What prompts an 11 year-old fifth grader to commit suicide? What drives them to a closet with a belt to end their life? What could possibly be so bad that you cannot go on living? It comes back to that horrible world of bullying!
In Florida we have heard these bullying stories too often. In October 2009 Michael Brewer, 15 year-old, was nearly burned to death by other teens. In March of 2010 Josie Ratley, 15 years-old, was nearly beaten to death. In April 2010 Anthony Jones, 16 year-old, was shot and allegedly on a text hit list.
Now we have an 11 year old in Port St. Lucie, Florida, that felt life, just over a decade long, was too difficult to deal with. Celina Okwuone was found in her bedroom closet by her parents. Police say she used a belt to wrap around her neck and she had wrapped the belt around the metal shelving. Her father tried to lift her up and her mother tore the shelving from the wall.
According to reports, her parents later found her diary where she had written that she was being bullied by classmates at St. Anastasia Catholic School in Fort Pierce.
It is time to check your School Climate and BullyBust your communities! If you haven't had the time to form or take part in an anti-bullying.
Watch video below. Many prayers and thoughts are with the Owuone family and friends.
Comments
I just completed an interview on WFLA in Tampa on this topic. Am doing another one at 8:00am PT on KOA Denver radio.
We have spent over $10B on programs designed to stop this kind of behavior since Columbine, yet our kids STILL have a 1-in-4 chance of being the victims of some form of school violence before they reach high school. We have to stop thinking "anti-bullying" whic clearly isn't doing enough and start thinking prvention.
Yes, bullying has gone on since the days of Cain and Abel, but not with this frequency, severity or so many fatal consequences.
If you want to discuss further, feel free to visit our blog and join our efforts at SocialSmarts.
If our kids can't be safe and secure at schools, does it really matter what else we try to do in the education system?
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