Here’s a classic example of bullying allowed to go on too long:
An 11-year-old girl was attacked by an elementary school classmate while riding a school bus because of her good grades in an assault that was caught on videotape, authorities said.
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said the classmate, also 11, had bullied the victim for several months at Alumni Memorial Elementary School in the Detroit suburb of Roseville. On June 8, as their bus was about to drop them off, the classmate jumped from her seat and began to strike the victim with both fists, Smith said.
“Eventually, the girl asked the mother if she could fail a test to avoid being beat up,” Smith told The Detroit News for a Friday story.
Why did it take videotaping one of these events on a school bus to get some action? It shouldn’t take MONTHS to identify and discipline a school bully.
The school board’s comment:
Joseph Steenland, president of the Roseville Community Schools Board of Education, told The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens that one or both of the students was disciplined, but he was not aware of the details of the discipline.
The victim would feign illness so she could be sent home from school to avoid being attacked, Langtry said. He said the mother talked with school administrators but the bullying only got worse.
Holy crap. Here’s the answer to the first question. Here you have the head of the Board of Education commenting on an embarrassing (to the board and the school) situation and he thinks one or BOTH students might be disciplined?
Since when should the victim of bullying get disciplined? Sticks’ answer would be to look at me and remind me of his school suspension for defending himself from a bully’s chokehold while watching the bully get off scot-free.
School admins, here’s a news flash for you: Kids who are bullied are the victims here. When are you going to get a clue and step on this conduct early?
Let’s get creative with this stuff and DEAL with the bullying head-on instead of allowing it to continue. This is exactly the age to nip it in the bud (both victim and bully were 11). Start by defining what bullying is, then define how it will be handled, form an official discipline policy and stick to it. Maybe some peer counseling program would help too.
What can parents do? Don’t back down. Stand up for your child and push for the schools to monitor and handle bullying problems before they go out of control.
Anyone got other ideas for how to handle school bullies? Let’s hear ‘em.
Technorati Tags: bully, bullies, intervention
