2007 - Primary - Honorable Mention - Dornbusch

Christina Joanne Dornbusch
5th Grade (Age 10), Old Turnpike School – Califon, NJ
Title: Prejudice, Essay
Teacher: Monika Ressler



Jan 16, 2007

It’s on the bus, it’s in school, it’s everywhere. I’m talking about prejudice. You may not notice it, but it’s sure to be near you. It may even be you. Prejudice is discriminating against a person before you truly know the whole story. You make assumptions and don’t bother to try to understand the person. These assumptions are usually negative and wrong. Prejudice hurts people, whether you mean to or not.

One place where I see prejudice every day is on the bus. I won’t mention names, but I will say that I see almost the whole bus against just a few specific people.

It started as just one person making fun of them. Then the kid’s friends joined in. Then their friends joined in. This kept on going until almost the whole bus was making fun of these students every day. But I don’t even think that half of the bus really dislikes the people they torment. They just followed what others were doing because they wanted to look cool in front of their friends. Seeing this happen makes me want to scream!

It’s sad to see this happen. I am almost sure that the kids being tormented are sad to the point of crying. But they try not to, because that would only make the humiliation worse.

Prejudice creates an insecure, uncreative atmosphere. It makes a person never feel secure enough to say anything, which is denying the Right of Speech. School is a place where every kid has a right to feel safe and to feel good about him or herself.

I am asking you this:

Don’t just go along with everyone else when you know it’s wrong (but, I know, it is tempting!)

Encourage your friends not to be prejudiced

Try to find out the whole story

Stand up for someone who is getting made fun of

Try to get people who are prejudiced to stop If everyone tries, prejudice can be stopped!