Dear Applepie,

 

I have been getting bullied ever since I got to Lawrence Middle School. I have made a couple friends, but I haven’t told them anything because I don’t want to get in their way of school and everything. I have not told any of my teachers because they are busy trying to put together their curriculum. I have been doing very well with my studies, but these bullies are bothering me and are taking me away from my studies. I have been trying to get them out of my head and keep them away from everybody else that I know, but it hasn’t been working. The boys are bullying me because I am really smart. I am in the same class as them though. The teachers do not know that these two boys are bullying. I still do not the know the names of the two boys. In PE, they are always knocking me down and hitting me and telling the teacher that it was by accident. I have tried to tell the teachers the real truth, but they say that they are two nice boys. The teachers are telling me that I am just being misunderstanding towards the two boys. I really don’t know what to do. I have now started to tell my teachers that I am getting bullied, but they don’t believe that it is from these two boys. They said they are way too nice to bully anybody like me. They said they need evidence of them bullying me, but I can’t get that kind of evidence because they would take away my phone. I am so ashamed to be so smart. It may be a gift, but I feel like I don’t fit in because of how many people are in the standard program. Should I transfer schools or should I stay here?

 

Dear Amelia,

 

    I am very sorry for this unfortunate event. These boys should be more welcoming and more greeting than the boys were. For starters, you should definitely tell your friends about this event so they can give you some advice too. Your friends might be able to help you with this problem too. If they can’t help you, then maybe you should stand up for yourself. Maybe they might not know how to be welcoming to new kids. You should not stoop to their level either and be as mean as they are. Stooping to their level would be like being in their shoes. Just tell them to stop and if they don’t stop, you just need to ignore them as much as you can. Don’t believe what they say. None of what they say is true. If they keep bullying you, then talk to a teacher about it. There is no shame in telling somebody what is happening and what is affecting your studies. Just make sure the teacher knows not to tell the other students about your troubles. Wishing them away won´t do anything and will not change anything either. The teachers need to know who these two boys are and they need to know what they are specifically doing to you. They also need to know what specific spots where they bully you the most so they know where the security guards need to be. They must also know when specifically like what day and if there is a pattern on how they bully you. You really need to figure out why they are bullying you. They cannot just bully you for no reason and they cannot just be bullying you and you only. Are you the only person getting bullied by these two boys? If not, then gather all the other bullied students and stand up to these bullies. This is called safety in numbers. You guys are all strong enough if you can believe in yourself to fight back. They are only bullying you because you let them. You just let them bully you and you let them get to your head. You need to tell yourself that you are stronger than you appear. You also need to show them that you are just not some ragdoll that they can toss around. Those bullies need to be taught that every person needs to be treated how they themselves would want to be treated. Show them that you are a strong individual and you are more than just brains.

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 --Apple Pie