Are Schools Really Concerned About Bullying?

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Good morning, everyone. Just the other day, I talked with a friend of mine, Bud Collier about bullying and the attitude of schools toward the problem. We all would like to think that schools are there for the children, that they always want to help when a child or teen is relentlessly bullied, that their main interests are in the welfare of children. However, as much as I hate to tell you, this is not reality.

Schools are an empire just like huge corporations and the majority of them are only concerned with the almighty dollar. Therefore, if there is a problem with bullying, the school will more than likely only sweep it under the rug instead of addressing the problem properly.

Sure. School officials and staff would like for the public to think that they are investigating incidences of bullying and may even tell parents of the victim that there is an investigation underway. But the reality is that they only say this to pacify parents and make them go away. And if the parent is relentless in protecting their child and keeps coming back, schools will often label this parent as “the crazy mom/dad” just to avoid looking like crap themselves.

The cold, hard truth is that most schools simply do not do investigations into bullying because an investigation would take extra work on their part and the last thing they want is extra work. I say this because I saw it firsthand when I was in school and I still hear about the same today from frustrated parents and anti-bullying groups.

The majority of educational institutions simply do not want to admit that they have an issue of bullying on their campuses. I believe that their reasons for this are that they are afraid that the reputations of their beloved school would be tarnished and may affect eligibility for government grant money.

Most schools prefer to take the easy way out by either doing nothing at all, or worse, blame the target. They will even retaliate against the target for reporting the abuse to parents or writing about it. Make no mistake. If your child is a victim of bullying, chances are that the school will only cop out by making your child look like the bully and labeling him/her as the cause of the problem.

Understand that I am not labeling ALL schools. There are some truly awesome schools that do confront bullying head-on. However, these schools are sadly, in the minority.

Continue to address the school if your child is a victim, but don’t expect anything to be done and don’t take whatever they feed you as gospel. Quietly do your own investigation because schools will lie to cover their own backsides.

It’s going to take more than reports of bullying and parent/teacher/principal meetings to address the problem. I believe that the weak laws we have now to address school bullying will have to be revamped.

I also believe that it’s going to take not only knowledge of the signs of bullying in the target, but also knowledge of how bullies operate and the tactics they use. More importantly, it’s going to take bully-proofing our children by teaching them confidence and building their self-esteems.

Have a wonderful day, everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

0 thoughts on “Are Schools Really Concerned About Bullying?

  1. Deb Coughlan says:

    I would like to comment to this portion. Our son Daniel is autistic and has multiple mood disorders. His primary school years were straight from hell itself, save Lena Kirby Herron. It was so dangerous and horrible, I had to walk him to his classroom every day. Unfortunately I could not stay with him all day long. Following are some of the abuses he had during the years at RPS:
    1. He would be pulled into the bathrooms and urinated on.
    2.He would be pulled into the bathrooms and have soap put in his mouth and made to swallow it.
    3. His food would be stolen.
    4. Extra milk money would be stolen.
    5. If he tried to prevent any action, he would be hit hard.
    6. On the play ground, he would be hit with stones while swinging.
    7. He would be pushed off the top of the sliding board.
    8. He would be tackled by several and his mouth stuffed with dirt,rocks, and grass until almost suffocated.
    I started going to the play ground and parking just outside the fence to supervise him during recess and he was no longer attacked.
    9. On the bus once, his head was taken and knocked against the window until he was unconscious. When we went to the principal for the tape, it somehow was “missing”, but he had seen it, spoken to the parents of the boy who had done it and they said their boy wouldn’t and our son must have just fallen and hit his head and their son helped ours up….yeah, right.
    These are only a FEW instances he suffered. He did have occasionally a nice experience. He was the little Tiger mascot. There were some nice teachers. He was so tiny, the girls loved him.
    But the very last week of his very last year there, a big bully kicked him hard between the legs which resulted in Daniel having to have surgery in the summer His teacher finally called me to come get him because he wouldn’t stop crying. She said she didn’t witness anything and the boy denied doing anything, so she didn’t either. Anyway, Daniel cried at the least little thing, so I just needed to take him home.

    I will say RES was as good as RPS was as horrid. Pennye Thurmond and Lynn Ferrell and Larry Finch made Daniel’s elementary years the happiest time he ever had in public school. To those three persons, we are grateful.
    We have been homeschooling him since 6th grade. The reputation of the middle school was no place for an autistic person. Now he is a sophomore and is still shunned around peers. Kids can surely be mean if another doesn’t fit in.

    • cheriewhite says:

      Deb, This truly breaks my heart. I have a soft spot for special needs children and teens and I know all too well about bullying in the schools in that town. I was once a victim myself as Little John will tell you. And let me tell you, they bullied the special needs kids too, right up through high school. I plan to draw up laws that not only protect victims but even tougher laws against the bullying of special needs children, as they often do not have the ability to advocate for themselves, which, sadly, makes them all too vulnerable to bullies. Remember that bullies are cowards and they do not have the stones to bully anyone, who might be able to stand up to them. Bullies hate challenges because they know that they will either have to put in a lot of effort to bully that person, or that person would shut the bully down…FAST!!! Bullies go after easy prey and that’s what makes them such deplorable and weak human beings.
      Once I draw up these laws, I plan to meet with a few others, who are working with local anti bullying groups to get their ideas. Once this takes place, we will then contact a few local and state politicians. Lastly, we plan to take our proposed laws to the governor.

      I want you to know that this may not happen overnight, but it WILL happen eventually. I really believe it will and children will finally be able to learn in a safe and secure environment. Thank you so much for sharing Daniel’s story with us and if you need us, we’re always here.

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