Bullying

I believe that my students are good and that sometimes they may be misunderstood. I have heard that one of my students was being bullied by another student. It is heartbreaking to hear those things because I have developed a relationship with them. It is difficult for them to defend themselves verbally because they cannot speak English. They are also minorities. This does not work to their benefit, especially in a high school environment. Being a teenager is tough, let alone being an ESL student. They have to adjust socially and academically.
Though many schools try to prevent bullying from happening, it still occurs. Bullying has taken mutiple forms. There is cyber bullying, physicall  bullying, verbal bullying, and indirect bullying. Although I did not wish to witness any my students as a victim to bullying, it happened.
I have heard of one of my female students being bullied last year by another female student. I find that girls are the worst when it comes to bullying others. They often do not use fists, but they find other ways to put down their peers. Girls have a tendency to spread rumors, cyber bully, and verbally hurt other students. I believe that rumors and cyber bullying might be worse than pushing or shoving someone. When girls make fun of anyone different then them, it can have psychological effects on their victims.
Recently, one of my students was suspended because he got into a fight with another student. It was also brought to my attention that he was sent to the hospital because he had a concussion. I was trully saddened by this. Although physical fighting is not the appropriate and legal way of handling any situation, I felt that I understood the frustration and anger that might have penetrated through my student. It was reported that the other student spilled milk on the ground, in response to the milk spill, my student and another student told him to be careful. The other student said, "I don't care about you Spanish people." From then on, I believe the situation got more heated and physical. My student is now suspended for 4 days, while the other student has been removed for the rest of the year.
I wish I can say that this will never happen again, but I realized that ESL students have a harder time defending themselves because they an accent or have a harder time explaing situations. Although it does not excuse my student from  fight, I think that he was a victim of bullying, but he decided to take action by throwing fists. I am not saying that ESL students are always the victim of bullying, but I do believe that they have a more difficult time adjusting socially because they are new to the country.
I realized how attached I have become to my students within this 2 month period. I care for them because they make an effort to come to class even though they are not encouraged or affirmed outside of the ESL classroom. I have learned so much from them about preserverence and patience.