Bullying
 

In the interest of education, who knows what is being done to avoid bullying in schools and in countys accross the country?8-)

This should be in Sensitive Discussions.

That said, in my opinion nothing special should be done by the schools. Bullying is natural. I was verbally bullied incessantly as a child for being fat and poor at a private school for rich beautiful people. In turn, I physically beat anyone that messed with me, and they generally stopped doing it. It only served to strengthen me. I am now an inspired, classy, highly productive adult.

It is the responsibility of parents to train their children to behave properly and have tolerance and grace towards others. My parents taught me to love my enemies, which I didn't at the time, but as I've grown up, I've forgiven all of them for everything and can only thank them for helping shape me as the man that I am.

I believe many schools have programs such as Bully Proofing to educated kids on how to handle situations with bullies if they would encounter one.

Bullying is a serious thing as it can cause long-term damage, mentally and emotionally. There are cases where kids being bullied end up committing suicide. They call it Bullycide.

I think it is best to educate people on the best way to handle bullies.

Stack,

I have no problem this thread being moved to the Sensitive Discussions Forum. Can you do it?

After a few more comments, I'll respond.

Thanks

A moderator will need to move it.

Wirelessly posted (Lets Go Canes!)

We have proactive programs in our country. The schools are accountable to address any matters that arise on their campuses. The latest area is cyber bullying

As dc/dc has implied, bullying has always been with us. It is fascinating to me that most of us survived it and handled it on our own, without the need for adults to manage every aspect of childhood. While I am most certainly not a fan of bullying, I do on occasion wonder whether the well-meaning efforts of adults in this regard simply result in a population of child wimps who are unable to handle matters for themselves.

Moved.

I think schools have good intentions towards stopping bullying, but I don't think they will ever eliminate it. Some administrators/teachers are just not willing to stick their necks out (in extreme cases, perhaps) for fear of retribution (read: lawsuit) from the bully's parents, or even from some gun-toting freak (I'm pro-gun, uh, but not for students)

There is also cyber-bullying, which the schools can do little about, except to block access to computers or social networking sites. Don't even get me started on the bullying via cell phones. I'm just glad all this technology wasn't around when I was in school.

Knock on wood, neither of my kids have had issues with bullys at school. My son is 17 (6' 1", 270lbs, and plays hockey) so is pretty much left alone from bullys - although he is quite outgoing and gets along with almost everyone. My daughter is 11 and if someone gives her a hard time she gives it right back and/or will tell them where to get off (I have no idea where she got that 'tude :razz:).

Juwaack and other on this thread, cyberbullying is the latest trend in bullying. As I have been both an educator as well as administrator in schools, problems lie in parents, teachers and administartors who believe bullying is just part of growing beinig totally insenitive to the consequences. We have seen across our country what some negative severe consequences are in schools (I don't think I need to mention). I personally witnessed in two school systems ignoring bullying by one or several students in schools because they were favorites.

There are US Department of Justice policies on the detection and prevention of bullying as well as laws. It will take this entire nation - parents, teachers, educators and organizations to take action whenever bullying exist or is known. It must be reported. My thoughts and research does document it is being address at the highest level. We don't need anyone to have their civil rights violated because someone doesn't like something about someone else.

BULLYING IS NATURAL!!

The DoJ, schools, NGOs, President Nixon, Mother Russia, and anyone else you mentioned should only be minimally involved in this part of growing up. Everything else should be handled by parents. This is not high-level "problem" requiring the attention of the UN or other high-level people or organizations.

Oh really! :razz:

More seriously, however, her reaction of "giving it back" is the most effective way of stopping the bully. Kid justice.

I didn't want to mention this as a reminder of how bullies precepitate other action such as Columbine.

Bullying is a many problem in the US and needs to be addressed.

No, it doesn't precipitate anything. Columbine was an anomaly. Those kids had serious mental problems that their parents didn't address. You're now just grabbing at straws.

Judging by this display of incredible mastery of the English language, I have serious doubts about your past as an "educator".

My son was bullied ONCE. By the biggest kid in his school. He told me about it and I told him to stand up to the kid and make sure there's witness's around when it happens. That day the school called and said that my son had broken the kids leg, dislocated his shoulder and broke his jaw. Now my son trains MMA all the time and isn't the biggest kid at 13. 5'9 140lbs but strong as hell.

The school administrators tried to label my son as a bully until another kid that made a video on his phone showed the principle and then my son was cleared for standing up for himself.

My daughter also knows how to defend herself extremely well and she's the smallest girl in her class. She also trains MMA and can flame the hell out of anyone that verbally attacks her. Neither of them are on any social networks because I block them at home and they know why. I also know the networks these kids hang out on and the couple times I've seen my kids names mentioned, I've spoken to the parents as well as showed them the printouts of what was said, that put a end to it.

We live in a relatively small community and town so it's not hard to not see these people all the time.

Sometimes it's up to the parents to step in. I've always told my kids i'll never be mad at them for getting in a fight at school if they were defending themselves but I'll give them hell if they walk away from one, that's just showing the bullys they have control.

I think there is a marked difference between bullying and making fun of someone.

I see bullying as the purposful intent to cause a person great physical and or emotional discomfort on a repeated basis.

I see making fun of someone as perhaps making a joke about their looks, actions, etc. While still not a nice thing to do, this sort of behavior is not done repeatedly and oftentimes the person doing it will feel some amount of remorse if confronted about it.

Wirelessly posted (well lookie here!)

I had plenty of kids try to bully me growing up I generally ignored them and walked away!
Never let them get to me or see me react in anyway!
Only time I reacted is when one pushed me I turned around wrapped my hands around his throat it took 4 adults to break my grip
I was left alone after that

I always tried to get along with everyone
However if ya mistreated my younger sisters I was not a good person to be around

On a previous comment, I humbly apologize for my typos. I have both a BS is Social Work and an MS Education with a specialty in Technology from JHU. I believe there are some whp can and have handled bullies. I commend hose who do. It should serve as a testimony that a bully should not exist at any time. When a young person cannot protect themselves and a school system doesn't take the just action, this is an injustice to all others who just want to learn in school. Of course there are also neighborhood bullies.

Seriously guy, you're digging a hole and diving in head first. Quit while you are ahead.

You're equating bullying to something along the lines of prison rape. It's not even close to the problem you're making it out to be, and it is not the System's job to take action.

Quote from DOJ

Bullying can take three forms: physical (hitting, kicking, spitting, pushing, taking personal belongings); verbal (taunting, malicious teasing, name calling,
making threats); and psychological (spreading rumors, manipulating
social relationships, or engaging in social exclusion, extortion,
or intimidation).
These violate another's civil rights. It's in the law.

Here's a web site that can add credence to bullying and prevention.

Stop Bullying Now!

I hope it helps someone!