This Principal Heard A Student Was Being Bullied, So He Decided To Take Matters Into His Own Hands

this principal heard a student was being bullied so he decided to take matters into his own hands it's a principals job to handle a school's biggest issues so when Tim Hadley found out that one of his students was being bullied he didn't sit idly by instead he took action and taught his pupils a lesson in an unexpected way Iowa native Hadley served as the principal at Pekin middle school an educational institute in his home state in 2017 one of Hadley students Jackson Johnston had to face some difficult news about a beloved family member the 11 year olds grandfather who he called Papa Rick had been diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma the cancer spread through his lymph nodes and blood and doctors informed the family in late 2016 that Papa Rick's case was incurable however Johnston's beloved grandfather still underwent an eight-month cancer treatment a combination of a stem cell transplant and chemotherapy the lander is known to lead to bodily hair loss a potential side effect that worried Papa Rick Johnston's mom and Papa Rick's daughter amber explained the grandfather's fears to the Des Moines Register in 2017 my dad thought it would be an outward sign that he had cancer he also believed everyone he saw would be thinking poor Rick and he was just dreading that despite his young age Johnston seemed to recognize his grandfather's worries then the boy came up with an idea he decided to shave his head in the first weeks of 2017 to stand in solidarity with Papa Rick Johnston's mom reported that his plan brought so much joy to his grandfather who had been down since his diagnosis Jackson shaving his head for Papa was letting him know that I can't do much to help you Papa I'm only 11 but you won't be alone amber said unfortunately though not everyone received Johnston's gesture so warmly in fact the boy himself had trouble dealing with the trim at first according to Amber he said he loved his bangs and held the locks of hair falling in his hands during his haircut still Johnston wasn't the toughest critic of his haircut in fact pleasing his grandfather had helped him feel better about it but when he returned to school with his freshly shaved head his classmates had plenty to say about his buzz cut sadly few of their comments were nice reportedly students at Pekin middle school hurled insults at him such as you look like a cancer patient others asked why would you want a cancer patients haircut and some went simpler hey Baldy needless to say this hurt Johnson's feelings the distressed boy confided in his mom after school telling her just how upset his fellow students had made him upon hearing this amber reached out to the school's principal Tim Hadley who was also disappointed to hear what had happened we take the issue of bullying seriously Hadley explained to the Des Moines Register but the principal realized that wasn't enough of a statement in this case I thought if you believe in something you have to find a way to stand up and literally show your support he added so after speaking to Amber he came up with an even better way to teach his students a lesson I was lying in bed and I thought maybe I'll get hold of this mom and ask her to send those Clippers in Hadley said yes he decided to show his support for Johnson and take a stance against bullying by shaving his head too and the very next day Headley planned a school assembly so that everyone could watch as he had his hair buzzed however Handley would have a very special hairdresser do the trick during the 9:00 a.m. assembly it was Johnston who had shaved the principal's head and unlike the day before he only heard cheers of support from his classmates this was all part of Hadleys plan he admitted that he could have followed a more traditional protocol to discipline the students who had made fun of Johnson's haircut but he thought the assembly would make a stronger impression still surely he couldn't have imagined just how much of a statement he would make with his actions indeed Hadley said his students later offered their own experiences with cancer to Johnson as well as words of encouragement and high fives furthermore it seemed these special assembly had tugged at the conscience of the bullies as Hadley explained some of the kids who said something Monday found out that it upset Jackson through this event and apologized I never addressed any of them individually they chose to apologize moreover the principal's gesture rippled into the local community to people texted and called the Johnston family to extend their support other children shaved their heads and one local cancer patient decided to stop wearing her wig this all delighted Papa Ric too but most of all the experience taught the impressionable students of peak in middle school an important lesson Hadley said one of the last things I told the kids at the Assembly was you never know what someone else is going through what they have may look so perfect on Facebook and Instagram but inside they could be broken so before you pass that judgment stop and think