While school bullying is nothing new the advent of social media has brought it to the forefront of the public eye. With school shootings and needless child suicides involving bullying being heavily reported on it has quickly become a major issue with a zero tolerance policy on paper at least at most schools.
Despite these zero tolerance policies and the many other steps being taken to curb the tide of bullying it seems in some cases that kids will still find any excuse to make fun of and belittle one another as parents are left dealing with the traumatic aftermath.
As a former victim of bullying myself I know first hand the effects it can have on a child. At one point I ran from school buses, pretended to be sick, ran from the school itself, and did everything I could think of to get out of being there. I spent my lunch periods eating alone in a secluded part of the school and even went as far as getting detention to get away from the ones who were causing the issue.
In my school days I had knives pulled on me, gum put in my hair, and experienced constant verbal and physical abuse. Much like today it seemed that back then little to nothing was able to be done about the situation and usually when I reported it it only resulted in a report being made, a talk to the other student, and me being in for it twice as bad the next day.
My school bullying didn't stop until I started weight lifting, taking boxing lessons, and stood up for myself, a path that is now considered by many parents to be unsound advice in these situations. I don't think there's an easy administrative solution to the problem that is currently and has historically plagued our school systems.
The solution to this problem lays in treating the root cause by teaching your child kindness, compassion, and understanding. Let your children know that not everyone looks the same, not everyone has as much money, not everyone is as well spoken, and that these differences are what makes a person unique. If you catch your kid bullying someone else find out why and if it's because of material things like clothing send them to school in the same type of clothes as the child they're bullying and let them see a small part of what it's like.
Now I've said there's no "easy administrative solution", that doesn't mean that the administration is blameless in their handling of these situations. When someone comes to your office, calls you, or brings an issue to your attention take it seriously and take care of it. Punish those responsible but keep an eye on them afterwards as they may retaliate towards their accuser. If a staff member is singling out the same student during class find out why and deal with it accordingly.
Bullying remains a problem in our school system only because we let it. We stay silent when we should speak the loudest, remain afraid when we should be fearless, and teach our children to put value in things that are ultimately meaningless. We define the way our children think by our own actions and have to learn to set a better example in order to improve the situation for the next generation.
If your child is experiencing bullying StopBullying.gov has further information you may find helpful.
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