Bullies have existed since time immemorial, and they still exist everywhere, from the workplace to the community, and as always, in the schoolyard.
It would be nice if that unpleasant reality of interpersonal relations could be eliminated, but the question is how.
Bullies don’t usually respond to reason or cajoling, but they often do respond to brute force. Many of us remember being tested by the school bully, finally standing up to him and planting a solid punch right on his nose, and suddenly seeing the bully turn into a reasonable, even pleasant human being. This applies to raising kids in general, where the bully child constantly tests the parent and sometimes only responds to brute force rather than cajoling and pleading.
The problem is that liberals and lefty politicians have fallen for the whole “self esteem” movement, so kids are given way too much power and never experience a reprimand more forceful than a “time out.” And to make sure that is so, laws have been passed so that any discipline more forceful that “let’s reason together, Johnny,” or “please go to your quiet spot Susie” is seen as violent child abuse, to be punished by incarceration or having the children removed from the parents care. Now a new city ordinance in Shawano, Wisconsin puts parents in a double bind, and there is a good deal of confusion and disagreement about how fair the ordinance is.
Chile discipline in Shawano, page 2
Bring back the paddle
Do you think the parents should be held accountable monetarily? How do they calculate the effect and degree of the ‘bullying’? It sounds weird and shady already…but most things coming down the pipe do these days.
Lets solve our bullying problem by bullying people. what happens when they cant pay the fine? Bully them into jail, where bullies gather en masse… Yes, lets solve our bullying problem with more bullying.
Fail.
You wanna know why you have all these workplace shootings and school shootings? because no one is taught that ‘life aint fair’ any more. everyone is taught to run and tell, vs teaching them to stand up for themselves. being bullied BUILDS coping mechanism skills needed for the real world. teaches you many useable skills. much of which are social adjustment related to being an adult. stop handing out participation trophies for every lil kid, failure is a necessary part of life. and this is coming from a kid who WAS bullied MERCILESSLY from first grade all throughout high school. for my glasses, the eye patches i was forced to wear, for my duck footed scrawniness, for my lazy eye, dumbo ears, and my bulimc cheerleaderesque physique too. for the special education classes i was also put in from 1st grade till dropping out at 10th grade. stop forcefeeding meds down kids’ throats, tell them to toughen the$#%&!@*up, and if they really got a problem with a bully, take a swing, that usually shuts them the$#%&!@*up.
parents disciplining their children their children would not be bullies. Lets have some self-control
Might work for afew but most parents dont love their children enough to teach them Moral values,
Mr. Maxwell, yes, I agree the children are under the teachers care for about 35 hours in a 168 hour week. However, respect for authority, respect for others and respect for themselves starts at home with the parents (period). I have my child for the first 5 to 6 years of their life. This is the time when most of who they will be, who they are, how they react, their personality, etc… is developed. Even if I’m a working parent, I choose the babysitter, I choose the daycare, etc… Your comment is EXACTLY my point. The teacher provides a service at a place I, you, we, them, the parent decides. We make the decisions for our children. We are responsible for guiding them, correcting them, instructing them, leading them, showing them how to respond, teaching them how to handle life. The SCHOOL teacher had NOTHING to do with the birth of the child. The SCHOOL teacher is their to HELP in their education, to HELP in their learning process, to HELP in their guidance. The teacher has far less time invested in the development of the child than the parent. The teacher is there to HELP not to TAKE OVER. WE as parents need to STOP blaming EVERYONE else for OUR children’s behavior. They are OUR children. Parents need to stop “finger pointing” and take some responsibility. Ask questions, research issues, get help, discipline the child, and the list of goes on and on. I as a PARENT am responsible for my child.
Mr. Antonioni, yes I do think the parent should be financially liable. In my opinion, there would be a set, “first offense” starting amount that would progress from there to the point of expelling the child from the school. The Wisconsin school mentioned in the post states a 90 day period for the parent to resolve the issue before any fine is administered. I can only speak for the school I attended which is the school my children attend now. The teachers and principal there stress parent involvement with EVERY aspect of the child’s education. It is not limited to just helping with math, making sure the homework is done, etc… They want the parent to know the teachers, set goals for the child / children, learn about any special needs, and build an open line of communication. They avoid making decisions in a vacuum, as well as, quick, “knee jerk” reactions to a single event. The point I’m getting at is I can’t see a single confrontation between two students resulting in the parents of both paying “X” amount of dollars.
If parents had to pay a fine for not teaching their children how to behave without bullying others, i’m betting people would do a little better job of raising their kids. Teach and demand respect and we all benefit by it.
Yeah , thatll teach em.
Or dont whine when they get that$#%&!@*whooped for being a bully