Thursday, February 16, 2017

U.S. President Lily Eskelsen García

President for the National Education Association
1201 16th St NW
Washington, DC 20036

Dear President García

I’m a graduate student in the school of education at North Carolina State University.
This letter is advising for a deeper attention on school bullying across the United States.
During my study in different nationalities, I’ve witnessed a lot of bullying from elementary
schools to high schools. The bullying in schools is a historical issue. Compared to the
past, the United States has provided a more harmony environment for students.
Nevertheless, some school bullying tragedies at present alarm that students need more
protection from peer bullying than we imaged.
According to (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2016), more than one out
of every five (20.8%) students reported being bullied. Online research shows that
students who are LGBTQ, overweight or disabled are more likely to be victims of peer
bullying. So far, bullying in schools includes verbal, physical, and cyber bullying; it results
in serious effect sides, such as low academic performance, school dropout, psychic
trauma, campus gun issues, even suicide. It is worth mentioning that school bullying has
become one of the top concerns in American.
Today, we have national education websites like NEA to advocate the harm of
school bullying. We have official organizations like Jasmin Roy to appeal peer bullying.
We even retweet solutions of stopping bullying at schools. However, our students still hurt
by the attack, or absent from the sneer in schools. It is not because our actions are not
powerful enough. In fact, we are desperate for actions taken inside school walls instead
of hoarse voice from outside society. Unfortunately, even under such circumstances,
some schools and instructors neglect the impacts that bullying leaves on the lives and
future of kids. They claim that bullying is hard to be attracted and testified. Worse still,
they should regard it as childish actions or jokes. Take elementary schools for an example.
Teachers reportedly barely intervene peer bullying when they notice children are bullied
on the playground. Moreover, more than 85% students disclosed they didn’t receive help
from their teachers and other school staff members when they were being bullied at
school (No Bullying, 2015).
As we noticed, peer bullying usually starts in classrooms; so it will be solved more
effective if we firstly adopt measures in classrooms. Besides classmates, students spend
their most schooling time with teachers, so that teachers and school staffs are the ideal
candidates that support protective umbrellas for students and eliminate school violate
climate.
Personally, I suggest that every school in the United States from kindergartens to
high schools are required to launch a training workshop for teachers. Teachers from
different grades take turns to attend the weekly training workshop that helps instructors
reach a better understanding of school bullying and equips them with strategies to stop
student bullying properly and timely. Most importantly, the training workshop is
responsible for orienting teachers to prevent peer bullying. Since students incline to bully
classmates or schoolmates out of their appearance, religious, poverty, or diseases, the
workshop would emphasis on guiding teachers to direct students to realize the diversity
in the world and how to respect differences. Eventually, teachers are supposed to apply
what they gain from the workshop into their class teaching.
As educators, we are encouraged to build up our classes or schools as communities,
but desperately, some of them are inundated with hostility, revenge, and horror. Now it is
the high time to do the deed to tackle harm inside the campus. I believe we are able to
establish communities with more harmony and respect with the help of teacher training
workshops.
Thank you for your reading.

Best Regards
Wenli Liu

Feedback by Dr. Robinson

VICTORIA,
I LOVE YOUR PASSION FOR THE SUBJECT! IT CAME OUT IN BOTH YOUR ORAL
PRESENTATION AND YOUR LETTER. YOUR OPENING STORY TO THE ORAL
PRESENTATION WAS POWERFUL.

IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO BACK UP YOUR STATEMENT THAT YOU HAVE

""witnessed a lot of bullying from elementary schools to high
schools" with some specifics. This gives you credibility.
I had no idea about Jasmin Roy. What a fascinating story. Thanks
for turning me on to that!!

If you use the Graduate Writing Center, they can help you
understand the nuanced differences in our complex language.
You are such a strong thinker! I cannot imagine how difficult it is
to convey that in another language! Let them help you with
making any needed corrections.

Your target audience of the NEA was such an interesting choice!!

The NEA does a lot of advocating for multiple issues, including
teacher pay and certainly anti-bullying. The truth is, though, that
they do not have the authority to make decisions about
professional development. They take dues from teachers who join
them, and advocate for better schooling, but they do not get to
make decisions that actually affect those schools.
Overall, you did a fantastic job!! I'm glad you're so passionate
about the topic!!