Stop Bullying Now. Take A Stand. Lend A Hand.

I was feeling good about myself and how well I handled the kids who had bullied me on the school bus, and even Brick and his buddies at school. Somehow, it wasn’t so simple when I tried to protect my little sister, Charlotte, from a group of neighborhood kids that bullied her in the after- school program.

Because both of our parents work, it’s my job to take care of my little sister several hours each day. Charlotte attends an after school program while I’m taking tuba lessons with Senorita Ortega. After my lesson, I meet up with Charlotte in front of her school and together we walk home where we stay until our parents return. Charlotte is a tomboy. Whenever she can, she dresses in dirty jeans and torn t-shirts. She hates staying inside. Most afternoons she’ll head outside in search of adventures, while I’m happy to sit in my room and listen to jazz.

I get along fine with my sister. She does wear me out at times with her high energy and chatter. Well, I guess, maybe we weren’t all that close before. She didn’t come to me when she was in trouble. I feel guilty that I didn’t find out about the bullying until one afternoon last week.

I was upstairs in my bedroom, and Charlotte was outside playing in the front yard. A group of four neighborhood boys walked down our street, laughing and talking loudly. I had decided the noise wasn’t enough of a reason to look out the window.

What changed my mind was when I heard one of the boys say, “Hey, look guys at the monkey in the tree! Chee...Chee...Hey little monkey, you want a banana?”

Another boy yelled, “I know, let’s catch the ugly dweeb and put her in a cage where she belongs.”

I didn’t realize at first they were talking about Charlotte. Then, I saw her hanging upside down from the oak tree in our front yard. They had circled around her.

I called out to the boys, Leave my sister alone. She’s just a little girl and you are scaring her!

They didn’t back away. The leader of the group pointed to me and said, “Well, look who’s here, this must be the zookeeper. What’s wrong, zookeeper? We’re only trying to help you cage your little monster. You wouldn’t want her to get away; she might bite someone...or scare someone with that ugly face!”

He reached up and pulled Charlotte’s hair with such force that she fell to the ground. I heard her scream followed by a large thump.

I yelled again, “Get off our property, you’re trespassing!”

Before I could get down the stairs and out the front door, they had headed down the street. The leader looked back to get in a final threat, “Bye, bye little dork. We’ll catch you tomorrow and put you behind bars where you belong.”

Charlotte stood up and held out a strand of her hair for me to see. “He pulled my hair out,” she sobbed. “I hate them and I never want to go back school again.”

She told me that the boys are 5th graders at her school. What’s worse, they attend the after-school program, where they pick on all the younger students. As she got to the end of her story, she looked up at me in tears and with fear in her voice asked, “What can we do Milton? They know where we live!”

I thought about taking Charlotte to my tuba classes, but sooner or later Mom and Dad would find out. And, like Charlotte, I was afraid they would come to our house later when we are alone.

“We need to tell Mom and Dad when they get home this evening, Charlotte. They will know what to do. I don’t think I can protect you. I’ll talk to Mom and Dad for you.”

As soon as mom and dad arrived, I told them we needed to meet. They looked worried. Mom asked, “What’s wrong Milton.” I began by saying, “We had four neighborhood boys come into our yard this afternoon to bully Charlotte. She’s not hurt, but they pulled her hair and caused her to fall from the tree even after I told them to leave her alone.”

Mom ran to check on Charlotte, but Dad stayed to talk with me. He wanted to know what I thought, “Milton, I know that you’ve had experience with kids who bully. How serious do you think this is?”

This made me feel older–Dad respected my thinking. He wasn’t angry that I left Charlotte alone outside, which is what I was worried about. Instead he wanted my advice on how to solve the problem!

My first reply was, “Dad, I think it’s serious. The fact that I’m older than they are didn’t seem to matter to them. Honestly, I don’t think I can protect Charlotte when we are alone after school.”

We sat down at the kitchen table and talked about what needed to be done. Charlotte and Mom came in to join us, and we all decided on a plan. Charlotte quietly came up beside me and slipped her hand into mine. I felt like her most important friend, and I wasn’t about to let her down.

The plan worked well. The next day, Charlotte went home with her best friend from school. This gave Mom, Dad, and me a chance to meet with the school principal and head teacher in the after-school program. I was able to point out the four boys since they were in the school yard during “free time” in the after-school program. The teacher looked pale with worry. She hadn’t seen any bullying after school, but stated that the teachers often stayed inside during the free time to get ready for the next activity.

The principal agreed to talk to the boys, and called their parents to explain that the school’s anti-bullying policies apply to the after school program as well. He said the boys can expect consequences, and their actions will be carefully monitored.

They expressed concern for Charlotte. Our parents decided to remove her from the program for awhile and have a retired neighbor stay at the house. I wish that my sister had never had this experience, but now we all feel safer, happier, and much closer