1. Tell me about yourself
“I like to be with people and very protective to those who are close to me. I also like sport because it gives me that freedom.”
2. What motivates you as a learner?
“That competitive atmosphere we have as learners in my classroom.”
3. Why did you choose to attend this school?
“I chose this school because of classical music, infact I love music. This school is known of its outstanding results and study periods”
4. What changes would you make in this school?
“I don’t like uniform, corporal punishment and those learners who take away the food of other learners by force.”
5. What is your understanding of bullying?
“Bullying is an abuse of emotional feeling to the victim.” “It is when you treat another person badly because she/he is younger than you. You call him/ her with derogatory or depersonalising names, beat or repossess his/her possessions. You sometimes force that person to do things that he/she does like to do. “
6. Have you ever witnessed bullying of either your classmate or a friend?
“Yes, in many occasions.”
7. Describe the bullying situation that you had witnessed.
“It was my brother who was a newcomer at school. There was this group of naughty boys who did not spend much time in class, who were always outside smoking in the toilet. When my friend entered the toilet they told him that from that day he was supposed to pay them for using the toilet. They threatened him by saying if he dared not coming to the toilet everyday for a certain time they would go to his class and took him out. They also warned him that if he decided to tell an adult he was going to be a dead person. They show him a big knife then he was scared. That bullying went on for about three months without anyone noticing. My brother was always scared and sometimes dodged classes. One day my brother was caught stealing a huge some of money. When asked where he was taking the money to, he started by lying, but being pressurised he told the whole story. I was very angry because I
failed to recognise bullying that was taking place right under my nose and I felt underestimated by these boys.”
8. What is your feeling about bullying?
“I don’t like bullying, if I could have power over the bullies I will expel them away from school because they make learners to suffer.”
9. What are your experiences about witnessing bullying?
“It made me sick when I think that I was unable to protect my young brother from those abusive boys. It left me with a scare of hurt that would remain with me for a long period of time.”
10. Does witnessing affect you negatively?
“Yes, big time.”
11. How does it affect you?
“Watching bullying brought depression to the witness. Makes me lack love for school and my homework and also disturbs the proper working of my mind.”
12. Do experiences of bullying affect you psychologically?
“After failing to help my friend I felt emotionally moved and disturbed as I had a fear that he would lose trust and dignity on me and regard me as a coward. Painful as it is, I have to admit it because I actually failed to protect him against the bullies. I have lost that respect my friend had for me, I feel empty inside.”
13. How does the bullying act affect you emotionally?
“I felt like being with the victim all the time and when I saw him leaving the class during the lesson, I also asked the permission from the educator to go out as to protect him if it happened that the perpetrators were waiting in the toilet.
14. Do experiences of bullying impact on your education?
“Not always. It depends how close I am to that person. If my friend is bullied it made me to lose concentration in class and ended up failing to do complete my homework. Sometimes I sleep when the teacher teaches.”
15. Did you intervene in the situation?
“Yes, because to see other person suffering under the hands of another.
16. How did you intervene?
“By making the bully understands that bullying other learners is going to make him unpopular and other learners will hate him and sometimes go to an extent of organising outside to come and beat him after school.”
17. Is it the right thing to intervene in the bullying situation?
“Yes, it’s the right thing to do because you are saving the soul that is unable to protect himself.”
18. How did you feel after failing to help your friend from the bully?
“After failing to help my friend made me feel emotionally disturbed and the fear that he would lose trust and dignity on me, he would now regard me as a coward. Painful as it is, I have to admit it because I actually failed to protect him against the bullies. I have lost that respect my friend had for me, I feel empty inside.”
19. What strategies do you use to stop bullying?
“It’s not my responsibility to look after people who are old enough to look after themselves.
My hands are tight.
20. What is your attitude towards bullies?
“I really hate bullies from the bottom of my heart and I pray that could punish them, may fail a school.”
21. What advice would you give to the bully?
“I will tell him to stop what he is doing because it’s not right and also reminds him that what goes around comes around.”