As little ones grow, it is important that they do so in a warm and nurturing environment in order to thrive as happy and fulfilled individuals while learning to form interpersonal relationships in perfect harmony.
The ideal place for this is the school, because in addition to serving as an essential educational oasis for the academic and personal development of children, it is intended to be a safe haven for them.
However, unfortunately, bullying is the order of the day in practically all schools in the world, but there are those who confront it with the opposite actions, governed by kindness and goodness, essential to teach children positive behavior that will help them understand what it means to be a good friend.
A great example of what these two values can accomplish is the story of 12-year-old Brody Ridder, who recently graduated from sixth grade but was not as happy as the rest of his classmates. However, his experience turned into something positive due to the help of others.
According to Cassandra Ridder, Brody’s mother, Guardian, her heart was broken when her son came home from school with only a few signatures in his yearbook: those of two classmates, two teachers, and his own:
I hope you make more friends.
– Brody Ridder
Cassandra says that since she decided to change Brody’s school in fifth grade to give him more academic support, the little boy has been through a lot, like trouble making friends and having to deal with bullying that he received, constantly, from his colleagues:
Brody is pretty outgoing, he’s smart, he gives himself away, but he still hasn’t made many friends. I have worked with the school to try to address the bullying, teasing and harassment that has occurred this year. There are children who pressured him and insulted him.
Although the bullying subsided somewhat after she addressed her concerns with school authorities, in February, Cassandra noticed that “the teasing was continuing.” However, little Brody’s emotional health worsened on May 24, when he asked his classmates to sign his school yearbook:
I was told not to. She made me sad.
Brody’s sad experience motivated Cassandra to share a photo of the yearbook note in the private Facebook group for parents of the school, as she felt angry and powerless and although she did not ask her son’s permission before posting it, “I knew he would be completely on board with that”:
We try to teach kindness in our family and not seeing any kindness from the students in her class was terrible for me. Brody has always told me that he wants to be part of the solution.
My poor son. It doesn’t seem like it’s getting better. Two teachers and a total of two students wrote in their yearbook. Even though Brody asked all the kids to sign it. So, Brody took it upon himself to write himself. My heart is broken.
Although Cassandra hoped that people would sympathize with her son’s situation, she never imagined the outpouring of support that arose after her post, particularly from older students at Brody’s school.
As dozens of gracious comments poured in, not knowing Brody, several older students, who heard about the post from their parents, stepped forward to show their support.
Joanna Cooper, 17, received a text message from her mother with a screenshot of Cassandra’s post. Immediately, the student had the great idea of getting people together to sign Brody’s yearbook.
Joanna remembers being Brody’s age and the intense pressure she felt to fit in. The young woman assures that having signatures in the yearbook was not only synonymous with popularity, but also meant “knowing that you have friends”:
Signing someone’s yearbook was all the rage. It just made my heart ache to know that others would say no and deny him a signature. No child should feel like this.
Joanna contacted several friends and they agreed to visit Brody at his school together the next day. Little did she know at the time, but many other students had the same plan.
When Simone Lightfoot, also a student at the school, saw Cassandra’s post, her first thought was, “I’ll call some of my friends and we’ll sign it.” Simone, 17, related to Brody’s plight:
When I was younger, I was bullied a lot like him. If I could do one small thing to help this child feel a little better, I would be more than willing to do it.
Maya Gregory, an eighth grader at the school, felt the same way. She was also bullied at Brody’s age:
No one helped me when I was in that situation. So I wanted to be there for him.
He gathered his friends, all of whom were eager to give Brody a confidence boost. The impromptu initiative spread throughout the school and on May 25, the day after the yearbooks were distributed, a crowd of older students entered Brody’s sixth-grade classroom, ready to sign their yearbook.
Although he felt shy at first, it “made him feel better.” Additionally, Brody added that he collected over 100 signatures and messages of support in his yearbook that day. But that’s not all, because he also got some phone numbers and a gift bag.
Cassandra hopes to headline a school-wide yearbook signing next year, to make sure this doesn’t happen to another kid.
Just seeing it light up felt really good. It was a small thing but it made him very happy.
Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, he added that his efforts set a positive precedent for the students in Brody’s class, particularly those who refused to sign their yearbook, for as seniors filled the pages of the Brody, several of his classmates joined in signing the happy little boy’s yearbook.