Dr. Mike's
Video BLOG
Daughter Bullied On Bus – Dad Goes Bezerk!
September 22nd, 2010
Hi everybody, it’s Dr. Mike and it’s time again to jump into my thoughts and get in my head!
ALERT: This one is ripped right from the headlines and it’s full of information that will get your blood pumping!
It’s quick and to the point — And as always, you have the last word… Comment Below!
Take Care,
Dr. Mike
Situations like this one continue because GOOD PEOPLE say NOTHING.
It’s definitely time to SPEAK OUT….
taking personal safety into account – there is always SOMETHING that anyone can do in any given situation…..
at the very least – use the cell phone to call the authorities and get the bullies behind bars where they belong !!!
While the school/bus driver need to step up and protect the girl, sometimes, they still can’t do anything about it. My wife is a teacher and I hear all the time about how they can’t suspend a child because their IEP doesn’t allow them to (even when it comes to assault, fighting, etc.). There was a child who got into a fight in the hallway and got to stay in school because her teacher allowed her to switch classes during the specified passing time, instead of having her switch five minutes before class was over. My feeling is, if you can’t handle being in the hallway with other children for 3 minutes while you go from one class to the other, then you need to be learning in a confined space . . . like a cell.
Quit making excuses for these kids and start holding THEM responsible. Sometimes the parents can be in that conversation, but ultimately, we are all responsible for our own actions. We shouldn’t let them be 18 and in the adult legal system before we teach them that lesson.
We need to cut the teachers/principals some slack and start going after our state politicians and our state superintendants. They are making things entirely too difficult on the teachers. They give them mounds of data and paperwork to fill out, and don’t leave them any time to teach. Then they wonder why our kids can’t learn and they act out all the time. They’ve taken away all the fun in school and expect our kids to be robots. Can you get your child to sit in your house for 7 hours on a Saturday? Then don’t expect our teachers to be able to get them to do it for 5 days out of the week!
Two examples of dumb changes made in Indiana this year:
1. If a teacher takes time off for professional development, it counts against their attendance record, which is used as part of review at the end of the year (as of right now, they also count maternity leave against them as well). Also, student attendance needs to be at 95%, but they don’t leave exceptions for hospital stays, etc. Not to mention that a teacher/school has absolutely no control over student attendance. That comes from the home. But no politician will EVER tell a parent or student that they need to be responsible!
2. They made the school day for Middle and High School start 30 minutes earlier (now 7:30am). Study after study show that kids hitting puberty (through high school) need more sleep. Their bodies cannot function effectively without at least 8-10 hours of sleep. Due to daylight savings time, it doesn’t get dark until 9pm. Furthermore, the socially popular television (American Idol, Monday Night Football) don’t start until 9pm. We expect our children to function, sitting at a desk, for 7 hours with 6-8 hours of sleep. We barely do it as adults!
Just another case of our society victimizing kids. Not only was this young lady allowed to be victimized, but not dealing with the boys who taunted her was victimizing them. I say fired the bus driver and get a bus driver that actually cares about kids. What was he/she doing driving that bus anyway if the best interest of all kids should be the primary interest. Sounds like the school district is only interested in herding cattle rather than caring for kids.
Thanks for sharing this – May I share your clip with my School Board to take a proactive approach to dealing with the “minor” bullying that we face?
As for your questions regarding what would I do if it was my son who was involved in the bullying…I would go to that father and child, apologize whole-heartedly for the damage done, and ask them both to take action by filing charges against my son and the others involved! There’s no excuse for abuse!! Everyone needs to be held accountable for their actions, including my child, and that family needs to be empowered through legal action!!
Another case of good people being pushed to the limit by the inaction of those who are charged with the safety of our children/society. We see it everyday with the inaction of our government, school administrators and teachers. The school should be charged with negligence and a lawsuit filed. If a parent neglects their child, Children’s services is called in. Personally, I would be enraged.
This is not an isolated incident. As a previous bus driver, and one that did a multi handicap route, the driver knew it was going on, and their obligation was to call police. As I had incidents on my bus, the system usually wants to ignore it.
This happened to my daughter in the 6th grade. So bad she came home with bruises. They had her down in the middle of the isle as another child stood up and was hitting and kicking her. The driver never reported it! How did they miss it. Selective sight? When I went to the school, since their was no report, they said they could not do anything about it?
Hooray for the father. If that is what it takes to wake the system up for fair and equal treatment. I feel the driver should have to go to sensitivity class and then do community service with handicap kids.
As for the boys. I thought assault was against the law? Selective punishments?