Different Children

QUESTION: Today's comes from GR...
"Why are children so cruel? Our son has some slight physical handicaps, and it's really hard for us to watch some of the children in his class make fun of him and call him nicknames that are hurtful. We've thought about saying something to his teachers, but we don't want to be complainers".

IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
Children can be hurtful to those they see as different. It seems to be programmed into our nature to be conscious of differences. Perhaps it was an aid to survival in more primative times for like beings to band together for protection. I would certainly approach his teacher about this, as well as any religious teachers of the other students because they aren't doing their job properly. They should be teaching the children that it's ok to be different. It's worthwhile to point out to your son that he is different, but also point out that all students in his class have a point of difference. The more different types of children are in a class, the more likely they will, with the right teaching, come to accept each other and grow up tolerant.
In my locality there are many different schools run by various religions. Children are divided up based on the religion of their parents and educated separately. This cannot be conducive to harmony as young people grow up with mutual distrust and lack of understanding. All children should be educated together, with religious instruction kept for a separate time.

BILLY GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6039