Disclaimer: I don’t normally post this kinda stuff regularly anymore but this really pissed me off.
Just browsing through the internet news, this morning, and I read about a young girl who was beaten on her first day of middle school in the US. Originally, not allowed to sit down (plenty of empty seats as reported), seven attackers punched her repeatedly until she was on the ground.
(Yes, I know this occurred earlier in the month but I’m only hearing about it today. Now off my case, you get.)
This is a serious situation but I did find one unfunny joke in it. The school that these students are from: Liberty Middle School in Marion County, Florida.
I watched the video to see if I could make any sense of it and I wish I hadn’t. The girl was practically crumpled and destroyed emotionally by the time she was removed from the aisle and towards the front door.
I don’t know whether many of you have watched this show but I recently watched an episode of “If You Really Knew Me“, featured on MTV. Basically, where bullying, apathy, ignorance and unhappiness thrive in a school, someone who wants to see the change in their students, faculty and whoever else is affected, contacts the Challenge Day team to help break down the barriers that are swelling up in the school.
The aim of the day programme is “Challenging You To Be The Change”. The program puts these teens in a room together and the Challenge Day team get to work.
While many teens think they are alone in situations like bullying (including cyber bullying), depression, rumours running rampant, gangs, suicide, friendship losses, drugs, pregnancy, the list goes on- this program goes through some activities that are both eye opening and crucial for each teen to see and hear.
At the beginning of the show, I was extremely doubtful that anything could get these kids into one room, confessing their hearts to each other and consoling one another. I have come from a troubled school of thought, where I have given up on youth. But this gives me some hope.
A quarter way into the episode, when they were “crossing the line”, I felt so much empathy for every kid in that room.
Crossing The Line
I felt like “she looks like me” and “she’s gone through what I have”, knowing this is exactly what those kids were seeing in each other’s eyes while crossing.
By the very end, I was in tears. I felt so moved by what these teens were taking responsibility for and I was bawling my eyes out.
From MTV’s press release concerning Challenge Day:
MTV’s new docu-series “If You Really Knew Me” goes inside high schools across the country to discover what can happen when students peel back their public personas, break out of their cliques and show their peers who they really are. Premiering on Tuesday, July 20, at 11pm, each episode visits a different school, following five students as they tear down the walls that divide them through a transformative one-day program, “Challenge Day.” Reminiscent of the film “The Breakfast Club,” this real life series goes beneath the surface and behind the labels, ultimately uniting these students as they surprise each other with illuminating yet sometimes difficult truths about their lives.
For all the uselessness MTV provides the youth of today, “If You Really Knew Me” is certainly a step in the right direction. My only concern would be about follow up and what happens after the cameras have stopped rolling and the Challenge Day team have been and gone.
I really hope the memories of what happens on those days is ignited everyday in each teen that attended and that they can remember that they are the one who are being challenged by making the change. I also hope that the schools are able to get funding to get the program run in theirs or even start their own little challenges for their school if it’s not affordable.
It’s not that the lines of communication aren’t open. They’ve just been crossed so much, no-one can hear each other speaking.
Images & some information via Google, Youbeat.com, ChallengeDay.org
