Friday, June 12, 2015

The power of inclusion & being a friend, when bullying is happening

James is a special-needs student, which makes him an easy target for bullies. Five boys decided to put an end to it. They promised to protect him from being bullied, but what they do goes way beyond that. Their friendship and support have given James a new outlook on life.
Because of his unique learning disabilities, James works in a different classroom with different teachers than the rest of the children his age. As we all know, to young children differences are oftentimes scary – we’re scared of the unknown and seek to put it into context. It’s sometimes easier to make fun of something or someone we don’t understand rather than admit we don’t know what we’re dealing with.
But the boys featured in the video below did not let James’ differences stand in the way of getting to know him. After realizing that he was being bullied by other kids, this group of boys decided they wouldn’t let that stand. They chose to become James’ friends, and that changed his life. He went from being a boy who had never had a friend over to his home to a kid who had to scramble for a seat in front of the video game system his friends bought him with pooled money. Talk about a 180-turn…for the better.
This group of Grade 5 boys have created a circle of friends, that have supported James. Let's hope their actions continue to spread throughout the school & community.

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