Dear Jellybean,
There is this boy in my classes who constantly is looking out to embarrass me. He tells me stuff like "you give me nightmares" and "why do u always seem to be so close to me" when really only our desks are touching. He yells at me in gym for not catching a stupid Frisbee and he makes fun of my friends too. I have never done anything to deserve this. I have loaned him pencils when he asked me and given him my last pieces of gum (this was before he started this embarrassment thing). My friend the other day said that when he makes fun of her she feels extremely ugly (cause he makes fun of her looks). What can I do to stop this?
Thanx,
Erin
Dear Erin,
There is strength in numbers. Meaning, it's time to stop dealing with this idiot one-on-one, and start confronting him as a group. He teases all your friends? Get together to put a stop to his harassment. All of you should go together to talk to your teacher(s) and complain about him. Explain that his teasing is making you all feed bad, and creating an environment where you find it hard to work or concentrate. You're more likely to be taken seriously since you've all got a problem, not just one of you, so hopefully your teacher(s) will take some action.
You can also use the power of the group to stand up to this monkey-boy. Tell him that when he attacks you, he attacks your whole group, and he makes a whole lot of enemies. If he keeps it up, let him feel the consequences. For every bad remark he makes to one of you, ALL of you should make a point of telling him what a jerk he's being, and that you expect him to stop talking meanly to you. Hopefully he'll feel bombarded by your confidence and back-talk, and go find something better to do with his time.
