I feel for this situation and I am appauled that parents would allow their children to bully another child. I have been on both sides of this issue with my boys, and I have to say that communication is key. Its clear that Gaffey tried this route and I find it disgusting that the school blew her off in the way they did.
But I may have the "small-town-life" as an advantage. I went to school with most of my kids' parents. When there has been a problem we think nothing of calling eachother up and saying "hey...are you aware that such and such happened on the way home from school today?" That is usually followed up with "he did WHAT?" and then the issue is resolved and punishments are handed down at home and school.
Communication. But in this milton case, perhaps the parents of the bullies need to be dealt with, as well as the school. Its ashame she had to move her daughter to another school.
At the private elementary school that I went to, if you beat someone up you would be luck to just get suspended. More likely, you would get expelled. I see no reason why kids, or parents, should think that they can do whatever they want in publics schools without repercussions.
It's absolutely disgraceful--and disgusting that teachers, parents and school administrators alike do or say little or nothing to help stop both the physical and the psychological/verbal bullying that's all too frequent in urban and suburban schools alike. School administrators are obligated to promote an atmosphere at school where bullying can be stopped before it even starts, which all too often, they don't do. It's high time that changed.
A "concerned parent" phoned the police, saying she was inciting a riot and slandering the principal.
What a freakin' imbecile. Sure, the police have nothing better than go hold some soccer mom's hand through a homophobic panic attack. Like the police are going to arrest someone for slander!
"That's enough about the principal not acting quickly enough, ma'am. Come with me, please, to slander prison!"
And I'm so sure that Terrifying Lesbian was inciting a riot. I bet she was turning the tables over to make barricades and yelling through a bullhorn, right? Something like "Take arms! Take arms! The heterosexuals will never take us alive!" Right? Right? Inciting a riot, ohmygod!
We have some nasty experiences, all of which ended in kids being under threat of suspension if parents didn't take the day off to get the party line from the principal at our kids' school.
Having to take the day off gets their attention.
Just after Universal Marriage was enacted, our then kindergarten age kid got upset in the bus line. Or then second grader put his arm around his brother and gave him a little kiss.
This resulted in a bunch of thuggish 5th graders attacking both of them with homophobic slurs. Worse yet, they verbally assaulted them with sexually graphic descriptions of the kind of sex that they presume gays have (and that excites their fathers to think and talk about, no doubt). Somehow, this continued through the bus line-up time and all the way home WITHOUT ADULT NOTICE OR INTERVENTION!
I was ready to call DSS and allege sexual misconduct against these thugs' parents (three years later, at least one has been permanently expelled from the school system for actual criminal activity, and another probably will be after trial for a racially motivated attack this summer).
I was ready to forcibly remove some big hair from some idiot chat and ignore it teacher heads and see if there was a brain under there. I was ready to kill, maim, destroy - how DARE these kids sexualize my children like this? How DARE their parents use their hate as an excuse to sexualize their children?
But I didn't have to. Dear Principal asked me to hold off on the DSS complaint. The kids were in the office first thing the next morning, and were required to do some remedial work over the next week (the school had opened that fall and previous school admins were blase about "boys will be boys" and "well, I went to school with their dads and they were bullies so just ...". So much for that.
Better yet, these kids weren't allowed in class until ALL of their guardians took time off and appeared for a little tutorial in appropriate school behavior, how all of this was being documented and tracked, and further hatred moments and sexualizing of kindergarteners may result in DSS reports from him (if not me).
I feel for this situation
I feel for this situation and I am appauled that parents would allow their children to bully another child. I have been on both sides of this issue with my boys, and I have to say that communication is key. Its clear that Gaffey tried this route and I find it disgusting that the school blew her off in the way they did.
But I may have the "small-town-life" as an advantage. I went to school with most of my kids' parents. When there has been a problem we think nothing of calling eachother up and saying "hey...are you aware that such and such happened on the way home from school today?" That is usually followed up with "he did WHAT?" and then the issue is resolved and punishments are handed down at home and school.
Communication. But in this milton case, perhaps the parents of the bullies need to be dealt with, as well as the school. Its ashame she had to move her daughter to another school.
Punishment
At the private elementary school that I went to, if you beat someone up you would be luck to just get suspended. More likely, you would get expelled. I see no reason why kids, or parents, should think that they can do whatever they want in publics schools without repercussions.
it's agreed.
It's absolutely disgraceful--and disgusting that teachers, parents and school administrators alike do or say little or nothing to help stop both the physical and the psychological/verbal bullying that's all too frequent in urban and suburban schools alike. School administrators are obligated to promote an atmosphere at school where bullying can be stopped before it even starts, which all too often, they don't do. It's high time that changed.
Sometimes parents suck.
What a freakin' imbecile. Sure, the police have nothing better than go hold some soccer mom's hand through a homophobic panic attack. Like the police are going to arrest someone for slander!
"That's enough about the principal not acting quickly enough, ma'am. Come with me, please, to slander prison!"
And I'm so sure that Terrifying Lesbian was inciting a riot. I bet she was turning the tables over to make barricades and yelling through a bullhorn, right? Something like "Take arms! Take arms! The heterosexuals will never take us alive!" Right? Right? Inciting a riot, ohmygod!
I bet that imbecile's kids were part of the mob.
Principled Principals make all the difference
We have some nasty experiences, all of which ended in kids being under threat of suspension if parents didn't take the day off to get the party line from the principal at our kids' school.
Having to take the day off gets their attention.
Just after Universal Marriage was enacted, our then kindergarten age kid got upset in the bus line. Or then second grader put his arm around his brother and gave him a little kiss.
This resulted in a bunch of thuggish 5th graders attacking both of them with homophobic slurs. Worse yet, they verbally assaulted them with sexually graphic descriptions of the kind of sex that they presume gays have (and that excites their fathers to think and talk about, no doubt). Somehow, this continued through the bus line-up time and all the way home WITHOUT ADULT NOTICE OR INTERVENTION!
I was ready to call DSS and allege sexual misconduct against these thugs' parents (three years later, at least one has been permanently expelled from the school system for actual criminal activity, and another probably will be after trial for a racially motivated attack this summer).
I was ready to forcibly remove some big hair from some idiot chat and ignore it teacher heads and see if there was a brain under there. I was ready to kill, maim, destroy - how DARE these kids sexualize my children like this? How DARE their parents use their hate as an excuse to sexualize their children?
But I didn't have to. Dear Principal asked me to hold off on the DSS complaint. The kids were in the office first thing the next morning, and were required to do some remedial work over the next week (the school had opened that fall and previous school admins were blase about "boys will be boys" and "well, I went to school with their dads and they were bullies so just ...". So much for that.
Better yet, these kids weren't allowed in class until ALL of their guardians took time off and appeared for a little tutorial in appropriate school behavior, how all of this was being documented and tracked, and further hatred moments and sexualizing of kindergarteners may result in DSS reports from him (if not me).
Good for the Principal
Kudos to the principal for standing up and doing the right thing!!