Advice from parents please...."Bullying"

[dkn1997]

Really, if I had to pick my 8th grade son up at 3 am . I might have thought about knocking him up side his head.

Look at the bright side. as his parent, you would have the comfort of knowing that when he healed up enough to exact his revenge, he would have the wherewithall to steal the guy's wallet....think about how proud you would be!

[2Gunz]

I was picked on in school by two different people In High school.

The first was life changing.

I had a guy that was much bigger than me torment me daily.

He used to sit behind me in spanish, which was the worst, and harrass me day in and day out.
One day I was over it. I got up turned around and flipped over the desk/chair combo he was
sitting in. He never bugged me again and we became friends after that.

From that day forward I had a "rep" and I also decided that I would never take any crap from anybody
again. That holds true to this day. I confront things head on.

That was about 7th grade.

The second was around 11th grade. The guy wasnt a bully he just didnt like the fact I hung out with his
girlfriend. He was one bad as MotherF$#ker and his nickname was "Rocky". One day he sucker punched me
across the face. I didnt fight back because I had seen this guy fighting before with people holding him back
and still winning. Basically I had no hope.

Instead I took the punch, didnt fall down, and managed to say conscious. And then with everything I had turned
back to him with a smile on my face. I think he was in shock that I didnt get knocked out and that I had a big
grin on my face. Really I want to cry LOL. We where taken to the principles office where we both told them
nothing had happened.

Apparently I earned some respect and he never messed with me again.

Anyway my point in all of this is you dont actually have to "win" anything. Just not be an easy target or doormat.
People like easy, and if you aint easy they will move on.

[2Gunz]

Oh and a side note here.

Im sure your worried about your child getting hurt.

And ya it might happen and he could get really beat up.

But if your going to fight its better to fight on your terms and when you pick.

Instead of letting it slide and have the bully get more creative and seriouly hurt him.

Or have some sort of accident happen where he gets tripped down the stairs or some

other random madness.


My thoughts.

[73dodge]

Interesting I should open this thread after what was in our local morning news liberal rag today.

Read this and get the number to the local ambulance chaser or call Vainglory maybe he can take your case and make some extra money to pay for law school, or for his next date.

They had the mom on the radio today and she is basically suing for 50k to cover the cost of enrolling her son in a catholic school.

My personal .02 This is justification reason number 1 FOR homeschooling your own kids............


Parents sue Lakewood schools over kids' bullying

Friday, March 09, 2007
Angela Townsend
Plain Dealer Reporter

Lakewood- A couple is suing the Lakewood school district one year after seeking treatment for their son's nervous breakdown, which they said was caused by school bullies.

The parents, Mike and Kelly Wencho, claim that school and district officials failed to keep their son safe from bullies at Harding Middle School when he was a sixth-grader there.

They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages of at least $50,000 in their lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

According to the lawsuit:

The bullies - referred to as John Doe(s) and Jane Doe(s) - started taunting and threatening the boy in fall 2005. In March 2006, that escalated to a "beating."

The district did not take the necessary measures to discipline the aggressors, despite the Wenchos' numerous complaints. The school counselor told the parents that "the problem was (the boy's) own inability to deal with the anxiety and stress that the bullying caused him."

As a result, the boy suffered physical and psychological injuries including suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress syndrome and panic attacks.

The district has not seen a copy of the lawsuit, said its lawyer, Mike Hanna of Squire Sanders & Dempsey.

Hanna said he could not comment on the suit but said the district "took all appropriate steps to address the situation." That included meetings with the child and the students he identified as the bullies.

"The problem seemed to be resolved," said Hanna.

John Chambers, lawyer for the Wenchos, challenged Hanna's claims.

"While certainly you can't be a guarantor of safety of all your students . . . at least on school property, the kids have a right to be safe," Chambers said. "A 12-year-old ought to be able to walk down the halls of his school without being assaulted."

Kelly Wencho said the district failed to discipline any of the bullies, who continually pushed, teased and took her son's lunch away from him.

Wencho said her son suffered a nervous breakdown in March 2006 after being shoved against a wall. He was taken to Lakewood Hospital and spent three days under psychiatric care.

The boy now attends a nearby Catholic school.

"He knows he's safe, and that makes a big difference," Wencho said.

In addition to having a strongly worded anti-bullying policy, the district last school year took a close look at school conduct and climate, including the issue of bullying, said Richard Wair, the district's coordinator of teaching and learning.

That led to an emphasis on teacher training, which includes how to identify bullying symptoms. Such training is essential, said William Lassiter, manager of the Center for Prevention of School Violence in North Carolina.

"It will take the training of teachers . . . not only how to recognize [bullying] but what to do once you have it," Lassiter said.

Joining many other states, Ohio passed an anti-bullying bill in December, which requires districts to develop policies. But often there isn't enough money to support training and prevention efforts, said Sherryll Kraizer, executive director of the Denver-based Coalition for Children Inc.

Prevention programs in schools "basically consist of putting up a bunch of signs in the building that say 'No Bullying,' " she said. "What's being missed is that the signs don't change behavior."

Wencho said her son, who is prone to crying and night terrors, is still afraid to walk out of his house by himself.

"I supported the [Lakewood] school system," she said. "I supported every tax levy, and now I can't even use the school system."

[nh_mopar_fan]

My son had this issue when he was in the 6th and 7th grade.

Now, my son was always told to not put his hands on another kid. That was for a couple reasons, first, I wanted him to be able to solve his issues peacefully, second, he is and always had been much bigger than kids his age. (He just turned 16 and is 6'7" and 280lbs).

After repeated attempts to get this little asshole off his back, I finally let him loose and told him to deck him and I would take care of the consequences.

He still refused to retaliate.

Then, one day, he was walking after they got got off the bus and the little prick was behind him pushing him. Josh finally snapped, swung around and decked the kid with one punch.

The little a-hole lay there on the ground and stared at him, not sure what had just happened.
10 minutes later, a knock at the door. It was the kid with his mother complaining that my kid had whacked him.

I told her what had been going on and I called Josh to the door.

She took one look at him and smacked her kid on the back of his head and said, "You're picking on HIM? re you stupid?"

Never had an issue again.

[dkn1997]

the thing I would say to mrs and mr skip is that when telling your son what to do to fend this kid off, totally disregard any school official or policy, have him do whatever is going to be best for him whether or not it breaks any school rules.  so what if you kid does something to get suspended?  he's 10 and it's a school suspension, who cares?  those school officials are in it for one thing: cover their ass and keep from getting sued.   probably the only people who even stand a chance of caring about your son will be his regular classroom teachers who know him.  anyone in the school with any authority has probably gotten there by politics or asskissing and will put the 'district' needs in front of your son's individual needs.   Not totally their fault, it's the sue-happy aholes who created this mess.

[moparguy01]

the thing I would say to mrs and mr skip is that when telling your son what to do to fend this kid off, totally disregard any school official or policy, have him do whatever is going to be best for him whether or not it breaks any school rules.  so what if you kid does something to get suspended?  he's 10 and it's a school suspension, who cares?  those school officials are in it for one thing: cover their ass and keep from getting sued.   probably the only people who even stand a chance of caring about your son will be his regular classroom teachers who know him.  anyone in the school with any authority has probably gotten there by politics or asskissing and will put the 'district' needs in front of your son's individual needs.   Not totally their fault, it's the sue-happy aholes who created this mess.

What he says about it being caused by the sue happy folks is true. Unfortunately in todays society it seems the only thing half of the companies/ schools/ whatever understand is the threat of being sued. You might have to play that card with the school board. I bet they change their tune real quick.