It is a discipline question.  What is going on in the schools with discipline?  When you ask parents, they say bullying is one of the biggest problems children face at school.  I think it is worse than that.  I think adults are not responding to students with any kind of real authority.  We talk to them about what they are doing instead of doing something about it.  Talk?  It might, just MIGHT get their attention for maybe a couple of seconds and then they are nodding their heads and agreeing with you about stopping it while thinking of getting even with the kid that ratted them out.

Why aren't school districts taking a sterner stand on this issue?  Why aren't kids being suspended or expelled from the school to protect the victims?  The parents should be held responsible for the actions of their children not the schools held responsible for what these children are bringing into the system.  If we suspended or expelled these kids often enough, would the message get out there to the community?  Or would the community get up in arms and want everyone fired for picking on their little "dears"?

How do we stop an action when all we do is talk to the kids?  I don't advocate spanking at school ever, but. there must be some punitive action schools can take to stop these little monsters-in-the-making from tormenting others at school.

Children should NEVER have to be afraid to come to school and yet that is what is happening.  We are trying to take care of it but somehow, I don't think we are succeeding very well.  We are using removal from specials, (which in all honesty is the only thing that might actually keep them in school).  We sit them on the wall during recess.  We put them in lunch detention where they eat and work away from the other children.  But, they ride the bus to and from school with the innocent.  They have ample time before school to bully as well.  We don't have a program to take care of them before school because all of the teachers are on duty during that time.

I think schools need to be given more power over these children and probably their parents.  Maybe we need to set up a public school like the old detention facilities for students who cannot control their actions and mouths.  If bullies were placed in tough military-type schools, would it change their behavior or make it worse?

There are programs out there in bully prevention but do they work or is it just one more expensive program that districts buy into for a year and then drop because it either doesn't work or is too expensive.  Our district is notorious for buying programs and then dropping them after a year.  We have spent A LOT of money on various programs for different things.

It is too bad that money wasn't saved and used to come up with a really great plan to prevent bullies from endangering the children at school.  I will also add at home too.  I had a student last year who terrorized his neighborhood.  The parents came to me to see if I could stop it.  All I could suggest is for them to call the police and file a complaint.  They were pretty upset with me because they thought I should handle it.  It truly wan't my job at that point.

Then you get to the problem of exactly what is bullying?  I know it is physically threatening or actually hurting another child.  But, is it name calling?  Is it teasing?  I know that kids get upset at times with each other and yell names at them but that is just kids, isn't it?  Aren't they just learning how to deal with issues at the elementary age?  We can help them through that process since parents are not doing it.  But, when does it become bullying?  How are schools supposed to deal with bullies in this (stupid) politically correct world?