Stop Bullying Now!

**Holly3278** · #1 Apr 10, '08, 2:06 am

When I was in school, I was a victim of bullying. It really made me feel depressed at times and at other times I was able to handle it quite well. However, not all people are like that. Some people simply can't handle bullying at all but regardless, bullying is wrong. I don't care if it is the openly homosexual kid at school being bullied or the shy girl at school being bullied, it is wrong regardless of the victim and regardless of the perpetrators. Bullying needs to be stopped. Please read the following links for more information:

http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_f...ilies/bullying

manualman · #2 Apr 10, '08, 3:16 pm

And read "Please Stop Laughing at Me" for a quite moving account of the childhood of someone habitually bullied.

I've read it and I was one of those kids who saw it happening and did nothing to stop it. Never recognized how serious it could be until I was much older.

Monicathree · #3 Apr 10, '08, 7:52 pm

I totally agree something has to be done, and it must start at home. I just watched that disgusting horrible video of that little girl being beaten by those viscious girls. They stood there and watched. I still am absolutely livid when I see that. I get sick to my stomach to think of how this will damage that little girl, and to think of how her mom must feel. I hope that justice prevails. I do not care about the "why" that of course is an issue that should, like I said be dealt with in general, but they all did what they did and should be totally held accountable...that poor little girl. God help them if that was my girl....I don't care...I am absolutely disgusted with this behaviour....

Cathy · #4 Apr 11, '08, 12:04 am

Schools do not take bullying seriously. Teachers do not take bullying seriously. Yard duties do not take bullying seriously. It doesn't matter how much they say they do. They are so used to hearing it that they are deaf to it. If you have a possibility of home schooling your child, do it. If you don't, then do all you can to be at the playground when your chidren are out there, seeing to it they are safe. Hire someone if you must. I was a one-on-one teacher's aid for a child with asperger's syndrome, who, I was told got bullied at times. At the same time, I was instructed not to stay too close to him at recess, so he could learn to fend for himself. Fortunately, his mom sent the boy's caregiver from home to be with him at lunch recess. I saw that it was a good idea.

I don't trust public schools any more. Both my boys were seriously bullied at school. When my 7-year-old cried every morning that he didn't want to go to schoiol, and asked me (several times) to do him a favor and kill him so he wouldn't have to be bullied any more, I took him out of school and started home schooling. I'm glad I did. He was much happier after that, and so was I.

When I saw my state preschool teacher bullying the pre-school children, I took my second son out of school, with the advice of his pediatrician. So I home schooled both sons for several years. The first three months my second son was back in junior high, he was beaten up on the school ground every day, because he liked Pokemon. Finally he told me about it, and the administrators did suspend the culprit, but they didn't put any more teachers out to supervise the students during the lunch hour, which is what was needed.

What is needed is a good strong dose of the Word of God in our schools: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."

Mighty Q · #5 Apr 11, '08, 3:51 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Wills, Singer

'm a little boy with glasses
The one they call the geek
A little girl who never smiles
'Cause I've got braces on my teeth
And I know how it feels
To cry myself to sleep

I'm that kid on every playground
Who's always chosen last
A single teenage mother
Tryin' to overcome my past
You don't have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

I'm the cripple on the corner
You've passed me on the street
And I wouldn't be out here beggin'
If I had enough to eat
And don't think I don't notice
That our eyes never meet

I lost my wife and little boy when
Someone cross that yellow line
The day we laid them in the ground
Is the day I lost my mind
And right now I'm down to holdin'
This little cardboard sign...so

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

Newbie2 · #6 Apr 11, '08, 4:47 am

This thread reminds me of a bumper sticker "Mean people s**k".

Of course, everyone is correct that bullying is bad and should be curtailed...and I'm in full agreement. I was a shy kid and took a share of bullying until I started to grow...then I got left alone.

I just wanted to mention the silver lining to the bullying cloud. Please don't misunderstand me in thinking bullying is good or should be allowed, but I found that the self-confidence that I gained from overcoming being taken advantage of was liberating and a true asset.

As well, there are misguided efforts to stop bullying in our public school, in my area anyway. The good intent is there, but the application is faulty. "No Tolerance" and "Restorative Practice" policies can be misapplied and can also be counterproductive. I won't go into detail, but had an experience where one of my kids was goofing off with one of his friends at school. His friend took my son's lunch, and off he went, chasing him down the hallway.

Instead of the teacher stopping them and giving them a good tongue-lashing, they both got detention for running in the hall. Fair enough. But we had to refuse allowing them to have to attend a "Restorative Practice" session, in which a Bully and his target sit down and make nice. This was my son and one of his best friends! It would have taken up the time of the facilitator perhaps from a real bullying case.

Kids will be kids, but there's a line that shouldn't be crossed. Perhaps the answer is better training, at least in the schools, to recognize and deal with bullying. So yes, down with bullying, but let's do it right.

Mighty Q · #7 Apr 11, '08, 4:53 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newbie2

<snip>

As well, there are misguided efforts to stop bullying in our public school, in my area anyway. The good intent is there, but the application is faulty. "No Tolerance" and "Restorative Practice" policies can be misapplied and can also be counterproductive. I won't go into detail, but had an experience where one of my kids was goofing off with one of his friends at school. His friend took my son's lunch, and off he went, chasing him down the hallway.

<snip>

I hate "Zero Tolerance" policies (in regards to violence). They actually lead to more bullying.

I was bullied as a kid, right up to the day I got sick of it and pummeled the school bully.

In this day and age, I would have probably been suspended, if not expelled.

Cathy · #8 Apr 11, '08, 5:07 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mighty Q

I hate "Zero Tolerance" policies (in regards to violence). They actually lead to more bullying.

I wholeheartedly agree. I think it's a lazy man's answer to the bulllying. Have the whole school look at people acting as bullies in a play and presto! every teenage ruffian now understands how much it hurts to be bullied and they'll stop, and we teachers, administrators, etc. can rest easier. Ridiculous! Now all the kids have more ideas on how to bully people and they'll do it even more. That's what I see happening. The least common denominator is taking over our schools.

I need prayer. I'm getting discouraged.

Simon X · #9 Apr 11, '08, 6:21 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mighty Q

I hate "Zero Tolerance" policies (in regards to violence). They actually lead to more bullying.

I was bullied as a kid, right up to the day I got sick of it and pummeled the school bully.

In this day and age, I would have probably been suspended, if not expelled.

Good for you Mighty Q, between you and me, when my kids were younger (they're both in High School now), I actually told them if they're picked on to defend themselves. I don't believe in violence, but yeah, let's get real, better to teach someone to stand up for themselves then depend on whoever's in charge.

hawkeye · #10 Apr 11, '08, 6:27 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holly3278

Please read the following links for more information:

Don't need to read your links, I know a lot about bullying.

strngrnrth · #11 Apr 11, '08, 8:03 pm

Ideas to stop bullying:
More freedom to homeschool in all states.
School choice, easy transfers, incentives to schools for attracting students.
Smaller schools, smaller classes, school designed as office buildings, apartment buildings, houses and gyms are, not as prisons are, less walking from class to class.
Parents who can't stop their children from harassing others will lose their free education privileges and have to homeschool or pay tuition.
Awards and honors for children who defend others.

Brian Millar · #12 Apr 11, '08, 9:38 pm

The sad truth to this matter, it doesn't end in school, these kids grow up and continue their way's to hurt others. They are also right in line with the world, they fit right in perfectly.

strngrnrth · #13 Apr 12, '08, 9:15 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Millar

The sad truth to this matter, it doesn't end in school, these kids grow up and continue their way's to hurt others. They are also right in line with the world, they fit right in perfectly.

Not always. Those who learn the results of bullying people in the real world stop soon enough unless they are sociopaths or very slow to learn from experience.

sarah_anne_628 · #14 Apr 12, '08, 11:15 am

I was bullied by an older boy when I was seven...so I used my allowance to hire a boy older than the first one to be my body guard! hehehe

I am a huge advocate for homeschooling. If I ever have children, that's what I plan on doing. The very idea that children need to go to school to get a taste of the "real world" is so laughable to me. There is nothing "real" about the school setting.

As far as name calling and teasing...well, there's probably not much one can do about that. It's something every kid has got to deal with it. I'm sure there are measures that can be taken to reduce it...but I'm not concerned with that right now.

What worries me is the actual VIOLENCE! It's one thing when school aged boys wrestle and fight amongst each other...and it is important for teachers and administration to discern that. But when kids are getting jumped on the playground (or more often two blocks away from school)...that is completely different. That's where "zero tolerance" comes in. And for me, that word doesn't mean detention or suspension.,...it means expulsion (depending on the degree of violence and situation).

Depending on the age of the aggressor and the degree of violence...I would even venture to suggest prosecution.

But I suppose my solutions are deemed "politically correct". I mean, after all, what would happen to the bullies if we kicked them out of school? Quite honestly, I don't care. There can be another (oh so successful) government "program" to deal with those...but it shouldn't be the school system. ALL kids and teachers have a right to attend school in a safe environment.

Don't get me wrong, I am not completely heartless...I would like to see the bullies be successful as well and get the help they need (often times they have disadvantaged home lives)...but not at the expense of all the innocent non-violent kids sense of safety.

sarah_anne_628 · #15 Apr 12, '08, 11:19 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by strngrnrth

Not always. Those who learn the results of bullying people in the real world stop soon enough unless they are sociopaths or very slow to learn from experience.

I agree...that type of bullying usually stops at youth. I know very few people who have continued to be bullied as an adult (but many more who are scarred by the effects of bullying, hence, another reason I favor homeschooling).

The people who continue to bully are usually criminals. I've actually encountered several people considered bullied in school in adult life...and they are normal, productive citizens...one girl was even a complete sweetie...and I was so scared she was gonna kick my butt all through middle school...lol!