Speaker Rallies Flint Hill Students Against Bullying

When Ron Bachman entered into the Flint Hill School's gymnasium at full speed on his scooter whooping and hollering, the students whooped and hollered right back.

The fifth- through eighth-grade students had just seen a short video on Bachman, which explained how he was born with deformed legs that were amputated when he was 4 years old. It told how he overcome the odds and people against him, and how he has been successful not only as motivational speaker, but as a father and friend.

"If Ronnie Bachman can be born with two deformed legs and at the age of 4 have both of his legs amputated, learn to walk on his hands, and figure out a way to succeed in this world, find happiness, find a future ... then you can do it. There's nothing special about me."

He knows bullying, he told them. He's dealt with snickering and pointing and people making funny faces at him his whole life.

"People point at me and say, 'Look at this. Look at that.' Excuse me? That? This? I'm a living, breathing person with a heart and brain and feelings," Bachman said.

Bachman spoke to the school March 17 as part of his Walk This Way — Dodge 20 Group Tour, which brought him to more than 200 shows in the last 11 months. The tour concluded last week, but all sponsors have reupped for next year, Bachman said. Bachman's stop at Flint Hill School was sponsored by Farrish of Fairfax.

His message "Walk This Way" started from his relationship with Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and a documentary they did about how he learned to walk on his hands. But now, it's a state of mind.

"Walk this way, with a positive, anti-bullying, leave each other alone, be all you can be, feel good about you mindset," Bachman said in an interview before his presentation.

His talk with the students included much interaction. He encouraged them to shout out answers and even declarations of love. He invited students to stand next to him in front of the whole school to teach that student and the rest of the room a lesson about individuality and being mindful of others.

"Yes, it's your world. It's all for you. But you gotta understand that as much as it's for you, it's for everyone in this room. Don't impede on other people," he said to student Brittany Hendrix.

His antibullying message weaved into the presentation that also addressed tolerance and self-esteem.

"It's the easiest thing in the world to be nice. You gotta plot, you gotta plan, you gotta think about it to be mean. ... Really? Do you want to be 30 and walk back to that mirror and know that you are unkind?" Bachman said.

At one point Bachman called on middle-schooler Jamie Soucie to stand with him in front of her fellow students. He told her he loved her and said he appreciated her because he knew she'd never make funny faces at him if she saw him in the grocery store or anywhere else.

"I was a little nervous getting pulled up there," Soucie said. "But I learned that just because someone has disabilities doesn't mean they can't do things. Being different is OK."

Middle School counselor and wellness teacher John Magner said Bachman's presentation and the way the students responded was beyond expectations.

"My hope is the students had an experience that's so impactful, it's not going to go away. I hope it'll help cement some of the lessons we've been trying to teach, Magner said. "With his spirit they'll see he's just like any other human being and, in fact, has many gifts. So I hope each student learns they're fine just the way they are and that they have their own talents to help them succeed."