In schools around the world, it's often very difficult thing to stop bullying that goes unreported. Some kids are bullied or teased to the point that they either eat alone or try to find a way to eat else where.
Natalie Hampton was one of these kinds in junior high at a private school for girls, but she decided to find a solution by building an app for kids facing the same situation.
Kids some times get in cliques, and what they may not normally do on their own becomes acceptable through "group think" stupidity. Natalie was called ugly and a variety of names, and they even went as far as making sure people didn't friend her - to keep her away from party invites and even getting physically violent by putting her in a locker, scratching her, and even threatening to kill her at one point.
And being alone, she worried that telling on them would just make life at school worse, so the school time she once enjoyed turned into a daily nightmare. She even got ill to the point of hospitalization due to anxiety attacks and not eating & sleeping properly.
She was fortunate enough to be allowed to switch schools for high school, and she picked a school she checked out thoroughly first. She's now a junior in high school and 16 years old. She's built up a network of good friends and does a lot of extracurricular activities. But her horrible bullying has never been forgotten, and she decided to try to help those that aren't lucky enough to get out of the awful situations at school.
Making a Difference through Technology
She was able to come up with a smartphone app idea that can help students that just need someone to be at their side while eating lunch. The app is called “Sit With Us" and students can join as “ambassadors” to post where there are open seats to sit next to them, for example, at a lunch table. Any student who can't find a safe and comfortable place to sit can just load up the app to find an ambassador’s table where anyone in need is welcome.
The student's that join as ambassadors must take a pledge to allow any and all who come to sit with them.
It's starting with the cafeteria but could be used in a variety of school events or activities like recess.
A number of universities have done research on bullying and have found that when a group of students actively take a stand, it is way more effective than administrators or teachers trying to clamp down.
Of course, it may not be a perfect solution, but it's a cleaver solution coming from a kid who knows first hand how terrible it can be. And I really hope this app has great success and sparks other such ideas.
Being a father myself, I've seen already one of my kids quit a sport. Not because he didn't like it but because there was a group of jerk kids making fun of him for no other reason than not being part of their group. And the coach didn't want to clamp down too hard on them because a couple of them were the star players. My son at least told everyone right away and he moved on to star in other activities - one being karate so I wouldn't bully him now. :)
i-Tunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sit-with-us/id1133202101?ls=1&mt=8