The other side

I just saw a news story about a school in Vail being accused of not doing enough for the bullying issue. Now, because I worked in that district I can attest to the fact they do have a bullying program in place, several different approaches in fact. As a teacher what's more frustrating to me in the whole thing is how parents react.

It's sad for me to see a child being hurt by another child, even if it's not the technical definition of bullying, which is pretty obscure to begin with, teasing between children is not what anyone wants. As the parents become involved, as I think they should be, can only worsen the problem. Some parents handle it well while the majority flip out and become irrational, irresponsible, and ridiculous.

The parents in general are the ones who have asked for teachers and districts hands to be tied when it came to discipline. I certainly don't condone physical discipline in a public setting such as a classroom, however parents send mixed messages about how they think discipline should be dealt with. What is it? We're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't.

I can't tell you how many bullying issues I had to deal with and how many times parents thought we weren't doing enough, even after suspension. The school has a piece of responsibility in dealing with the issue that I believe. Essentially what it comes down to is the victim's parents would prefer the bully to be expelled and in some situations that's just not able to happen.

When you get to the heart of the issue it comes to parenting. Kids who are bullies often see that at home, perhaps there is a mental imbalance, or there is no guidance at all. Either way, something is happening at home where the child is not learning how to behave appropriately towards others, yet it is up to the school to parent.

Unfortunately this is how it works these days. Schools are expected to teach kids everything, behavior, education, how to stay healthy, about sex, about relationships, about religion or lack thereof.....shall I go on? What if as a society we called on parents to be responsible for actually raising their own kids? For keeping parents accountable when it came to teaching their children how to be part of society? Yes, I know some adults don't even know how to do this but there is the majority who do and yet constantly place responsibility on someone else. This is one of the laws I don't like public schools, it's very hard to expel a student from school or deny them attendance. There are a lot of issues here, like I know expelling them from school doesn't solve the issue for the bully but it would certainly be a wake up call for some families. Parents have to stop expecting schools to fix everything. Again, yes, schools have a piece of the responsibility, but it all begins at home and without support and a good foundation at home, schools don't stand a chance.

In short: TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR KIDS

Can I get an Amen?