Bullying

[centennialdawg]

I am putting this on the Non-sports forum so more will see, hopefully some who work there considering all the bullying that has gotten national attention lately.

I have an 8 year old grand daughter who is constantly being bullied by another child at Powell Valley Primary School. When she tells her teacher about the bullying, then she gets in trouble for tattling. Don't get me wrong, my grand daughter is not without her moments, but for her to get into trouble for telling on a bully is just wrong. She has not only been called name, but she has been hit, pushed, shoved, spat on, and most serious of all, the girl forced her hands down her shirt.

Now, I have read the Wise county school's policy on bullying and it is very plain. It is not to be tolerated in any form and if physical contact happens, then the Wise county sheriff's office is to be notified. None of this has happened. As a matter of fact, her teacher has stated that unless you are bleeding or are physically hurt you are NOT to tattle.

The vice-principal has asked to be given a chance to deal with it, but I don't see why he needs a chance, you either do what the policy says and fix the problem, or you don't and face the consequences.

I am starting a campain to try to stop this horrible thing in our schools. Join me and voice your opposition to bullying in our schools!

[Biggin]

wow CD, that is a very serious situation and I would do the same thing you are doing. if the problem does not stop soon, and the administration does not make a real effort to stop this, you should take it as far as it needs to go to be stopped.

but I have to add you really have to make sure you have all the facts of the situation. I am not calling your grand daughter a liar or anything of the sort, you know me. But sometimes little kids will not give you the whole situation and you do not want to go about this unprepared.

[centennialdawg]

wow CD, that is a very serious situation and I would do the same thing you are doing. if the problem does not stop soon, and the administration does not make a real effort to stop this, you should take it as far as it needs to go to be stopped.

but I have to add you really have to make sure you have all the facts of the situation. I am not calling your grand daughter a liar or anything of the sort, you know me. But sometimes little kids will not give you the whole situation and you do not want to go about this unprepared.

I do have all the facts. That's the problem. The assistant principal asked for a few days to handle it, but there should be NO time, this is a serious situation which requires an immediate response. This is in accordance with Wise county's own policy. Yeah, I realize they are 8 year old kids, but this has got to stop. I was bullied when I was her age because of a physical problem I had(polio) and I know how it feels. Maybe that is one reason I am so defensive about stuff today and walk around with a chip on my shoulder sometimes, it can be devastating.

[1inStripes]

I do have all the facts. That's the problem. The assistant principal asked for a few days to handle it, but there should be NO time, this is a serious situation which requires an immediate response. This is in accordance with Wise county's own policy. Yeah, I realize they are 8 year old kids, but this has got to stop. I was bullied when I was her age because of a physical problem I had(polio) and I know how it feels. Maybe that is one reason I am so defensive about stuff today and walk around with a chip on my shoulder sometimes, it can be devastating.

Unfortunately though, you have to give them time so that they have verified the situation and can act accordingly. As bad as that sounds they have to perform C.Y.A. procedures too.

[centennialdawg]

Well, they have had plenty of time, the teacher knew it and the only action she took was to punish my grand daughter for telling.

[Biggin]

many people have had to deal with being bullied, i understand your point. i was a fat kid who stuttered, i know what its like to deal with it.

but i would give the administration the benefit of the doubt at this point to figure out and resolve the situation. the people who run the school really do care IMO and will do whatever it takes to fix this I think. if its not resolved in a very timely manner, i would totally raise hell. these are very important situations that influence a person's entire life, I understand your anger.

I was not trying to call anyone a liar or doubt you at all, but we all know how kids are sometimes. its worth speaking to the teacher and others involved in the situation before going all-out. it sounds like the teacher was in the wrong and indifferent to the situation but you should probably speak with him/her to find out how the situation has evolved. Maybe even speak to the other child's parents to try and quell the situation permanently. or talk to the other child. a lot of times a kid that small will bully or attack another child from either learned behavior (domestic violence at home) or some other problems that leads the kid to lash out at other kids they feel are in a better situation or have people that care like you do.

[Rocky]

many people have had to deal with being bullied, i understand your point. i was a fat kid who stuttered, i know what its like to deal with it.

but i would give the administration the benefit of the doubt at this point to figure out and resolve the situation. the people who run the school really do care IMO and will do whatever it takes to fix this I think. if its not resolved in a very timely manner, i would totally raise hell.

the people at that school DONT care, we had a similar situation like this with my nephew and it wasnt dealt with. Him and another little boy (a black boy) were being picked on on the bus by a 10 year old boy. we tried to get it taken care of and nothing was done. (nothing was EVER said or DONE about it) Dom, eventually got tired of being called a dirt poor indian and tired of his friend being called a ******. Dom eventually told the boy that he was a mexican, he was proud of it, and ended up breaking the kid's nose. I dont condone violence unless its needed and after you are beat up every day on the bus with nothing being done about it, i guess you have to take care of it yourself.

[Jason]

Two of my girls also had been bullied with the same situation you describe about getting in trouble if they tattle. I finally told them if it happens anymore do not tell the teacher. I instructed them to just punch the bully in the nose as hard as they can and if they get in trouble I will come visit the teacher in person. Have not had any bullying problems since.

[collegetrumpet2010]

I understand the administration needing time to verify the situation but how long do you give them?

This is a matter that needs to be addressed quickly.

Which begs the next question:

Why in the world is there a no tattling policy unless you are bleeding or critically injurred? What about verbal abuse? I wouldn't call it tattling when you're being abused verbally, physically, or any type of abuse. Why was my niece punished for trying to give a teacher or somebody else in charge the chance to deal with the case.

I've been bullied. We all have. I used to get it all the time because I wore glasses, people didn't like my clothes, I got nervous all the time, they didn't like my girlfriend, etc. I got bullied when i quit 8th grade football for band and people thought I was gay or chicken droppings. I've always worn my heart on my sleeve. This made me quite a bit socially awkward.

I don't know why my niece is getting bullied. I just learned about this. But in any case, the victim--alleged or definite--should have the right to have the case examined quicker than this.

Hearl, I see what you're saying but how long is long enough?

[R13]

I say pull her out of school until they make a serious effort with this or have a meeting with the admin and both sides of parents, that should get things rolling IMO. I'd go as far up as possible if something isn't done ASAP, this is a touchy issue atm, so it shouldn't be too hard if you take it to the right person. The teachers sound incompetent as hell, who tells a kid that? If they can't do a better job than that, they have no business teaching, most bullying doesn't result in blood anyway. I'd tell her to kiss my ass and take that to the school board, if this is something that is being told to teachers on how to deal with a situation like this, then it's something very serious. You teach a kid not to do anything or tell anyone, that could lead to so many problems as they get older it's not even funny. That I think needs to be looked into there and maybe in all schools around here, that really does worry me that she was told that.







And there's no "hippie view" of this. I was raised to take up for myself if someone started a fight with me, I'd actually get my ass whipped if I didn't, that if someone started something with me I wouldn't get in trouble at home if I was just defending myself. It worked the other way around too, if I was picking on someone, I'd get my ass whipped. It's just not so easy as "stand up to them, they go away". It's usually more than one kid, a whole group most of the time and then the zero tolerance of getting punished for defending yourself. I was pretty lucky growing up, I was never really bullied, I was friends with just about anyone and every "group" there was...but I know how serious bullying is, it's very obvious when you look at the news and middle-schoolers are hanging themselves.