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| Agree | 75% | 99 votes | Total: 132 votes | |
| Disagree | 25% | 33 votes |
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Add to FavoritesOn the whole, the majority of us have had to deal with a schoolyard bully at some point in our lives. Whether they were the more direct type (EX: beat you up, stuffed you in a locker, stole your lunch money,) or more along the lines of subtle in their bullying (EX: called you names, incited peers to gang up on you, made people stop hanging around you,) the fact remains that bullies have been an obstacle for children and teens alike since school was invented, and while schools are taking active measures to stop bullying, the behavior has not stopped just yet. So what to do about it?
As many of us are aware, there is a state statute referred to as the "three-strikes law". Like the baseball rule it refers to, it means that if a person commits three crimes, they are considered by the law to be a habitual offender and are given an extremely harsh sentence, such as life imprisonment without parole. While I'm not suggesting that children or teens be thrown in jail for bullying their peers (overkill, much?) I would say that implementing a similar yet less severe method within the schools might not be such a bad idea. In other words, if a student has been proven in three separate instances to be an incorrigible bully, then they should be expelled from the school.
School is not only a place for educating our young people, but it is also one where children first learn how to get along with others. It goes without saying that bullying is not a conducive method of getting along with people, unless your definition of "getting along" differs greatly from the accepted definition. Bullying creates a hostile environment for the bullied, making it not only difficult to mingle with the rest of their classmates, but also has an adverse effect on their ability to learn. By allowing incorrigible bullies to remain within the school environment, we are not only leaving the other students unprotected, but we are also giving the students the message that the schools themselves are not interested in protecting them from a hostile environment.
As for the bullies themselves, they need to learn that treating their peers shamefully is not an approved method of dealing with others. While the onus of this does not actually fall on the school itself (that's really the parents' job,) the fact remains that there are some parents out there who do not concern themselves too closely with their children's behavior, which unfortunately leaves the schools to pick up the slack. If repeated suspensions or detentions do not get the message across to these parents that it is high time that they do something about their children's bullying, then perhaps the need to enroll them in another school further outside of their district will get the message across, if not a private school or just plain home-schooling.
For the bullies themselves, perhaps what is needed is the deprivation of their comfort zone to teach them that bullying is not an acceptable mode of conduct. As any former student knows, the hierarchy of a student body sets not only very quickly, but also rather rigidly. There's not a lot of upward mobility among children, and the kid who bullies their peers generally creates an environment where they are unquestionably at the top of the heap by instilling fear of reprisal in the rest of their class. By removing them from this environment and placing them in a new one, where the hierarchy has already been set by different children, they may just learn what it's like to be at the bottom of the social strata and change their ways.
Bullying is something that should be taken very seriously, not only because of how it effects those who are subjected to the bullying, but also because of the bullies themselves need to learn that this is unacceptable. By instituting a three-strikes rule within the schools, we will be doing a more thorough job of protecting their potential or actual targets, as well as sending a message to the bullies about the severity of their transgressions against their peers.
Learn more about this author, Rose Calder.
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Disagree
Parents may wish their children to live in perfect worlds, attend school where everything flows in a positive manner and all children behaved and well mannered. The reality is children attend school with a variety of behaviors, attitudes and manners. School is meant to be a place of learning, but becomes a place where teachers become disciplinarians and assume some of the parental actions of parents.
While bullies have existed for many years, the tolerance for their behavior is vanishing. People wish to implement and enforce policies for controlling bully behavior, but when children are young the criteria for what constitutes a bully and the disciplinary actions become blurred. What may be considered bullying behavior for a kindergartner may be completely different for a child of seven, eight or older. When a strict zero policy is implemented, all the shades of color vanish and it's yes/no or black/white with no leeway.
Suspending a bully does not help a child because the root of the unacceptable behavior has not been uncovered or resolved. A child who is acting out and tormenting other children has issues that require addressing before these actions escalate to extremely cruel actions. Children are not born bullies; negative actions have created this behavior in a child, usually from home environments.
The challenge extends beyond the classroom straight to the source. If the source is not corrected, the behavior being acted out in the form of bullying does not change. An abused child, mentally, emotionally or physically act aggressively at a child judged to be weaker or less inclined to defend. Bullying takes many forms from physical kicking, slapping and punching. A bully may spread vicious lies about another child resulting in the social ostracism of the bully's victim. Bullying techniques can be physical, mental and emotional.
At the other end of the debate, are the parents who do not believe their children capable of such behavior. They deny they have a bully child, created a bully child or their child needs help. Perhaps their own bully behavior does not allow them to understand the social unacceptability of their actions. Or perhaps, these parents when learning their child has been responsible for bullying behavior use harsh discipline which only creates more frustration within the bully child.
The solution may exist in implementing awareness programs, counseling programs or other programs to help the child. Schools may need to link with community or other available resources to offer child and parent counseling to redirect bully behavior into more positive behaviors. Community organizations may be recruited to offer assistance to develop programs to change behaviors before children grow into individuals headed for lives filled with crime and violence.
Gone are the days where children are taught at school the basics, reading, writing and arithmetic. Classrooms have become places children are taught correct behaviors, values and positive social interaction. Sometimes a bully child needs guidance, healthy attention and positive discouragement of such unacceptable behavior.
Parents may argue that children with bullying or behavior issues do not belong with their children, but where do they belong? A child is the responsibility of the community, not just of the parents. Not all parents have the correct skills to raise a child properly, and the community must step in at times and help the child. All children are the future parents, leaders, and step into a variety of roles and jobs as adults. Do we want to add criminal to this list because we do not wish to deal in a positive manner with a bully child?
Removing a child from school after three strikes is not the solution, but sets in motion other damaging cycles. This child goes to another school, with the stigma of bully more frustrated or abused from this process. Learning has been affected from the removal and placement in one or more new environments. The bully may be temporarily removed, but reappear as an angry adult who would possibly have changed with behavior modification assistance. Three strikes are for hardened criminals, not for children crying for help.
Learn more about this author, Melody Landeros.
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