Read The Essay That Got 5th Grade Girl Job As Brookline Chief

BROOKLINE, MA — This year for the second annual essay contest put on by the Brookline Police Department, the officers put a question to fifth graders across the town. "How would you solve a bullying issue at your school?" This year, Emily Snyder a fifth grader at the Devotion School wrote an essay with six main points to it, outlining her recommendations.

"First of all, you want to make sure you stand up for them even if they are not your friend," she wrote.

Check out the rest of her advice and congratulations, Emily!

How would you solve a bullying issue at your school?

Have you ever been bullied? Do you have a friend that is/has been bullied?
It’s not fun to watch someone get picked on. Here are some ways that if
you see ANYONE getting bullied you can help them.
First of all, you want to make sure you stand up for them even if they are
not your friend. They may not be able to stand up for themselves because
they are scared that the bully will do something to them. However, if you do
it, the bully will know that the person is not alone. Stand up, don’t stand by.
Second, tell a teacher or someone at home. You want to help get the
bullying issue resolved as soon as possible so it does not turn into a bigger
problem. That can happen with bullying.
Third, check in on the person that is being bullied. You want to make sure
that they are okay and that they feel safe. If the bully thinks the person is
scared, then that will make the bully feel powerful and continue to bother
them. The bully will feel like they are getting a reaction from the person and
in a bullying situation that's one of the last things you want.
Fourth, if the bullying scenario continues, then you should tell the principle.
The principle has the most power in the school and the leadership won’t
like to hear that someone is getting bullied. If you are getting bullied or your
someone you know is getting bullied, don’t be scared to tell, it is the right
thing to do.

Fifth, if it is cyber bullying, make sure to save the stuff they sent you to
show your parents and then block them. Tell them you blocked them, so
they will realize that you are not getting the messages. Hopefully, this will
make them stop trying to cyber bully you. A bully is just looking for a
reaction.

Lastly, be a good friend or classmate. The person is going through a really
tough time and they may feel like no one wants to be around them. Make
the effort and ask them if they want to sit with you at lunch or play with you
at recess. That could give them the confidence they need to stand up to the
bully.
Unfortunately, there will most likely always be bullies. However, if we see
bullying and we help our friends and classmates, the bully will give up
because all he/she wants is a reaction. If they don’t get a reaction, they’ll
stop. So we can decrease the amount of bullies if we help the people who
need it. Don’t be a bystander, stand up.

Last year's winner: The Youngest Brookline Police Chief

File photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch