Teachers at Cedar High School stood united against the scourge of bullying when they lined the streets along Weltevreden and Spine roads on Thursday May 11.
Teacher Courtney Edwards encouraged pupils to speak out against bullies. “It is therefore important for pupils to know the structures that are in place which provide them with protection,” he said.
Mr Edwards said the school had two law enforcement officers deployed on the school grounds who work with pupils who had been bullied.
“We also have the representative council of learners (RCL) who act as a voice for pupils and we employ help from the organisation Teens On a Mission.”
The school found that cyber-bullying was on the rise.
“Pupils are being bullied and cyber-bullying remains especially prevalent among youth. That is why Teens On a Mission took up the fight and realised it is not the responsibility of government alone to bring awareness in schools; pupils can too bring about awareness among their peers.”
According to Mr Edwards there are many factors that contribute to bullying in schools.
“Many pupils come from violent households therefore violence is being perpetuated into schools. Violence is also being role-modelled by gangsters in communities. The perpetrators struggle to express themselves, their feelings, emotions and anger.
“This struggle leads to them expressing it negatively. There are also little consequences for perpetrators and victims often don’t speak up and through this, perpetrators get away and suffer no consequences.”
Mr Edwards said many parents did not know that their children were perpetrators or victims of bullying.
“They struggle to believe that their children is capable of such negative behaviour. Victims sometimes do not speak up, especially in cases where we find absent parents and the perpetrators are involved with big gangs,” he said.
