=135&sig=105304636789091422566&page=6&tbnh=152&tbnw=170&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:98,i:20>

-" The project to combat domestic violence adopted by Parliament". Document. romanialibera.ro 28 February 2012. 11 April 2012  <http://www.ziare.com/bucuresti/stiri-actualitate/poriectul-privind-combaterea-violentei-in-familie-adoptat-de-parlament-2816730>

-"The project to combat domestic violence adopted by Parliament". Photo. romanialibera.ro 28 February 2012. 11 April 2012  <http://s2.ziareromania.ro/?mmid=5d4dd104685d020635>

Violence around us: Media/TV

It seems today that all we see is violence in movies and sex on TV, but where are those good old fashion values on which we used to rely?". This is the beginning of a song (The beginning of the TV serials Family Guy) which should give us something to think about . The truth is that media and TV programs nowadays contain less restrictions when regarding children. A kid can easily access inappropriate sites or TV programs which display violence. Parents rarely select the information that children are exposed to . Unfortunately, kids like to imitate or follow trends , and TV and media make up the wrong pool for examples to follow.

Word of the week: aggression

aggression: acting violent

"aggression". Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 3rd edition. 2008.