Falker 1 Jorden Falker English I Block I Mrs.

. Knowles 19 March 2013 Eliminating the Problem When faced with a difficult situation, what do you do? Lets say that the situation is a Frisbee. Do you catch it and throw it back? Or do you let it hit you in the face and wait for the sting to go away? Whether they realize it or not, many people choose the second one, and very few choose the first option. Yes, it might be easy to catch the Frisbee, but in terms of difficult situations, the Frisbee is harder to catch. I would know, I chose the second one without realizing it. In 5th grade, I was considered gum on the bottom of my classmates shoes. I was pretty much stepped on and scraped onto the sidewalk. Waiting for the sting to go away, I realized that I made the mistake of doing so. When you catch the problem, you stop it before it even happens. That is the purpose of the Verbal Education Organization (VEO), to stop the problem of bullying before it even happens. Children should be educated on bullying at a young age because both victims and bullies can suffer from social, emotional, and physical consequences and the effects of bullying can carry through into school. Victims as well as bullies can suffer social, emotional, and physical consequences from bullying. In the article, Bullying Statistics, they explain that Early childhood is when children first start to interact with each other. (Bullying Statistics). Basically, they are saying that children are young when they start to interact. If they relationships are not at a good start

Falker 2 when they interact, that will lead to bullying later on. Stephen L. Brown explains that Although aggressive behaviors are common in children as young as one year, bullying is unique because it usually involves a reoccurring pattern of harassment. (Brown 384). Browns point is that bullying is different than aggressiveness because its reoccurring. When a student is bullied, they can become depressed, feel worthlessness and even be suicidal. If schools teach their kids about this, the bullying will not have a chance to occur. Bullying effects can carry into school. According to Donna M. San Antonio, Bullying has been linked with high rates of school absence.(San Antonio 32). San Antonio is basically saying that bullying is making kids avoid school. In high school or middle school, if a student is absent, theyll be behind in the material when they come back. If theyre behind, grades will drop, and it could affect if they go to college. Bullying Statistics says that 7% of students have avoided school or certain places.(Bullying Statistics). This means that not only are kids avoiding school, theyre avoiding other places in public. This is bad because if they dont go out in public, they wont have social skills, and its important for kids to have social skills. Some people might argue that the children should be educated about bullying at an older age. There are too many things a child has to learn at a young age, and that this isnt as important as the others. They say that children at a younger age need to focus on other things, not how to treat others. Although those may be very strong points, it is crucial that theyre educated at a young age. If you wait until a child is older, bullying could already be taking place, and then the purpose of the VEO would be useless. If smaller children are taught about this, the problem would be eliminated then. You could stop the problem before it even happens.

Falker 3 Everyone has their own problems. Some are already present, and others dread the day theirs will come. If given the option, they would choose to eliminate it before it even happens. They would catch the Frisbee right away. Its too late for me. I already let the problem hit me in the face, and I waited for the sting to go away. I didnt know that sting would last for four years. No one knows how long the sting will last, they just hope it wont be long. Instead of taking that risk, why dont you just get rid of it before it happens? The circumstances may vary, but is it worth it? Some stings may leave a scar, and others dont leave a scratch. Some make it out okay, and others not so much. That scar follows you into adulthood, just like the problems of bullying. If you dont want a scar, then make sure the problem doesnt happen.