Bullying

[MrsGoof]

DG,

It's not the teachers responsibility, but often the teachers are the first adults aware of the situation, and IMPO should act as such and start the ball rolling to resolve the problem, rather than ignoring it.

[Joe Black]

Violence works...

"Bullies are cowards and once you attack them or make them look foolish in front of peers, they always disappear."

Unfortunately occassionally you get the nutter who, because you've shown him up in front of his mates, waits outside your class then sticks a knife in your back, as happened not to long ago to some poor kid I believe.

[Bagpuss]

Moral of the story: this behaviour transcends classes - it is based upon the amount of mutual involvement and cooperation between the parents, child and schools and defining the bounds and ownership of responsibility and decent behaviour.

Most bullies I have encountered have come from troubled backgrounds, Of course as you say it's not always true, the underlyning thing is the parents don't know what johnny is up or don't give a sh1t. The problem is nowadays bullying is becoming more common,perhaps now it is transcending background, more and more often. My theory would be this is because most kids now bring themselves up as they are shipped out from pillar to post every day of the year.

[John Galt]

Let's face it - this is not NL trying to resolve the problem, it is NL raising revenue. There has always been bullying at school but, in the past and certainly in my generation it was dealt with by the teachers - usually with a quick clip round the ear - but NL have ensured that teachers have absolutely no power and therefore there is no discipline. This has given the bullies the upper hand

[Dundeegeorge]

Wow, and I thought I was cynical

Let's face it - this is not NL trying to resolve the problem, it is NL raising revenue. There has always been bullying at school but, in the past and certainly in my generation it was dealt with by the teachers - usually with a quick clip round the ear - but NL have ensured that teachers have absolutely no power and therefore there is no discipline. This has given the bullies the upper hand

JG, even I hadn't considered that angle seriously.
I was hoping that someone in the govermint had noticed the increased incidence of this behaviour and was making an honest attempt at trying to deal with it.
You're right that the lack of discipline allows it to happen, but it has to be addressed somehow, and as I noted earlier, actually holding parents responsible for their offspring seems to have made a difference to levels of truancy.
So if you had the power, what steps would you take to root out bullying?

[John Galt]

JG, even I hadn't considered that angle seriously.
I was hoping that someone in the govermint had noticed the increased incidence of this behaviour and was making an honest attempt at trying to deal with it.
You're right that the lack of discipline allows it to happen, but it has to be addressed somehow, and as I noted earlier, actually holding parents responsible for their offspring seems to have made a difference to levels of truancy.
So if you had the power, what steps would you take to root out bullying?

I think that bullying will always exist. I think the only effective way to deal with it is to empower the victims i.e. let them know that if they let someone know what is going on somthing effective will be done about it. I would also have 2 or 3 counsellors in each school (not the airy fairy bunch you usually see but formally trained psycologists and psychiatrists) to deal not only with the victims but with the perpetrators as well. If that fails I would give the buggers a damn good thrashing

[Dundeegeorge]

Well you get my vote

but which buggers would you give a damn good thrashing to?
Just the bullies, or their parents too?

[hyperD]

but which buggers would you give a damn good thrashing to?
Just the bullies, or their parents too?

I'm happy to bend any of those yummy mummies across me knees and give them a good spanking.

[hyperD]

I think that bullying will always exist. I think the only effective way to deal with it is to empower the victims i.e. let them know that if they let someone know what is going on somthing effective will be done about it. I would also have 2 or 3 counsellors in each school (not the airy fairy bunch you usually see but formally trained psycologists and psychiatrists) to deal not only with the victims but with the perpetrators as well. If that fails I would give the buggers a damn good thrashing

Our school use to expel persistant bullies. And inform the other local schools as well. Once the perps were shopped or caught doing the bullying they were sent to the headmaster along with the parents and often the victims parents, told in no uncertain terms that if this happens again they will be expelled with no exceptions.

And they were. And publically made examples of to the rest of the school. Great public dressing downs in assembly, like a crims hall of fame.

Mind you that was in the day of the slipper and the cane where even the most arduant "thug under training" had a healthy respect for some degree of authority.

[John Galt]

but which buggers would you give a damn good thrashing to?
Just the bullies, or their parents too?

Just the bullies DG - parents would be a lost cause I should think