A teacher’s job is more than just teaching students. It is also their responsibility to ensure that their students grow up kind, respectful, and well-mannered.
True enough, these types of teachers go to great lengths just to ensure their student’s well-being is hard to come by. For us parents, there is nothing more important than seeing our kids learn valuable lessons from their teachers.
School life is more than just academics and sports, it’s also important that our kids learn how to stand up for themselves and how to treat others fairly.
Teachers know all too well what’s going on with their class and even in the entire school. Sadly, bullying is one of the major problems that many students are facing.
Tough Guys Wear Pink
Have you ever been bullied? It’s one of the things that we just don’t want to remember. It’s one of those traumatic stages of our lives that we just want to forget.
Bullying happens anywhere, and sadly, even young kids know how to bully. As parents, it’s one of the scariest things that we pray our kids never have to ever experience.
As a kid, 9-year-old William Gierke is still learning how to express himself.
Like any 4th-grade student, he just wants to be happy with his decisions and of course, to enjoy school and make friends.
However, in 2015 William experienced his first bullying. It was the first week of 4th grade, everyone was busy getting to know each other and enjoying school. Young William came into school one day wearing one of his favorite comfy shirts.
The shirt was bright pink and says, “Tough Guys Wear Pink.”
Some of his classmates thought that this was funny, and they asked him why he chose to wear such a color. To which he simply answered,
“Because I like pink.”
This wasn’t enough for the bullies, and they decided to start calling him “sissy.”
The poor boy felt bad, and he wasn’t able to concentrate on his studies. Little did the bullies know that the pink shirt had a good cause.
William simply loved the color, plus he wanted to wear it so he would be able to support all the people who are being affected by cancer.
By such a young age, William knows the importance of supporting these types of causes. He even got the pink shirt from a breast cancer charity, he was so proud that he wanted to wear it to school.
However, because of the kids that bullied him, he began to feel embarrassed by his shirt.
The Impact of Bullying
That day, when William got home, he told his mom that he no longer wanted to go back to school the next day. His mom, Tomi, knew that it was one of her worst fears – bullying.
Anyone can be bullied, but not everyone can take bullying. The fact is, bullying can cause depression, anxiety, poor self-confidence, and for some, even the urge to end one’s life.
Any parent would feel heartbroken seeing their child like this. She tried her best to cheer him up, and finally, he agreed to try again. The next day, he was shocked by what he saw!
William’s teacher, Mr. Winter was wearing a cute pink shirt that day.
It was for him; to show his support for this young boy who experienced bullying.
Not only that, Mr. Winter wore different shades of pink throughout the entire week, showing all his students that tough guys like him really do wear pink!
They even shared a sweet photo that William sent to his mom. The young boy was so proud of his teacher. He felt better, and he felt more confident.
A Teacher’s Lesson
In an interview with TMJ4 News, Tomi Genske said that:
“I sat at my desk and was actually in tears.”
For a parent, seeing how your child’s teacher makes such an effort to correct bullying behaviors and show support for those who are victims of bullying is such an amazing act.
Let’s face it, not all teachers will take action, and not all teachers will help their students like this.
Tomi felt so grateful for Mr. Winter’s act of concern towards her son. She said in her interview that she now feels safe and comfortable with her son’s new class. She knows that her little boy will know how to deal with the bullies and that there’s someone like Mr. Winter who will help him.
Now, William is back to his old jolly self, he’s also very confident whenever he wants to wear his favorite color. This just proves that teachers really do have a big influence on their students.
We’re also hoping that those bullies learned their lesson as well.
We admire Mr. Winter, the Sheboygan Falls teacher who showed everyone that tough guys really do wear pink, and for being able to help a boy who almost gave up on school.
Take a look at their interview below, and don’t forget to share with us what you think.
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