Aija Mayrock
GETTY IMAGES (2); AIJA MAYROCK
A U T H O R | The Survival Guide to Bullying: Written by a Teen
NOW A CONFIDENT 22-year-old NYU student studying social justice and dramatic writing, it’s tough to believe that Aija Mayrock endured years of physical, verbal and online bullying that started at age 14. “I actually never told my parents what was going on,” she says. “It wasn’t until a viral cyberattack in ninth grade that I broke down.” She decided to take action to help others by writing a real-world survival guide. “I saw a news story about a young boy who committed suicide because he was bullied,” she says. “I was so angry that there were kids around the world who couldn’t find the strength to go on. I remember that night so vividly, and I remember sitting down and putting pen to paper and beginning the book.” The teen worked on the book for about two years, a process that involved interviewing and working with psychologists and other health experts to create something that would “not just help students but also parents and educators.” Mayrock says a problem with bullying is that the same emotional walls kids build to protect themselves from insults also serve to cut them off from family and friends. “I never felt like anyone was listening,” she says. “I wanted the book to serve as a guide, as a flashlight, as a tool for any young person to ask for help and find the right tools to get through it successfully.” The Survival Guide to Bullying is now sold in 16 countries, and Mayrock regularly hears from those who have benefited from her transparency. “I’ve had the most incredible response,” she says. “I receive
“ What knocked me down is not as important as what made me stand up.” — Aija Mayrock
To learn more about Mayrock’s book and activism, visit aijamayrock.com. messages from (people) all over the world that I’ve changed their lives, saved their lives. Bullying is a universal problem. It affects every single kid, whether they are being bullied or just witnessing it happen.” Mayrock now acts and writes screenplays, which “dovetail into my activism,” she says, “to tell stories that give a voice to the voiceless.” l
READING, WRITING & ACTIVISM Some schools — such as Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. — believe social justice and activism are important parts of students’ studies. Karen Dresden, founder and head of school, says children should understand that the skills they learn can help make a difference. “It’s not, ‘When you grow up, you can do something meaningful with this,’” she says. “Even young children can make a difference. It’s a big part of our model.” That translates into first-graders teaching the local community about the decimation of bees and 11th-graders convening a food justice summit. This year, the school’s art department curated a learning module titled “Children’s Voices in Protest” for second-, third- and fourth-graders. The unit culminated with the students traveling to the National Mall in June to perform slam poetry, sing songs, tell stories and participate in other forms of performance art, followed by a short march. “What we aim to do is provide students information and give them space to make their own decisions and voice their own opinions and also learn that people won’t have the same opinion,” Dresden says. — Rina Rapuano
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