Bull with the anti-bullying thing. It may come off as a smokescreen and it's rarely enforced as it should be...but, I think that's where we come in. Schools are given funds to protect our kids. If we sense something is going on that's inappropriate and wrong, then we need to push the issue. I don't care how many great posters they have up. If we push the issue and demand some action, they will comply. Not that they won't resist, but that shouldn't be OUR excuse to allow it to continue.
I agree 1oo%
It did not work that way though, at least for me.
What I saw WAS a smokescreen. What they said that they were going to do, and how they were going to handle it was a facade.
Every day when I asked him how his day was, and about the situation, he would tell me that nothing had changed, and if anyone would be watching ? It would be easy to see.
It wasn't physical abuse with him, it was a full on verbal assault every day. The schools were provided with times, classes, people involved(names), etc. All the information that they would need to make a difference, and nothing was done.
I would call, email, have conferences, talk with counselors, etc. And what I was told was, that they were close to having their Standard of Learning tests in a couple weeks, and they were trying, but couldn't be everywhere at the same time.
That verbal bullying was hard to prove, so they would have to "wire" him to punish, and at best the offending student would receive a 3 day suspension if caught.
When his name was given, we were told that they were "aware" of this type of behavior from this particular student, and that he had been disciplined on many occasions already.
Eventually, the emails went un-returned, the messages went unanswered, or that particular teacher/counselor wasn't "in" that day. One cannot enter a public school now without having an "appointment". When I would hear from them, it was always in the form of support. They would say that they watched this, or kept an ear tuned in on this area during this time. All of which was BS from what I would hear later.
So yea, it was bullshit.
The best that I got, was a couple weeks later, when I received an email from the asshat counselor that the boy in question had moved away, and the problems should stop.
That, from the same people that clap the loudest and stand up the tallest at the anti-bullying campaigns. They hand out flyers and buttons, making the front look real. Help is given when it is convenient, not when it is needed.
That is MY soapbox.
From what he says now, things have stopped, although he still has a hard time opening up and making new friends at school.
It took him a long time to come forward with me about what he was dealing with. He felt like he was doing something wrong. Which couldn't be further from the truth.
So....
I am in that "Hit it hard out of the gates" , based on MY past experience with it.....
