Continued bullying

[Anonymous]

OP here, I would prefer not to mention my race. I do not feel that it is a racial situation. I believe it is just plain bullying, pure and simple.

[Anonymous]

OP, I hope things are going better now. Don;t back down! You are doing the right thing.

[Anonymous]

PP here, I'm not surprised at all that the bullying has returned again after being okay for a couple of weeks and also at this particular point in the school year.

1. The bullies thrive and thoroughly enjoy abusing other children. Being abusive serves two different purposes. It gives them a sense of power over the abused child and at the same time it intimidates the rest of the students in the community as well. No other student wants to be NEXT.

2. Administrators and teachers are busy, tired and preoccupied at this point in the school year so they are not watching as closely as when you first complained. They are constantly putting out brush fires and your complaints from a couple of weeks ago have already sunk to the distant past in their memory.

3. The ultimate victory for the bullies would be for them to drive your family out of the school. They may believe if they make your child miserable enough during these last few weeks of the school year that you will not return in September.

4. This is where you must be strong and demonstrate resilience. It's not easy to keep going into the school to complain after the administrators become tired of seeing us. Remember when we return with the same complaints we are saying that our children are being abused and that the administrators are not doing their jobs. Often times they will make no secret of the fact that they would prefer to have the victims just go away rather than actually ending abusive behaviors in their schools. So, it is at this point where you must be strong for your child. You must inform that administrator that you are not going to go away until the bullying stops. Just like it takes courage for your child to stand up to the bullies, you must also have the courage to stand up to the administrators and demand that the bullying stops NOW!!!

[Anonymous]

Oh OP, so sorry your child is going through this. Sending you lots of support (and hugs!). Please let us know how the meeting goes. You're doing the right thing. Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

OP here,
Thanks for all the support and information!
The principal took strong action and there is some improvement. It is so disheartening that some of the bullies denied what they did and tried to put the blame on my child.
It becomes a he said/she said type of situation.
I guess that's part of the bully's strategy.
But I'm so proud of my kid for going back to school and facing the situation!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here,
Thanks for all the support and information!
The principal took strong action and there is some improvement. It is so disheartening that some of the bullies denied what they did and tried to put the blame on my child.
It becomes a he said/she said type of situation.
I guess that's part of the bully's strategy.
But I'm so proud of my kid for going back to school and facing the situation!

Yes, the bullies usually have numbers on their side. They are cowards so they act in groups and they’ve had ample time to get their stories straight. Also whenever our children defend themselves in any way possible it’s usually used against them when the bullies, their parents, and the administrators attempt to prove our children deserved to be bullied in the first place.

Continue being strong for your child. We're all proud of you both.

[Anonymous]

The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education published a letter sent to all school districts late last year explaining in detail that certain types of bullying behavior may fall under the purview of antidiscrimination laws in addition to the district's anti-bullying policies. Since kids so often get bullied on the basis of differences, whether it be race, disability, sexual orientation, or whatever, any parent who cares about this issue ought to know that there may be violations of the law at issue here.
Here are a small excerpt (the letter is 10 pages long) and the full link:

"....I am writing to remind you, however, that some student misconduct that falls under a school’s anti?bullying policy also may trigger responsibilities under one or more of the federal antidiscrimination laws enforced by the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). As discussed in more detail below, by limiting its response to a specific application of its anti?bullying disciplinary policy, a school may fail to properly consider whether the student misconduct also results in discriminatory harassment.
The statutes that OCR enforces include Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 19641 (Title VI), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 19722 (Title IX), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 19733 (Section 504); and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 19904 (Title II). Section 504 and Title II prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.5 School districts may violate these civil rights statutes and the Department’s implementing regulations when peer harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability is sufficiently serious that it creates a hostile environment and such harassment is encouraged, tolerated, not adequately addressed, or ignored by school employees.6...."

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201010.pdf

[Anonymous]

VERY interesting info. , PP. I can't help but wonder if that is why our principal took such immediate, strong action. I plan to read the original link later. Thank-you very much!