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On the Bus - 03/02/07

Skit Synopsis

Keisha and her younger brother Curtis are boarding a crowded school bus to go home when Keisha sees that her friend Tammy has saved her a seat.

 

 

What is the problem?

03-02-07: Hennigan School • Grade 5 • Boston, Massachusetts:
What I think the problem is that Tammy's T-Shirt says "I'm with stupid" and the arrow is pointing at Keisha and Keisha feels bad about that because she didn't like the message of the t-Shirt. Nelsmarie

I think the problem is that Tammy wanted Keisha to sit so Keisha would get embarassed. That's why she said “Sit with me, I was saving this spot just for you.” Alexander

I think that the problem is that Tammy put on the shirt to make fun of Keisha. Margarita

03-09-07: St. Stephens Elementary • Grade 4/5 • Conover, North Carolina:
The problem is that kids are making fun of Keisha's shirt. Brian

In the skit Curtis and Keisha are getting on the bus and people start laughing at Keisha when Tammy took her jacket off. Tammy's shirt said "I'm With Stupid" and everyone started laughing at Keisha and calling her stupid to make fun of her. Keisha was getting mad because of what the t-shirt said. Jenna

Keisha is being called "stupid" by 2 kids in the background because her friend, Tammy took her jacket off and it said “I’m with stupid" and an arrow is pointing at Keisha. Kashia

Tammy had a shirt on that said "I’m with stupid" and then the voice in the background started to talk about what Tammy’s shirt said.Then after that voice in the background 2 started to talk about how stupid the shirt looked and called her stupid. Then she got mad whenever background 2 called her stupid and then she asked "who are you calling stupid" and then she said "I’m never sitting with her again." Then Curtis said "because of a tee shirt? Then finally Keisha said "She thinks she's so funny." After I read that story Iwas amazed and it was the best one I’ve ever read! Kiasia

03-02-07: Fausey Elementary School • Grade 5 • West Springfield, Massachusetts:
I think the problem is that Keisha is getting mad over a tee shirt just like Keisha’s brother said to Keisha. So Keisha is overreacting over a tee shirt that just says "I'm sitting with stupid" doesn't mean anything. Anonymous

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
The problem: Tammy wore a t-shirt that was offensive to Keisha, and the background voices were being immature and making fun of her. Anna

How might this situation on the bus affect people?

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
The T-shirt that Tammy is wearing could cause a fight on the bus. Aaliyah

03-09-07: St. Stephens Elementary • Grade 4/5 • Conover, North Carolina:
The situation affects the bus driver, because the bus driver can't leave until every one is seated on the bus. Brian

The bus can't leave until they are all sitting down. Byanca & Kayla

Do you think it was Tammy's intention to hurt Keisha's feelings?

03-02-07: Fausey Elementary School • Grade 5 • West Springfield, Massachusetts:
I don't think that Tammy meant to call Keisha stupid, because when I heard the skit and Tammy say that she was hot and she needed to take her coat off, it sounded like she was really hot and that she kind of forgot that she was wearing the shirt. So when the people in the background started laughing and one of them called Keisha stupid, and Keisha left, Tammy said “Come on" and when she said that she sounded like she was sorry and that she wanted to say sorry. Daniela

03-02-07: Hennigan School • Grade 5 • Boston, Massachusetts:
No I don't think it was Tammy’s intention to hurt Keisha because she maybe didn't know anyone would notice when she took off her sweater. Janisel

03-08-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I think that Tammy was more of a popular kid than Keisha was. When Keisha got the opportunity to sit with a more popular kid she took it. I think Tammy planned to make fun of Keisha with the shirt, and when she announced she was taking off the jacket others were aware of what was happening and it was a cue to start laughing.
Leslie

I think I would have laughed at myself, but I still would have been sad. It still is mean no matter what the circumstances are. When I think about putting myself in that position I feel that it is mean, and it wasn't right for Tammy to do that. Etel

Now that I think about it more, if I were Keisha I'd be really sad. I also think it was planned.
Courtney

03-02-07: Hennigan School • Grade 5 • Boston, Massachusetts:
I think that Tammy did it intentionally because she even said, "It's hot. Hold this Keisha. I've got to take my jacket off." Then everybody starts laughing and Tammy doesn't even say sorry. Justin

03-09-07: St. Stephens Elementary • Grade 4/5 • Conover, North Carolina:
I think Tammy's trick was disrespectful and rude. She played the trick on purpose because Tammy saved a seat for Keisha. All the kids in the background should of never laughed at her because it was encouraging the problem. Christian

I think Tammy was not nice because the joke that they said was not nice at all. They should be nice to her because they should treat her like they want to be treated. If I was on that bus I will not laugh at all. Joel

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I think Tammy intentionally saved the seat for Keisha so that she could take off her sweatshirt so she would be the one sitting there with the arrow pointing at her. Courtney

I think Tammy did do it on purpose because she said "I was saving it just for you." This led me to believe it was planned. I think Tammy also talked to the background voices so they were aware it was going to happen. Lindsay

I think when Keisha was getting on the bus it seemed like there may have been a prior plan to sit together. Liam

03-02-07: Central Park East II • Grade 5 • New York, New York:
I think Tammy is mostly at fault, but Keisha over-reacted. Phoebe

I agree with Phoebe. BN

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I think Tammy didn't do it intentionally and that the background voices made the situation worse by saying mean things to Keisha. Saskia

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
Why did Tammy wear that shirt? Yamiliah

03-02-07: Hennigan School • Grade 5 • Boston, Massachusetts:
Tammy wore it because maybe she's getting back at Keisha for something. Jasmine

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
Why did Tammy do that to Keisha? Nia

03-02-07: Central Park East II • Grade 5 • New York, New York:
I think that Tammy tried to humiliate Keisha on purpose. And if it was a joke, I don't think it's a funny joke. She shouldn't wear that shirt near anybody. Rayna

Continue the Conversation....
What is the difference between joking and teasing?

Email your ideas to contact@talkitoutkids.org and we will post them here.
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03-02-07: Hennigan School • Grade 5 • Boston, Massachusetts:
I think the problem is that Tammy didn't mean to do that because she just tried to get people’s attention so they can make that a joke. Brian

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
Why would she, Tammy, show off for people just to humiliate her best friend? Jordan

03-08-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I think that maybe Tammy and Keisha were friends but were in different classes. I also think the background voices were in Tammy's class so they were aware that she was wearing the shirt, but Keisha was not. Liam

I think Keisha may have thought she and Tammy were friends but Tammy wasn't really friends with her. She may have acted like it, but wasn't really. Lindsay

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
I think Tammy wanted the attention because Keisha's brother Curtis needed to get some one to teach her a lesson about bothering him every day just to get on the afternoon bus. Anonymous

03-09-07: St. Stephens Elementary • Grade 4/5 • Conover, North Carolina:
I think Tammy was not nice because the joke that they said was not nice at all. They should be nice to her because they should treat her like they want to be treated. If I was on that bus I will not laugh at all. Joel

I feel that Tammy should have apologized to Keisha for what she had done because the other kids made fun of Keisha. Keisha would be mad at Tammy for wearing the “I’m with stupid” shirt. It would be bad to embarrass someone because you could lose your friendship. Evan

This is what I will think that Tammy should change her shirt inside out so it will not hurt any ones feeling because what if someone does the same thing to you. Thomas

If Tammy turned her shirt inside out, it wouldn’t be so offensive and mean. Dylan

If Tammy will turn her tee shirt inside out maybe it will not be so off. McKenzie

I think that Tammy should have asked if Keisha would have minded, or Tammy could have rolled up her sleeves. Allison

I think Tammy should have excused her self to go turn her shirt inside out or get another shirt. Caitlyn

I think Tammy should have not worn that shirt because anybody who sat beside her would have felt like Tammy wasn’t a good person or friend, so she should have taken responsibility for the whole entire situation. Kyla

How did Keisha's reaction help or hinder the situation?

03-02-07: Fausey Elementary School • Grade 5 • West Springfield, Massachusetts:
I hope you understand that Keisha also over-reacted since Tammy didn't say anything negative. She didn't even laugh. Kathrine and Geoff

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I think Keisha overreacted to the situation. I understand why she's mad, but I think it was a joke. I also think Tammy should have apologized. Charlotte

03-02-07: Fausey Elementary School • Grade 5 • West Springfield, Massachusetts:
I think that Keisha is over-reacting to this situation. Tammy might not have meant what her shirt said. It might have been an accident about the shirt but the backround voices made it no better. They should not laugh like that. Keisha should also be nicer to her brother also. She shouldn't have rubbed sitting in the front in Curtis's face. Anonymous

I think Keisha over-reacted because it was just supposed to be a joke and Tammy didn't realize that she was wearing that shirt because Keisha's her friend and she probably would never do that to a friend because I wouldn't do that ever. And it was background voice 1 is the person who caused all of this fight or '' joke'' that started because he said "yeah it’s stupid" which made the wrong impression on Keisha about Tammy and Tammy's shirt. Kathrine and Geoff

03-02-07: Central Park East II • Grade 5 • New York, New York:
I think that Keisha was not over-reacting because Tammy was very mean to even try to play that joke on Keisha. Zoe

03-09-07: Neighborhood School • Grade 5/6 • Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts:
I think that if I was Keisha I would not have over-reacted so much. I think if she had ignored the joke then the bystanders wouldn't have laughed, because if I hadn't taken offense then Tammy would feel like there was no reason for the joke and realize that it was for no good. I think Keisha's decision to storm away wasn't good either because it made everyone else think that she was cowardly or like a scaredy cat. Keisha should've asked Tammy why she did that and it would have worked out better. Aryeh

What could Keisha do to help herself?

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
Even if your feelings are really hurt try not to overreact because then people may make fun of you even more. Liam

03-02-07: Fausey Elementary School • Grade 5 • West Springfield, Massachusetts:
I think Keisha should calm down and take a chill pill. Anonymous

03-02-07: Central Park East II • Grade 5 • New York, New York:
I think that Keisha was not aggressive and that she could have told Tammy "That's not a joke, I'm not going to tolerate people calling me stupid." LJ

I think that Keisha was supposed to say how she felt about background voices and that they were teasing her and that she didn't think it was necessary for Tammy to tease her. She felt accused of being something that she wasn't because of those background voices. LJ

I think Keisha should never have spoken back to Tammy because then Tammy would have felt really bad later. If it were me, I would have ignored it. I don't care if I'm humiliated, as long as I don't humiliate the person making the joke and then I would feel bad about myself. If I say something back, I will make it worse and I'll feel bad for saying something mean. As long as I don't say anything bad then it's okay. BN

03-09-07: St. Stephens Elementary • Grade 4/5 • Conover, North Carolina:
Keisha shouldn't have to take it so seriously it was just a joke. If I was Keisha I would have said this. "You shouldn't call people that!" That is how I would have handled the problem. Keyona

Instead of Keisha saying shut up, she could have said “ It hurts”. Allison

I would tell Tammy to apologize to me or I am not your friend. You are going to stop right now or else I will treat you the same way! I would tell her, “Why did you do that to me?”. Jorge

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I think Keisha could have laughed it off. I also think she could have had a come back- something along the lines of “Yah, I'm stupid so what.” Charlotte

I agree with Charlotte that Keisha should pretend it doesn't bother her. I think that later when there aren't a bunch of kids around she should talk to Tammy and let her know how much it hurt her feelings. Liam

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
I do think that Keisha should try to make up with Tammy because if Tammy really didn’t mean to call her stupid then she would probably want to make up so they could be friends again. Daniela

If you were Keisha what would you do?

03-22-07: Fausey Elementary School • Grade 5 • West Springfield, Massachusetts:
If I was in a situation like Kiesha and I was being laughed at, I would laugh right back. Charlotte

If I was Kiesha, I would do exactly what she did; I would move to the back of the bus. I probably wouldn't call the kids "stupid", I'd tell them to shut up. Mike

If I was in a situation like Kiesha I would probably ignore it; it's not worth the trouble. Mason

If I was Kiesha I would laugh at myself if Tammy was really my friend. If Tammy embarrassed me and I was not her friend, I would confront her and explain to her that what she is doing is wrong. Jessica

If I was in a situation like Kiesha, I would walk away just as she did. Kieran

If I was in Kiesha's situation, I would say in a laughing way, " Nice going guys". Normally when I do something like that it gets the joker annoyed and they stop teasing me. Alina

How did the other kids' reactions help or hinder the situation?

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I think that Keisha shouldn't be mad a Tammy because she didn't say anything. I think she should be upset at the background voices because they were the ones really making fun of her. Lindsay

03-09-07: St. Stephens Elementary • Grade 4/5 • Conover, North Carolina:
The background kids are contributing to the problem, because their laughter is making Keisha upset even more. Brian

The other kids on the bus were making the problem worse by teasing Keisha and laughing. Jenna

The 2 kids in the background are contributing to the problem because they are laughing at Keisha and calling her stupid. Kashia

The background people were making the problem because they were laughing at Keisha. Byanca & Kayla

In the background on the bus the kids should not have called Keisha stupid because of Tammy's shirt that said "I'm with stupid." Jamar

03-02-07: Fausey Elementary School • Grade 5 • West Springfield, Massachusetts:
I not only think it was just background voice 1, I think it’s also background voice 2 too because he’s the one who said "hey look who’s sitting with Keisha" and that also drew the attention to Keisha. These are the people that I thought caused most of the commotion. Kathrine and Geoff

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
The background people were contributing to the problem by laughing when Tammy took her jacket off. Alexis

Continue the Conversation....
How could others have helped without taking sides?

Email your ideas to contact@talkitoutkids.org and we will post them here.
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What could any of the kids do to make the situation better?

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
If Tammy didn't wear a shirt like that to school, or just rolled her sleeves up instead of taking off her jacket. Courtney

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
Tammy should not have done that to Keisha! Jada

03-09-07: St. Stephens Elementary • Grade 4/5 • Conover, North Carolina:
I think that Keisha and Curtis should have not been fighting about where to sit on the bus. When they got on the bus they should have sat together instead of getting mad at each other. Keisha should just apologize to Curtis about making fun of where he had sat on the bus. Jamar

I think that if the students stopped laughing the problem might stop. Hunter

The kids could make the problem better by apologizing to Keisha and not laugh at her anymore. Jenna

If the other kids did not laugh at Keisha because Keisha wouldn't feel that bad. Kashia

The kids could improve the situation by apologizing to Keisha for laughing at her when Tammy's t-shirt called her stupid. Byanca & Kayla

It wasn't very nice when the background people was laughing at Keisha. Instead of laughing they should have told Tammy that was wrong and tell Tammy to apologize to Keisha. Keyona

If the other kids did not laugh at Keisha because Keisha wouldn't feel that bad. Kashia

I feel that Curtis and Keisha are not happy with each other because of yesterday and them missing the bus. I think that the kids should stop laughing at Keisha and Curtis. Hunter

If someone called me stupid I would tell them how I felt and try to solve the problem. Since Tammy's tee shirt said "Im with stupid" (with an arrow pointing at Keisha) doesn't mean that other people should laugh at Keisha. People should apologize to Keisha and be friends. Keyona

03-02-07: Madison Park Community Center • Ages 10-13 • Lower Roxbury, Massachusetts:
Tammy should have told Keisha that she had the insulting shirt on and that she should not take the comment on her t-shirt personal. Alexis

03-02-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I agree with Saskia that Tammy should apologize to Keisha. I also think the background voices should as well. I think the background voices should have stayed out of it. Diana

I think that Tammy should explain that she didn't mean to hurt her feelings. Even if it was a joke. I think she should say she's sorry for hurting her feelings. I think the two people who should really apologize are background voice 1 and 2. I think they were making it worse for both of them. Liam

Continue the Conversation....
Why would someone wear something that might offend someone?

Email your ideas to contact@talkitoutkids.org and we will post them here.
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03-02-07: Central Park East II • Grade 5 • New York, New York:
This story reminds me of the time I saw a racist t-shirt. When I saw it, I was thinking that that person was really mean. Zoe

03-08-07: Truro Central School • Grade 5 • Truro, Massachusetts:
I think that the shirts that say "I'm with stupid" aren't as bad as the shirts that have racist comments on them. However, it would be taken the same way if you had learning disabilities. Liam

After more thought I think the shirt could be very offensive especially if the person targeted did not have many friends, or if they had learning disabilities. Charlotte

Even if I was really smart and the person next to me wore that shirt I would still feel offended because I may not be smart in all aspects of life. I think it was really mean that Tammy did that to Keisha. Diane

I agree with what Liam said. I don't think the t-shirts people make are trying to be mean, I think it is a marketing tool and companies are making a lot of money. Courtney

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