Readers mail….
From Levent College….
At Levent College, as we prepare our children for their future, one of the main issues we care about is the fight against bullying. Unfortunately, there is always the possibility that they will encounter bullying in their social and future occupational lives. Therefore, it is incumbent on all of us to improve their awareness of bullying and bolster their skills to cope with it. However, dealing with bullying isn’t always easy, and it’s a challenge for many children, regardless of age. That is why every year we organize different activities in order to raise their awareness of the issue and give appropriate guidelines to them.
This year, in the presence of 8th and 9th forms we interviewed the lawyer Ms Mine Atlı in a sincere and friendly atmosphere. Ms Atlı started the conversation by giving examples from her own life in her current work. Frequent questions and answers were exchanged between the students and our guest.
Ms Atlı described bullying as a deliberate act with the intention of causing harm and likely to leave permanent emotional or physical damage throughout one’s lifetime. She explained that there were 3 persons involved in the act: The bully, the victim and the spectator. Usually there was an imbalance of power between the bully and the bullied, sometimes due to physical strength and sometimes due to the inability to express oneself. She said it was possible to combat bullying and elaborated on how it could be done. In such undesirable situations not only the the bully, who knowingly or unknowingly harms the other person, but also the victimised and the spectators 
passive to the transgression should all get help.
Ms Mine Atlı asked the students not to allow themselves to be isolated, ostracised or physically harmed. In particular, the importance of developing communication skills was stressed. Empathy skills should be employed in order not to become a bully. The victim should be brave when picked on and the witnesses should intervene rather than choosing to remain passive.
The talk ended with the presentation of a plaque of appreciation to our guest amid applause.
Source (Turkish): Levent College
