It's a shocking statistic to hear nationwide 140 thousand kids miss school everyday because they are afraid.
News 4 Anchorwoman Shelby Sheehan has heard from dozens of local students and parents dealing with this problem now, but also from several adults talking about what a big impact bullying has had on them even though it happened to them 5, 10, 20 even in one case 70 years ago.
Here's one man's story of being bullied and how it's impacted him as a parent:
"When I saw your piece on bullying I just went right to my computer and started writing that letter...it still affects you, when I wrote it it was almost like therapy," says Mark Sharkozy.
Growing up in rural Indiana wasn't easy for this 42 year old father of four.
His first bully was someone you might least expect, it wasn't a student...but a 3rd grade teacher.
"She locked me in a closet, slapped my hand with a ruler, stuff like that."
Sharkozy says he believes that abusive treatment sent a strong message to his peers, that bullying him was okay.
"I think it started that off with an adult figure doing that."
It was his peers who later picked up where his teacher left off. He was small and young for his grade which made him an easy target.
"The boys in the locker room grabbed me, took my clothes off, shoved me out the door, I was locked out in the gym with all the girls standing there."
In the letter that Mark wrote to Shelby Sheehan it also talked about at the age of 10 being thrown off a bus into the snow, getting eggs and cans thrown at his head while on his bike and having his underwear strung up a school flag pole.
He never got any help from teachers, principals or even his own parents, but somehow he knew eventually things would get better.
"It does beat you down, I don't know, I was just very, I had something else to do, I knew I could move on someday."
Sharkozy did move on.
After graduating from high school he joined the Marine Corps. A picture shows him on the top of Mt. Fuji.
He says that helped his confidence that had been whittled down by the years of bullying.
"When I went into the Marine Corps I grew up just boom, it's like taking a can of instant grow up!"
Twenty-five years later, he is now married with a grown daughter and three young ones who are just starting their education.
He's vowed that none of them will ever have to face bullying alone the way he did.
"No one was protecting you, no only myself...that's what I had was myself."
For him, communicating with his kids being involved in their activities and stepping in when needed are what it's going to take to keep them safe from bullying.
"You gotta keep trying, you can't just stop and say nothing can be done about it., boys will be boys, kids will be kids, it shouldn't be allowed."
If you have a story about bullying email Shelby Sheehan at
anchormom@mynewsfour.com. The response has been great so far, but we want to keep learning about what's going on in our children's schools.
