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By Donna L. Brightman

The repercussions of bullying and harassment can last a lifetime.

My eldest son went to school every day from kindergarten through 12th grade knowing he would be bullied or harassed by his peers. Each year we struggled to help him feel safe and secure.

We worked with the administration and teachers, but resolutions were always short-lived. After so many years of taunts, jeers, and discomfort he refused to walk across the stage and receive his hard-earned diploma along with those same students who had judged him so harshly for so long.

So you might say that I have a personal investment in working to end that cycle of cruelty often referred to as “kids will be kids”.

There are numerous studies explaining why some children are victimized and some become the bullies. What concerns me more than anything are the children who stand by and allow such activity to occur without intervening. For what we witness in our classrooms, on our playgrounds, at our bus stops, and now on our computers could not continue without peer compliance.

In a recent commentary in the Baltimore Sun entitled “Bullies’ hidden danger”, Lorna Blumen said, “failing to intervene to stop bullying of others makes us silent colluders.”

The article’s author, Ira Chaleff continues:  “... developing an ethic where peers do not tolerate bullying behavior toward others is the real solution... school systems will be equipping a citizenry to recognize the toxic leadership that is bullying and refuse to be silent, collusive followers.

"While making our schools safer and more productive, we can develop the models that educate future generations to make silent bystanding unthinkable in the face of humiliation, hate crimes and worse.”

I strongly support and will advocate for the development of a program of awareness in the Washington County Public Schools tied to our history curriculum at the primary and secondary levels. The lessons could include the many historical examples of when bullying and harassment were elevated to public policy and led to significant atrocities.

When children learn of the real life consequences of an individual's action or inaction, they gain the insight necessary to make better choices.

What happened to my son should never be experienced by any other child in our school system.

Recently, my son was at a local restaurant and ran into one of his high school classmates, who approached him and apologized for harassing him years before. When my son related that event to my husband and me, he shared his feelings of vindication but continued to express anger at what had happened to him as a youngster.

 All I could think of was: If that same classmate had only stepped forward to defend my son, things might have turned out much differently.

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