Sunday, April 17, 2011

Please Stop Laughing at Me

Please Stop Laughing at Me…One Woman’s Inspirational Story tells of the childhood and teenage year of the book’s author, Jodee Blanco. Although I was never bullied in school, and I was never a student who did bullying, I was interested in reading this book. Jodee tells of her experiences in school and how she would fit in for a short amount of time by denying who she really was, and then when she began to stand up for what she believed to be right, she was in turn ridiculed and was the one becoming bullied.

I have to admit, at a few points throughout the book, I thought “that can’t really be what happened” because I, myself, never saw anything like this at my school. I am a high school student, and as I think to high school and elementary school experiences, I don’t think I can pinpoint a single time where I witnessed bullying. I never saw anyone throw someone’s books to the ground, spit or hit a student, or even call anyone else mean names. In the book, Jodee mentions how those who were physically and mentally handicapped were made fun of and taunted. This was exactly the opposite in my school, as everyone embraced those students in support classes, and it was the cool thing to do to volunteer in the Gateway Classroom.

Although I found the actions of the bullys hard to imagine, I believed what Jodee was saying because what would she gain from lying about her experiences? It made me concerned to think that this type of thing may be going on in schools around the country, and I would definitely recommend my high-school aged friends read this book to understand what some students may be facing. With that in mind, I understand why some people only gave this book 1 star…it’s hard to believe she was on the receiving end of such cruel pranks and taunting, but I tend to be very believing of what others say was their experience in life, even though it may be different than what happened to me so far in high school.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the booksneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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