I am an upstander: I intervened to stop the

bullying, by Sydney Davis

Physical and verbal bullying can never be fully eliminated from schools. Teachers only have
limited control; the students really have the power to suppress the abuse. In the past, a
person who stood up for the victim or told an adult was called a tattle-tale or snitch. But
times have changed. Today, one attempting to halt the actions of a bully is considered an
upstander, which surely carries a more positive ring. I have had several experiences as an
upstander; yet, one stands out.
During a free period at school, I was sitting in the lobby near a group of boys. One of the
boys, Eric*, suffers from Tourette syndrome, causing him to twitch constantly. Eric is well
liked, and, to my knowledge, had not experienced any bullying because of his disorder. Yet,
while I was sitting near these boys, I overheard Erics friends poking fun at him, possibly just
a little too much. One of the boys, Colin*, said he would pay Eric twenty dollars if he could go
a minute without twitching. I was bothered by the comment, but I knew Colin and Eric were
friends, so I opted to mind my own business. A few minutes later, I turned around to witness
many of the boys mimicking Erics quick spasms, laughing hysterically. Eric forced a smile
and some fake laughter, but it was clear he was uncomfortable. To me, the boys were crossing
the line.
I waited until Eric walked away to confront his friends, not wanting to embarrass him. I
calmly approached the group of boys and asked why they were taunting their friend.
Laughing, they said they were just kidding and that Eric was used to it. I explained that,
from my experience, even though he acted unaffected, the teasing and taunting hurts. I
revealed that when I was in lower school, my friends would occasionally joke around and tell
me I was fat. I always laughed it off, but it really got to me, and also made me extremely selfconscious regarding my weight. As I was speaking, the boys seemed to understand where I
was coming from. Their eyes became sympathetic as they realized what they had been doing.
With some help, they realized that sometimes, when someone is your friend, you fail to
sensor yourself appropriately.
The line between taunting and teasing is thin, and it is easy to unknowingly cross it. With
A) Say who or what the following

B) Match the words on the left with their

words refer to.

equivalent on the right.

limited
suppress
stood up
lobby
twitch
bothered
fake

1. who----------------------------------------2. one ----------------------------------------3. him----------------------------------------4. he------------------------------------------5. he------------------------------------------6. he-------------------------------------------

restrain

entrance hall
go into spasm

disturbed
defended
false
partial

C) Say if the following statements are true or false. Correct the false ones.
1. Sidney, the author of the text, bullied her classmates.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Teachers fully control bullies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Nowadays it is accepted that teenagers defend others from bullying.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Sidney has got some bullying stories to tell.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. She suffers from Tourette syndrome.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. The author of the text thinks one should do what we think is right, even if that implies losing
some of your friends.
D) Answer the questions about the text.
1. According to the author, who can really help preventing a student from being bullied?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. How do we call a person who helps a bullied student?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Why was Eric bullied?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4.
How did he react?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. What did Sidney, the upstander, do when she realized the situation Eric was in?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Explain the meaning of the following expressions:
a) Their eyes became sympathetic as they realized what they had been doing.
E) Topics for discussion.
1. What do you know about bullying?
2. Why do students bully other students?
3. What can we do to protect ourselves from bullies?
4. Have you ever been a victim of bullying?
5. Which punishment should a bully have at school?
6. Would you defend someone in trouble, like Sidney did?