Program Teaches Pitfalls of Bullying

By Kevin Gray

Raised very poor in a small town in Arkansas, much smaller than Osawatomie, and the oldest of seven children, being the bully is what Kermit Robinson, director of Safety and Environment at the Rainbow Mental Health Facility in Kansas City, Kan., said he did to rid himself of anger.

Going to school really brought this anger to a boil, Robinson said. “We didn’t have Nikes or the current popular Polo shirts with the crocodile on the front. One day, I would wear a pair of raggedy jeans, and the next my brother would wear the same pair. We took turns doing the same with our shirts,” Robinson said, “which is why other kids made fun of us.”

Robinson said what really hurt was when others told us we were too poor to afford Levis jeans. “In return, I took this anger out on my brothers and sisters. I would take their candy and toys and would tell them how ridiculous they looked. I was bullying them because I was bullied at school,” he continued.

In 1986, Robinson got his first job. “I was able to buy my school clothes and started high school. I began playing football and basketball and started lifting weights,” he said. One of the boys who had tortured him through the grades continued to do so in high school. “Then, one day, this boy slapped me across the side of my head. And all the kids standing around laughed. Then, something inside got to me, and I was suddenly on top of this guy, the bully. And this is where it stopped.”

After high school, Robinson attended the University of Illinois, where he played football until transferring to Chicago State from which he graduated.

Robinson told the middle school audience to realize an important lesson. “Understand, that if you are a bully, and, that you are getting away with it now, it won’t always be that way. Take a good look at yourselves. If there’s a bully in here, the people you’re bullying will someday be your boss or they may grow and physically be looking down on you. You will most likely begin experiencing the same things you are now delivering.”

“Why do people bully?” Robinson asked the students. “Is it because of a person’s skin color, their size? Why torture these people, when you know you shouldn’t?” he asked.

“Why do some people think it’s cool to bully?” Robinson went ahead to ask. “Is it because of the people who surround that person? The bystanders? Do those bystanders think it’s okay because it’s not happening to them? Do they think it’s funny? Do they think it’s safer to stay with the bully?” Robinson questioned?

Robinson said bullying is not fun, and it is not even comical. “Keep in mind. The next time you’re busy laughing, your time may be next,” he said.

At the invitation of physical education teachers Nancy Gagnebin and Dave French, Osawatomie native and 1992 Osawatomie High School graduate Keith McReynolds spoke about bullying and invited his friend Kermit Robinson to spend the day with Osawatomie Middle School students.

The television show “Leave It to Beaver”came up when McReynolds asked the students in one class if they knew who Eddie Haskell was. “Beaver’s parents thought Eddie was very polite, but he was one of the meanest kids, when the parents were not around. This is the sign of a bully. He does what he does behind everybody’s back,” McReynolds said and then he asked, “Do we know people like this?”

Bullying is a learned behavior, McReynolds said. “It can come from home, from those around you and doesn’t have to be parents. But some parents can bully, if they make their kids do all the work, and they sit around with their cigarettes and drink alcohol and expect you to do everything,” McReynolds said.

The best thing young people can do, McReynolds said, is to find a role model. “Mine was Coach French. He was good for me. If you don’t have a role model in your life, then find one. It could be a teacher, a coach, anybody who is like what you would like to become,” McReynolds said.

McReynolds said there are different types of bullies, including physical, emotional, verbal, sexual and in cyber space. Both McReynolds and Robinson warned the girls to never take sexually inappropriate pictures and send to their boyfriends. “You know, don’t you, that those pictures do not stay with that boy. He sends that picture out to all his buddies. Be smart and don’t set yourself up to be a target,” McReynolds said.

When talking about hurtful words, Gagnebin said she hates the word retard. “You do not know what that person you call retard has gone through. Maybe this was a gifted student, who was in an accident. You just don’t know and shouldn’t call anyone anything inappropriate,” she said.

In an effort to show how people change, French and McReynolds reminisced about their first meeting. “Keith was the shortest point guard I ever had, but he listened to what I said and did what I asked,” French said, “yet, he came back years later as an Osawatomie police and SRO officer,” French said.

McReynolds said he had been in the first sixth-grade class when the present middle school building was new. “I was proud of this school. But, I, too, had been a bully. And, I’ve been bullied. Is that possible? Sure it is, but people grow up. I was 5’ 2” in sixth grade but 6’1” by my senior year. Things change guys. They really do,” McReynolds said.

When McReynolds, who works for the Osawatomie State Hospital, began introducing Robinson, he said they first met when applying for the same job at the Rainbow Mental Health facility. “I saw him walking down the hallway, and the door behind him completely disappeared behind him. His size makes him so intimidating, but we became friends and Kermit is one of the best men I know. He’s well educated and well spoken. But people misjudge,” McReynolds said. “He’s a big man in stature, but even bigger when you get to know him.”

Power, McReynolds asked the students, is it in the hands of the target, the bully, or the witnesses? “The most power is not with the bully. Bystanders have the ability to intervene or go get an adult. If witnessing a bully incident, you have the power.

As the bell rang, Gagneben stopped the students with a final reminder. “This was no good today, if you walk out of this gym and go back to sloppy and teasing habits.”

Short URL: http://osawatominews.com/?p=1015

Posted by admin on Mar 16 2011. Filed under News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry