Personal experience

 Personal experience

A few days ago, I went on a school camp with some first-year secondary school students from the school I had attended as a child. In this case, my role was that of a monitor accompanying the teachers, in order to help as much as possible with the smooth running of the camp and to take on a closer role with the students due to my youth. During those days, I had a nasty experience to see and i wasn’t able to act the way I would have liked.

On the second day, by which time I had already gotten to know most of the students more or less, I approached a group of girls who were talking. I was simply walking around different groups, but the conversation in this particular group caught my attention. One of the advantages of my role as a monitor is that many of the boys and girls feel more comfortable sharing things; in some cases, like this one, that trust can be taken too far. These girls were speaking very badly and, from my point of view, maliciously, about another girl who was sleeping in the same bungalow as them. The girl they were criticizing and making fun of is someone who likes playing football, gets along very well with the boys, and, despite her intention to dress and look like the other girls, is not perceived as fitting the standard image of femininity. This girl is very kind, polite, intelligent, and has good social skills. In other words, she is not the typical person one would expect to be vulnerable to being mocked by other children. Despite this, the group of girls made very offensive and unpleasant comments. My response was to tell them that they shouldn’t do that because it could hurt and offend her, but I couldn’t do much more, as I don’t know these children very well and it’s not really my role. This incident left me thinking and feeling concerned for a while, as the girl they had criticized behind her back has a certain affinity with me, and I felt really sorry about it. Therefore, I decided to report it to the teachers one of whom had actually taught me when I was in secondary school and whom I believe could do a very good job handling this issue. Unfortunately, the teachers weren’t able to act in time, as just a few hours later, one of the girls who had been mocking her made some very offensive remarks and made her cry. From what she told me, the girl had humiliated her in front of other girls with the clear intention of hurting her. After that, the teachers spoke with the affected girl and with the one who had used verbal violence to harm her.

I wanted to share this experience because this isn’t just a minor issue between little girls. In secondary school, students are already aware of what they say and do, and of the consequences their actions can have. That’s why I believe this situation was clearly a case of bullying. I didn’t like seeing that there are boys and girls who act with malice. Even though it’s a strong word, I don’t think I’m exaggerating, many of the comments made by one of the girls were clearly ill-intentioned. I believe it’s essential to promote good values from an early age, as we should aim to raise kind and respectful individuals. Of course, there will always be arguments among teenagers and preteens, but what should never be allowed is the abuse of power or status to hurt or offend a peer.