Bullying can be glossed over as “kids being kids” but its effect can be devastating. In Greenfield, Indiana, a 10‑year‑old named Sammy Teusch took his own life after being repeatedly bullied at school. And his story is horrible because though his parents pleaded with the school to help; yet nothing did.
Sammy was bullied about his glasses and his teeth. What began as teasing quickly turned into emotional and physical abuse (he had to deal with.) “They were just making fun of him for his glasses, I guess and they liked to make fun of his teeth. It went on for such a long time.” The cruelty followed him everywhere on the bus where he was assaulted but he was able to hide it.
Sammy’s parents had to meet with the school more than 20 times and pleaded with educators and administrators for the school to do something to protect their son, but there were no immediate moves done. Sammy was left vulnerable and the bullying continued until the day he took his own life in 2016. And his father said I took his boy (a 10‑year‑old boy) and I held him in my arms the way no father should ever have to hold children.
Sammy’s tragedy highlights a larger problem: schools can often fail to tackle bullying effectively. Policies are there, procedures remain ambiguous. Emotional bullying, mocking, exclusion, verbal abuse is as harmful as physical bullying. As a child, especially at such a very young age, frequent humiliation can diminish self and hope.
The child isn’t just an individual. This case isn’t just a case of a boy. Schools, communities and society have every responsibility to protect children. Bullying must never be neglected. All reports should be taken seriously, and every child should feel safe in their classroom, on the bus and in their community if he/she’s a member of us.
Sammy Teusch’s life is a bitter illustration of what happens to kids if bullying is ignored. A child is dead and a family is mourning. His death should prompt rapid change not because a parent must have to hold their child afterward but because no child should ever feel like ending their life is the only way to survive cruel, wrong and wrong behavior, he said.
