Now Hear this.

Tag: education

  • It’s not what it looks like.

    I was walking through my local park early one morning, and I saw these little birds flying round and round. I stopped to look at them, wondering why they were doing this. I thought they were playing, and I thought to myself that was nice.

    I’m not a bird, so I don’t know what goes through a bird’s brain or why they do what they do, but later, I thought about their behaviour again, and I changed my mind.

    On second thoughts, I don’t think they were just playing. I think they were feeding! The birds were small, but they were big enough for me to see them. But in the air, there were hundreds and hundreds of small flying insects that I couldn’t see, and the insects were the birds’ breakfast.

    When I left the park through a gate, I saw some of these small birds sitting on a wire. I think they were tired after flying round and round, and their little bellies must have been full, so they needed a rest and time to digest. But I don’t know for sure. I was wrong the first time, so maybe I’m wrong this time, too.

  • PINK SHIRT DAY

    This is a shop on Queen Street here in Auckland. As you can guess from the name, it’s a clothes shop, because many clothes are made from cotton. “Cotton on” has a special meaning in English. It means to finally understand something. But today I want to talk about the clothes that are inside the windows.

    They’re pink T-shirts because today is Pink Shirt Day. This day happens once a year, and the message is anti-bullying. In the changing room at the swimming pool this morning, I saw this message about it.

    Bullying can be a big problem, not only for school kids, but also for adults in the workplace. A school bully is usually bigger, older and stronger than the person they bully. They steal things from a weaker person, call them names, and generally make life hell for the bullied person. And at work, bosses can also sometimes be bullies. 

    Pink Shirt Day is a way of telling the victims of bullying that they’re not alone. When bullying victims see lots of people wearing pink or wearing these T-shirts, that gives the same message.

    And the message is to open your mouth and tell someone. Don’t keep quiet. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

    I bought this T-shirt today and also a tote bag to show support in my small way for the little guy.

    And Cotton: On is also giving all of the profits from the sale of these items to fight bullying.

    When I was at school, I was small and skinny, but luckily, nobody ever bullied me. When I hear stories today about bullying, though, it makes me very angry. Recently, I watched a Korean show on Netflix about bullying. There are two seasons, and it’s called Weak Hero. It has subtitles. You should watch it.