Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => Hyde Schools => Topic started by: Ursus on August 04, 2009, 11:35:50 AM
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Narcing on your neighbor can solve that "bully problem."
Straight from Maine's bullying mecca, Hyde School, comes this sage piece of reassuring pontification. Bullying expert Malcolm Gauld informs us how the Hyde School practice of "Brother's Keeper" can solve America's "bullying problem."
Strangely, Malcolm fails to address how "Brother's Keeper" is, in and of itself, one of the worst forms of bullying around. Guess that might cut into the bottom line right quick, eh? :D
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Essays
Posted: Jul 6, 2009
BULLYING: BROTHER'S KEEPER PART OF THE SOLUTION? (http://http://www.strugglingteens.com/artman/publish/BullyingES_090702.shtml)
By: Malcolm Gauld
Although bullying is an old problem, it sure seems to have a new face. Starting out as a teacher three decades ago, I tended to tell parents to simply step out of the picture and let their son or daughter face their bullies on their own. That was the advice our parents gave us when we were kids. However, looking back I don't remember any shootings in my elementary school. I'm pretty sure that we didn't have gangs on our playground. I know that we didn't have the Internet.
The Website: http://www.targetbully.com (http://www.targetbully.com) defines bullying as "repeated, unprovoked harassment of another individual in which that individual has difficulty defending himself/herself." That sounds simple enough, but bullying has changed. For sure, the old school playground and hallway stuff that I remember as both victim and perpetrator - still goes on, but the internet has ushered in a whole new breed.
While our mothers wisely cautioned us that sticks and stones might break our bones while assuring us that names would never hurt us, "cyber-bullying" has ratcheted everything up with devious attacks on reputations by invisible perpetrators who hide behind the insidious cloak of anonymity that the web provides.
The web site http://www.Parentingbook.Com (http://www.Parentingbook.Com) presents some troubling statistics:
- 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students.
- 85 percent of girls and 76 percent of boys have been sexually harassed in some form, and only 18 percent of those incidents were perpetrated by an adult.
- Young bullies carry a 1-in-4 chance of having a criminal record by age 30.
- One in seven students is either a bully or a victim. Seventy-one percent of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.
- One out of 20 students has seen a student with a gun at school.
Suffice it to say that the digital world has brought bullying to a new level. So how do we address it?
On one hand, my seasoning as an educator makes me reluctant to merely echo the advice that my parents and teachers gave me. At the same time, I often find myself trying to keep the parents from getting overly involved. Maybe that's because I rarely encounter parents who err on the side of being under-involved.
I have come to visualize a balance. If the adults step in, take complete charge and "fix it," the "fix" tends to result in a short-term bandage. Eventually the problem will once again rear its ugly head, usually when least expected and often with greater intensity.
Even if we manage to install so many controls that we are successful in stopping blatant bullying, there is the risk that we can inadvertently fuel two problematic side effects: (1) We may drive it underground (or over to the Web) where things can get especially nasty; and/or (2) We run the risk that our children will grow up ill-prepared to handle the many challenges they will face as adults when we are no longer hovering like helicopters to protect them.
If the balance tips to the other side and the kids try to do it all by themselves, a "Lord of the Flies" mentality can form, resulting in an anarchy or gang mentality that creates as many victims as it helps. Hence, there needs to be a balance of kids and adults working together.
Three decades ago at the Hyde schools, we pioneered a concept called "Brother's Keeper" which calls upon students to interact with and occasionally even intrude upon their peers in order to help each other pursue their personal best. If it has taught me anything, I am convinced of one thing: the "cops and robbers" system we grew up with (cops = teachers; robbers = students) is doomed. While Brother's Keeper has been forged in Hyde's two boarding schools in Bath and Woodstock, CT, the real test has been in its transference to our public schools in the Bronx (NYC), New Haven and Washington DC.
I called some of my colleagues from Hyde's public charter schools to get their take on bullying. Both schools are justifiably proud of what the Director of High School Washington DC Ronaldo Murray calls a "culture of acceptance."(Hyde-DC stands out as one of the few inner city District high schools with no metal detectors at the front door.)
Assistant Head Chrissie Brown chimes in, "While the kids initially see our concept of Brother's Keeper as snitching, they ultimately realize that they are actually helping each other out. When we adults get purely punitive, we take away their power to practice that." (We also increase the climate for bullying.) This is not to say that bullying never happens, but as Yvonnia Wise at Hyde's South Bronx charter stresses, "We must develop both an eye and an ear for bullying even in its smallest form. Both the victims and perpetrators need to know that bullying will be addressed immediately."
At the end of the day, we need a mixture of Mom's advice from days gone by combined with a modern understanding of "It Takes a Village." They can't do it by themselves. We cannot do it for them. Maybe we can form a partnership that can get it done.
About the author:
Malcolm Gauld is President of Hyde Schools. For more information, complete bios and photos, contact Rose Mulligan, 207-837-9441, or http://www.hyde.edu (http://www.hyde.edu).
Copyright © 2009, Woodbury Reports, Inc.
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Everytime I read something about bullying now my brain keeps getting invaded by that "bulling is rabbit" meme that was on *chan for a while.
http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Bullin ... _is_Rabbit (http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Bulling_is_rabbit#Bulling_is_Rabbit)
what a fucked up story that was. Crazy next door neighbor mom bitch.
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From your link (http://http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Bulling_is_rabbit#Bulling_is_Rabbit):
"Computers are tools of the devil. Look at the doors to evil that have opened because of computers.
—Sue, Nov 12, 2007 1:22 PM
[/list]
The only thing still missing from this latest advertising media frenzy is a press photo of the Be a buddy not a bully tee-shirts from the Character Education Council's Anti-Cyber bullying Week at Troy Middle School.[/list]
:roflmao: :roflmao:
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From your link (http://http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Bulling_is_rabbit#Bulling_is_Rabbit):
"Computers are tools of the devil. Look at the doors to evil that have opened because of computers.
—Sue, Nov 12, 2007 1:22 PM
[/list]
The only thing still missing from this latest advertising media frenzy is a press photo of the Be a buddy not a bully tee-shirts from the Character Education Council's Anti-Cyber bullying Week at Troy Middle School.[/list]
:roflmao: :roflmao:
Do adults think all teens are mongoloids? Just say no? Be a buddy? There is a big difference between being stupid and being an asshole.
Sometimes I wish Big Fun really existed, cause they would totally do a song about this.
Teenage suicide... don't do it.
Course, the song has to be played on a radio that looks like a big rock.
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Assistant Head Chrissie Brown chimes in, "While the kids initially see our concept of Brother's Keeper as snitching, they ultimately realize that they are actually helping each other out. When we adults get purely punitive, we take away their power to practice that."
Oh yeah, you def don't want to take away a kid's power to practice getting purely punitive!
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- One in seven students is either a bully or a victim. Seventy-one percent of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.
Make that seven out of seven at Hyde.
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Hyde is rife with bullies in both the student population and the faculty. Not surprising is that the worst offenders on campus are those who are alums. Seems the message of character and integrity didn't take hold. I think the reason for the bullish attitude is a compensation method for lack of qualification to be a real leader. If not actually qualified to teach, it must be covered up somehow, and intimidation appears to be the method of choice. Real growth, growth that challenges authority and the decisions being made for you by others isn't actually encouraged. They want conformity for the sake of community. Not a community of strong minded individuals. Pity the fool who thinks for him or herself.
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It's funny how many experts have opinions on how to handle bullies, none of them seem to get that this psycho-babble doesn't work in the real world.
Teddy Roosevelt had a theory too. Walk softly and carry a big stick. After all, how does our military handle bullies. This seems to be the only thing that really works.
CG
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Im with teddy. I personally think that the only way to handle a bully is to beat the crap out of them, or at least try to. They normally back down. (that was my experience anyway) theyll be pissed, but theyll back down.
Even this isnt necessarily a guarantee that theyll leave you alone, though. If they are thugs as well as cowards, theyll sic their faggoty homie friends on you.. or, theyll just blow your head off.
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Hyde is rife with bullies in both the student population and the faculty. Not surprising is that the worst offenders on campus are those who are alums. Seems the message of character and integrity didn't take hold. I think the reason for the bullish attitude is a compensation method for lack of qualification to be a real leader. If not actually qualified to teach, it must be covered up somehow, and intimidation appears to be the method of choice. Real growth, growth that challenges authority and the decisions being made for you by others isn't actually encouraged. They want conformity for the sake of community. Not a community of strong minded individuals. Pity the fool who thinks for him or herself.
I couldn't agree more.
Of course, the real reason a lot of parents ship their kids off to Hyde is to turn them into well-behaved and duly appreciative Stepford children. Those fine "five words" are but window dressing and marketing hoopla, and bear no relation to reality. :D
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It's funny how many experts have opinions on how to handle bullies, none of them seem to get that this psycho-babble doesn't work in the real world.
Teddy Roosevelt had a theory too. Walk softly and carry a big stick. After all, how does our military handle bullies. This seems to be the only thing that really works.
CG
One of the biggest bullies at Hyde School would appear to be the jokester who started the whole fracas: Joe Gauld. Here's another one: former Hyde headmaster Ed Legg, now apparently a member of Maine's House of Representatives (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=28733).
:clown:
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Im with teddy. I personally think that the only way to handle a bully is to beat the crap out of them, or at least try to. They normally back down. (that was my experience anyway) theyll be pissed, but theyll back down.
Even this isnt necessarily a guarantee that theyll leave you alone, though. If they are thugs as well as cowards, theyll sic their faggoty homie friends on you.. or, theyll just blow your head off.
I wonder just how many kids Joe Gauld has smacked around? Seems to have become a more frequent occurrence once Hyde School started enrolling girls, his preferred target. I guess he must have felt the likelihood of retaliation was probably somewhat reduced.
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Lon Woodbury, whose site was the source link of Malcolm's essay in the OP, has also gotten on the bandwagon with the bullying issue. Here's his version of resolving the problem, from his Parent Empowerment (http://http://parent-empowerment-blog.com/) blog. Unbelievably (or, perhaps unfortunately, believably, as the case may be), he comes right out and loads blame on the victim:
...The first flawed premise is that the bully is the whole problem, and the victim is totally innocent. It ignores the possibility that the victim might act in a way to encourage bullying, and thus perversely contributes to their own suffering.[/list]
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Solving Bullying In School (http://http://parent-empowerment-blog.com/2009/09/16/solving-bullying-in-school/)
by Lon Woodbury on September 16, 2009
A major issue in schools nationally is the issue of bullying. Most states have initiated legislation in an attempt to curb bullying, through providing consequences against the bully.
This issue of bullying resonates to the staff at private residential emotional growth and therapeutic boarding schools and programs because so many of the students enrolled have either been bullies or their victims, and sometimes both. The issue is so common that having to deal with it in these schools and programs is almost routine. It is so common that it can almost be taken as a given that virtually every student in some way acts in unhealthy ways as either a bully or victim. The basis for dealing with it in these schools and programs is to build a tight structure or environment based on familiar staff involvement that allows consequences to be immediate and appropriate. In addition, the consequences are not punishment, but are treated as a lesson. For example the bully is helped to understand how his/her actions might make them more lonely and isolated and untrusted. In addition, the victim is helped to understand how his/her behaviors might encourage a bully to target them and thus subtly contribute to the problem.
The better known approach utilized by legislatures and school districts around the country was surveyed recently by the Associated Press. The results were reported in the Atlanta-Constitution that concluded that the legislative attempt to curb bullying give scant protection (http://http://www.ednews.org/articles/school-bullying-laws-give-scant-protection-.html). The reasons given for failure were varied, but in instance after instance the survey found that anti-bullying laws did not help. From my experience it is obvious that this common public approach to this problem is based on some flawed premises. The first flawed premise is that the bully is the whole problem, and the victim is totally innocent. It ignores the possibility that the victim might act in a way to encourage bullying, and thus perversely contributes to their own suffering.
The other premise is that the solution is to simply punish the perpetrator. We all know that straight forward punishment often backfires and is as likely to create resentment as compliance, and the compliance often is simply an act with no lasting positive impact.
I think the lesson we can take from this is that no matter how well intended legislators might be, they do not have the power to directly, in a command and control manner, solve the problem, and the odds are that their actions might make things worse. The way to solve the problem of bullying has been learned in many places. The ones I am most familiar with are in the network of private emotional growth/therapeutic residential schools and programs. That approach is to work with each child as an individual, intervention done by those adults who know that child well, and have earned the child's trust. This is the way both bullies and victims can learn to address their attitudes and fears causing the problem, and help them to find a way of healthier behaviors.
This is the lesson schools and parents can take away from this and start doing something that actually helps children, instead of just demanding legislators pass a law.
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Yea,
You can't legistlate morality. "The only answer to a violent attack is a more viscious and violent counter-attack"...Richard Marcinkco...commander... SEAL team Six, an acutal living breathing hero. Not like Michael Jordan, who I respect for his sports ability, but without them would be flipping burgers at Mc
Donald's.
Most semi-educated non-liberal, know this, the rest are just cake-eaters. The only thing a violent criminal fears most is not the police....it's an armed citizen.
Didn't your parents teach you the way to handle a bully is to punch him/her out??? I know many of you are the product of Clinton's public school system. Yea, you're all butt monkeys, right? Grow some balls or smoke a cigar. I think most of you have some intelligence though. Some of you need an education in real life.
Try growing up in a Catholic environment. After all, for all you religion or anti-religion touting parasites...didn't you read the bilble...Christ didn't come here to unite...he came here to divide..the wheat from the chaff....anyone touting peace and love are known to be usurpers, liars, whitch doctors and possible anti-Christs's and will suffer a fools fate.
Christ came here to divide...not unite. Fools touting peace will burn. We are here to divide too...the wheat from the chaff. Choose your side.
"The only way to survive in this life is to manipulate....and then you will get what you want.....there are life lessons in every situation....look for them and you will gain alot of knowledge and wisdom...to figure out life is impossible, but to manipulate is easy.".......aka, unknown asshole profit with his head up his ass.
Contact soon.
CG
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What the hell happened to you whining about how you think RAD kids are manipulators?
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Your a real clown, dumb ass and shit eater if you can't read between the lines. I'm not talking to you fool.
CG
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I cant even bring myself to read that woodbury thing, the irony is just so blatant and sad.
everybody now...
Lon talking about combating bullying is like... (I'll go first)
A skinhead talking about cultural awareness
who's next?
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@CG
Didn't you read the unknown asshole with his head up his ass part???
CG
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"The only way to survive in this life is to manipulate....and then you will get what you want.....there are life lessons in every situation....look for them and you will gain alot of knowledge and wisdom...to figure out life is impossible, but to manipulate is easy.".......aka, unknown asshole profit with his head up his ass.
Sounds to me like that came from one of those LGAT gooroo "human potential experts" like Werner Erhard of est aka Landmark Forum, or ... Bob Hoffman (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=26801&p=330665#p330665)! :D
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I cant even bring myself to read that woodbury thing, the irony is just so blatant and sad.
everybody now...
Lon talking about combating bullying is like... (I'll go first)
A skinhead talking about cultural awareness
who's next?
I'll bite. How 'bout: "Lon talking about combating bullying is like..."
... (War profiteer) George W. Bush claiming he only wanted "peace" for the Middle East.
Seriously, I had the same visceral reaction reading Malcolm's take on it in the OP. The incredibility factor went through the roof when he actually used a comparison to "Lord of the Flies" as an example of what Hyde does NOT do! :eek:
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I cant even bring myself to read that woodbury thing, the irony is just so blatant and sad.
everybody now...
Lon talking about combating bullying is like... (I'll go first)
A skinhead talking about cultural awareness
who's next?
Idi Amin conducting a victim awareness workshop
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Here is a copy of the article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution mentioned in Lon's bullying essay (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=28219#p346415) on the previous page.
There is a reference to Hyde in this piece; perhaps obscure, perhaps not. Who can find it?
Alternative link for story: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/ ... laws_N.htm (http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-09-14-bullying-laws_N.htm)
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School bullying laws give scant protection (http://http://www.ednews.org/articles/school-bullying-laws-give-scant-protection-.html)
Written By: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
14-9-09
Categorized in: Behavioral Health - EducationNews, EducationNews Today, K-12 EducationNews
ATLANTA (AP) — Laws meant to protect youngsters from playground bullies are largely ineffective, according to an Associated Press review, and several students' recent suicides have parents and advocates calling for tougher measures.
Forty-four states expressly ban bullying, a legislative legacy of a rash of school shootings in the late '90s, yet few if any of those measures have identified children who excessively pick on their peers, an Associated Press review has found. And few offer any method for ensuring the policies are enforced, according to data compiled by the National Council of State Legislatures.
The issue came to a head in April when Jaheem Jaheem, 11, committed suicide at his Atlanta-area home after his parents say he was repeatedly tormented in school. District officials denied it, and an independent review found bullying wasn't a factor, a conclusion his family rejects.
Regardless, Georgia's law, among the toughest in the nation, still would not have applied: It only applies to students in grades six to 12. Jaheem was a fifth-grader.
Georgia's law has one of the largest gaps between what it requires of districts and the tools it gives them for meeting those requirements. The state doesn't collect data specifically on bullying occurrences, despite legislation that promises to strip state funding from schools failing to take action after three instances involving a bully.
After Jaheem's death, other parents came forward to say their children had been bullied and that school officials did nothing with the complaints, rendering the state's law useless.
"There is a systematic problem," said Mike Wilson, who said his 12-year-old daughter was bullied for two years in the same school district where Jaheem died. "The lower level employees, the teachers, the principals, are trying to keep this information suppressed at the lowest possible level."
Only six states — Montana, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, North Dakota and South Dakota — and the District of Columbia lack specific laws targeting school bullying, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most states require school districts to adopt open-ended policies to prohibit bullying and harassment.
While some direct state education officials to form model policies that school districts should mimic, they offer little to assure the policies are enforced; only a handful of states require specific data gathering meant to assure bullying is being monitored, for instance.
"The states themselves can't micromanage a school district — but they can say to a school district, 'Look, you have to have consequences,'" said Brenda High, whose website, Bully Police USA, tracks anti-bullying laws across the nation, and who advocates for strict repercussions for bullies. The Washington state-based advocate's son, Jared, was 13 when he committed suicide in 1998 after complaining of bullying.
"It needs to be written into the law that bullying has the same consequences as assault," she said. "The records and such need to be kept so that if the child is a chronic bully, they — after so many instances — will end up in an alternative school."
Alaska and Georgia have particularly specific statutes. Alaska's Department of Education and Early Development must compile annual data on bullying complaints and report it to the Legislature.
Georgia's 10-year-old law goes a step further. It specifies that three instances of bullying is grounds for transfer to an alternative school, away from the victim. School systems not in compliance forfeit state funding, according to the law.
Despite that record-keeping provision, the Georgia Department of Education cannot say whether any child has been transferred as a result of bullying because the department only tracks the number for broader offenses, including fighting and threats, spokesman Dana Tofig said.
No school has lost funding under the law, according to the department.
Some school districts say they keep track of complaints, especially those involving a single child being bullied more than once, and that they address those cases. Without a legal obligation to report such data to state officials, however, it's unclear how any such statistics are used.
In 2007, nearly a third of students ages 12 to 18 reported having been bullied during the school year, according to data on more than 55 million students compiled annually by the National Center for Education Statistics. That's up from as few as 1 in 10 students in the '90s, though bullying experts point out the rising numbers may reflect more reports of bullying, not necessarily more incidents.
Many children reported teasing, spreading rumors and threats, all harder to spot and manage, school leaders say.
"One of the questions is how do you quantify bullying? It could even be as simple as a rolling of the eyes," said Dale Davis, a spokesman for schools in DeKalb County, Ga., where Jaheem committed suicide.
District officials said soon after the boy's death that there was no evidence Jaheem was bullied, and that outside factors including the death of a close relative influenced him to take his life.
Jaheem's death in mid-April came barely two weeks after Sirdeaner Walker found her son Carl hanged in her Springfield, Mass., home. The 11-year-old had complained of teasing almost immediately after arriving at his new charter school, she said.
Parents in Illinois likewise pointed to bullies after three suicides there in February: a 10-year-old boy hanged himself in a restroom stall in a suburban Chicago school, an 11-year-old boy was found dead in Chatham, south of Springfield, and a father found his 11-year-old daughter hanged in a closet of their Chicago home.
Dr. Diahann Meekins Moore, associate director for psychiatric services at the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services, cautioned that it's unclear whether bullying could be considered a primary cause in those deaths or in any suicide.
All the same, every suicide with a hint of bullying, every school rampage involving a shooter who claims to have been bullied renews the debate over whether anyone can curb what most consider a harsh and inevitable part of childhood, and if so, who bears that responsibility.
"A lot of this has to be handled in the home," said Peter Daboul, chair of the board of trustees at New Leadership, the Massachusetts school where Walker-Hoover was a 6th grader.
Teachers there will receive training on spotting childhood depression and bullying, he said, "but you also have the family unit where these kids are hopefully taught the difference between right and wrong."
Sirdeaner Walker said reminding a child that they're loved at home is less effective when they're being teased in the classroom.
"I can say that all the time," Walker said. "But again, I have to send my child back to the school."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
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What about teaching them reality including self-defence instead of zero tolerance policies?
zero tolerance doesn't work in the real world. Why? Because it doesn't teach a measured response which has been the basis of common law for centuries.
You didn't stop Hitler by negotiating, appeasing him or employing the conflict resolution model, if someone did, I'll gladly change my position.
How many countries do we have in the world, over 180? How many wars going on concurrently, over 120? What gives? After all, shouldn't they be able to just talk this out?
Let's try teaching the truth for a while, and expecting people to act responsibly, and when they don't, make them, according to the measured response model. This way, no-one's spirit will be broken, independent, free-thinkers are welcome to do as such, as long as they don't hurt anyone.
CG
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What about teaching them reality including self-defence instead of zero tolerance policies?
zero tolerance doesn't work in the real world. Why? Because it doesn't teach a measured response which has been the basis of common law for centuries.
You didn't stop Hitler by negotiating, appeasing him or employing the conflict resolution model, if someone did, I'll gladly change my position.
How many countries do we have in the world, over 180? How many wars going on concurrently, over 120? What gives? After all, shouldn't they be able to just talk this out?
Let's try teaching the truth for a while, and expecting people to act responsibly, and when they don't, make them, according to the measured response model. This way, no-one's spirit will be broken, independent, free-thinkers are welcome to do as such, as long as they don't hurt anyone.
CG
Zero tolerance = zero tolerance for everything except bullying, as far as public schools go. So a kid who is a victim of bullying will get locked up if s/he overreacts, yet the bully gets to continue his bullying.
Makes sense, if you're trying to create a society which will accept every new bullshit policy paring down freedoms and stripping individual's rights away. Makes sense, if you're trying to create a society that steps in tune with "might makes right."
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From the above-posted Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, "School bullying laws give scant protection (http://http://www.ednews.org/articles/school-bullying-laws-give-scant-protection-.html)":
...Jaheem's death in mid-April came barely two weeks after Sirdeaner Walker found her son Carl hanged in her Springfield, Mass., home. The 11-year-old had complained of teasing almost immediately after arriving at his new charter school, she said.
<...snip snip...>
"A lot of this has to be handled in the home," said Peter Daboul, chair of the board of trustees at New Leadership, the Massachusetts school where Walker-Hoover was a 6th grader.
Teachers there will receive training on spotting childhood depression and bullying, he said, "but you also have the family unit where these kids are hopefully taught the difference between right and wrong."
Sirdeaner Walker said reminding a child that they're loved at home is less effective when they're being teased in the classroom.
"I can say that all the time," Walker said. "But again, I have to send my child back to the school."
Anyone care to venture a guess as to WHO founded New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, Massachusetts?
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I still maintain that nothing cures a bout of bullying more effectively than a sucker punch to the back of the head with a bag of rocks.
If the school or the other parent gets on my kid's case about it? I'll sure as shit go to bat for him/her.
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Ursus,
I am not one to strip away individual rights in any form. I'm a firm believer that those who sacrifice essential liberties for temporary security deserve neither.
My point is that children need to be taught how to handle real life situations that are appropriate for the circumstances, hence, a measured response. Zero tolerance does not teach a measured responce, i.e. you shouldn't get the death penalty for stealing a gum ball. In the school setting, a child who stands up for themselves and knocks out a bully should never be suspended, maybe they should get an award. What is wrong with rewarding good and punishing the bad?
We have a curriculum in school that someone has decided what is best for our children, I'm OK with that as long as freedoms are protected and no-one is usurping my family values, the rest should be taught at home. The kids can question them all they want and I'm OK with different perspectives and will even instruct my children on what those are. But I'd prefer to protect my values than have my child subjected to some fundamentalist suicide bomber's or the gangbanger herion dealer down the street. At least until my children have some idea of a "common sense" moral compass, hopefully developed before they are 18.
However, we don't teach our older children common sense, how to live within your means, how to balance a check book, real conflict resolution, with the last step being self defense. How to look out and protect weaker kids etc etc. In many public shools, policy is "violence is never an acceptable solution". I say garbage. Violence, in the only acceptable legal form, self defense, has an ABSOLUTE place in all our lives, hence the reason for the 2nd Amendment. Otherwise we teach kids it's OK to be a victim, because others will protect you.
This kind of thinking is what leads to more victims.
Don't you think if we taught children how to handle bullies according to real life legally acceptable ways, there would be less bullies in the world?
If we teach all children to look out for the weak and those who cannot defend themselves, what bully would ever want to bully when 4 or 5 weaker people stand together as a team?
I believe, because there is no true outlet for handling bullies in the school systems today, kids are resorting to desperate means such as shooting up their class mates rather than just boxing it out.
In my schools, grammer and highschool, we were allowed to box it out if we were evenly matched, no-one held a grudge, and then we became freinds instead of plotting against each other, or building bombs in our garages. Some of my best friends now are people I've fought with as kids. Testing each others limits is normal, especially for children.
CG
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It is my contention that this "Zero Tolerance" policy is actually a veritable boon to programs, as it creates the conditions for getting kids labeled as having dysfunctional behavior, which in turn ultimately gets them recommended for programs.
Zero tolerance neither helps the victim, nor the bully. It crams kids into a very strict code of behavior, and those not fitting the norm stick out in ways that can get them into a pack of trouble, ofttimes not in keeping with the scale of the original "crime." It also leaves over-stressed administrators with the task of using their "discretion" in deeming said seriousness, and enables them to ship difficult kids out of district altogether too easily, in some cases even having them institutionalized against parental wishes. And so it starts.
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Anyone care to venture a guess as to WHO founded New Leadership Charter Public School in Springfield, Massachusetts?
"New Leadership Charter Public School is a college preparatory school that emphasizes academic achievement, character development, leadership training and community service"[/list]
Hyde School founded Springfield's New Leadership Charter School.
From Joe Gauld's "article" (essay?) "Character Development: A School's Primary Task. (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=22009&p=266635#p266798)" in The Wall Street Journal (April, 1992):
We at Hyde are now setting up Hyde public-school models, one of which is slated to open in September in Gardiner, Maine. Similar models are expected to open, probably in Indianapolis, IN, Winston-Salem, N.C., and Springfield, Mass. Each will require a commitment from student, parent and teacher alike to honor Hyde principles at home and at school.
<...snip...>
Hyde defines a basic family as at least "one committed adult and one growing child". We find a mentor for youngsters who want to join but lack a committed parent. Skeptics think most American parents won't accept such a challenge. But in Springfield, Massachusetts, the first city tested for interest in the public-school program, we had 650 preliminary family applications for 150 projected places.[/list]
From one of Joe's articles in Education Week, titled "An Education: Just Do It (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=22009&p=266635#p266635)" (October, 1992):
Will Hyde's concept of education work outside the somewhat greenhouse conditions of a Maine boarding school? We'll soon find out: The first Hyde public school program opened last month in Gardiner, Me., a school system of 2,800 students. A Hyde public school-community model has just been approved for Washington; similar models in Indianapolis; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Springfield, Mass., are now on the drawing boards.[/list]
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Joe Gauld tapped former Hyde School student Joanne Wingood Goubourn to head the job. She appears to have directed the Springfield School for at least 3 years.
Here's her GuideStar profile on a General Information page (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=21993&p=324267#p324267) for Hyde Leadership Public Charter School of Washington DC Inc (which she used to head prior to Hyde-Bronx):
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Chief Executive
Mrs. Joanne Wingood Goubourn
Chief Executive Profile
Mrs. Goubourn, Hyde Leadership's Head of School, is a 1975 graduate of the original Hyde School in Bath Maine, so she is a 30 year veteran of the Hyde process. She completed her ungraduate studies at Wellesley College in 1979 with a degree in Urban Studies,and quickly moved through the management ranks of the U.S. Postal Service. In 1988 she completed a Master's Degree in Human Reource Development at American International College in Springfield, MA and chose to return to the Hyde School in Bath, ME, as a Program Director and English Teacher. In 1993 Hyde chose Mrs. Goubourn to help found and become the Assistant Head of School at the new Hyde Leadership School in New Haven, CT, a school still in existence today. In 1998 she was again tapped to lead when she was offered and accepted the Head of School position at hte New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, MA. Under her lead the school grew from 90 students in 1998 to 250 students in 2001. Her love for and commitment to Hyde convinced her to accept her current position of Head of School position of the Hyde Leadership Public Charter School. She also began a Doctoral program at Howard University in Education Administration. Mrs. Goubourn believes deeply that American education needs what Hyde has to offer, and she plans to make this school a national model for excellence in public education.
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Two entries from the current Hyde-Bronx Leadership Charter School Administrative Team (http://http://www.hydebronxny.org/Administrative-Team.asp) page:
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Joanne Goubourn, Head of School
A graduate of Hyde School in Bath, Maine, Joanne Goubourn began her distinguished career in education in 1988 with the primary goal of "changing American education." No small task—but she has been accomplishing this by starting up four successful inner city schools, including the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx. Joanne and her schools have been featured in the Washington Post, Good Morning America, and the Keith Faison Show, as well as other publications and television shows.
A native of Lowell, MA, Joanne graduated from Hyde School in 1975. She received a BA in Liberal Arts/Urban Studies from Wellesley College, an MA in Human Resource Development from American International College, and she is a Doctorate of Education candidate in Educational Administration and Policy at Howard University.
She is the former head of the Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in Washington, DC, the model for Hyde-Bronx. Prior to leading a Hyde school, she was an integral part of the leadership team on three school start-up operations, one public magnet school and 2 charter schools. She was the Director of the New Leadership Charter School, Springfield, Massachusetts. Her understanding of the Hyde philosophy, school administration and school governance combined with her experience serving a similar population to the one Hyde-Bronx serves, places her exceptionally well to serve as Head of School.
She is currently serving with the Association of Supervisors of Curriculum and Development. She was an advocate for children in the court system (CASA) and member of the National Black Child Development Institute. The mother of two children, Kevin and Lauren, Joanne is a two-year resident of the Bronx, NY.
Pierre Goubourn, Director, Admissions & Community Outreach
Pierre Goubourn, Director of Admissions and Community Outreach, has been involved with community work for more than 30 years. Born in Panama, Mr. Goubourn moved with his family to Brooklyn, NY, in 1962, and graduated from high school there in 1968. He spent 10 years with the US Navy, earning his BA from Southern Connecticut State University in 1978. Mr. Goubourn, fluent in five languages, worked for United Illuminated from 1970 to 1998. He joined the faculty of the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, MA, in 2000. In 2003 he joined the senior management team at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in Washington, DC. There, in addition to being Director of Facilities and a Spanish teacher, Mr. Goubourn again worked tirelessly with families in the inner city community. In 2006, Mr. Goubourn joined Hyde Leadership Charter School.
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Eventually, however, things did not work out for Hyde at the Springfield, Massachusetts public charter. Hyde School likes to have a lot of control over its charter schools. They don't just start them and enable the community to run them; they like to have a critical percentage of their "own people" in place to ensure that it stays "fully Hyde-ified," as they put it...
Since the Springfield New Leadership Charter School did not bother changing its name, and still appears to have the same goals and marketing style that all the other Hyde School public charters have, I'd say chances are pretty good that the dogmatic "ethics" curriculum and "character culture" are functioning right in line with the other Hyde public charters, just not under the Gauld family's thumb.
From James Traub's 2005 article "The Moral Imperative (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=19188&p=266560#p266560)" (Education Next):
Joe Gauld, a prophet and evangelizer in the great New England tradition, has always believed that the Hyde model is destined to replace what he sees as a dead-end academic-achievement model. So far, however, Hyde's efforts at self-replication, which Gauld has headed, have been rocky. In the early 1990s, the Hyde team tried and failed to open schools in nearby Gardiner; in Springfield, Massachusetts; and in Baltimore. In several cases, say the Gaulds, they were blocked by hostile teacher unions, since they demanded the right to hire their own faculty. Hyde now enrolls about 1,400 students at its four schools. The New Haven school is widely considered successful, but the Hyde content has drained out of it almost altogether. Only in D.C. can one test whether the Hyde model can be applied to a public school rather than to a private residential one and to a school that serves disadvantaged kids rather than financially privileged ones. Most of the seven hundred or so children who attend this K–12 institution located in a tough neighborhood in Northeast Washington enter scoring well below their grade level in reading and math; the school is overwhelmingly black and largely poor or working-class. Joanne Goubourn, the headmistress, said that she had had to scuttle certain aspects of Brother's Keeper for fear of ensuing "fights out in the street." She notes that parental involvement is much less than it is at Bath (though still significant by the standards of urban public schools). Goubourn feels that it may take another five years before the school is fully Hyde-ified.[/list]
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Compare the language:
From the Springfield New Leadership Charter School Administrative Team (http://http://spsnlcs.homestead.com/Administrative-Team.html) page:
Excellence Lives Here!
New Leadership Charter School is a community of caring, talented and dedicated teachers and staff, eager to serve our students and their families.
From the start we have worked hard to build a true partnership with our parents, together helping students go after their best. New Leadership parents and guardians consistently step up to meet the high expectations required of them, We strive to make New Leadership a school that can provide a top-notch, rigorous academic program and, utilizing the New Leadership character culture, meet the emotional needs of all students, parents, and staff—a school that will thrive, making decisions based on what is best for the students and not for the adults.
From the Hyde-Bronx New Leadership Charter School Administrative Team (http://http://www.hydebronxny.org/Administrative-Team.asp) page:
Excellence Lives Here!
Hyde-Bronx is a community of caring, talented and dedicated teachers and staff, eager to serve our students and their families.
"From the start we have worked hard to build a true partnership with our parents, together helping students go after their best. Hyde-Bronx parents and guardians consistently step up to meet the high expectations required of them," says Joanne Goubourn, Head of School. "Personally, this school represents the realization of a dream for me. My dream has been a school that can provide a top-notch, rigorous academic program and, utilizing the Hyde character culture, meet the emotional needs of all students, parents, and staff—a school that will thrive, making decisions based on what is best for the students and not for the adults."
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They have taken the pebble out of the masters hand. When you are not selling anything tangible there is no need for a middle man.
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They have taken the pebble out of the masters hand. When you are not selling anything tangible there is no need for a middle man.
"intangible"....................... as in: completely lacking in substance or relevance?
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They have taken the pebble out of the masters hand. When you are not selling anything tangible there is no need for a middle man.
"intangible"....................... as in: completely lacking in substance or relevance?
I figured it was something you couldnt touch with the tip of your penis.
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Back to more tangible matters... that is, the suicide that occurred earlier this year, amongst the student population of Springfield's New Leadership Charter School:
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The Republican
Springfield boy, 11, commits suicide (http://http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/springfield_boy11_commits_suic.html)
By Michael Brault
April 07, 2009, 11:50PM
By PAT JOHNSON [email protected]
SPRINGFIELD - An 11-year-old boy committed suicide Monday by hanging himself at his aunt's house on Northampton Avenue, police said.
The boy, whose name was not released, was found by a relative. He was pronounced dead at the scene, said Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet.
Police investigated and determined it to be a suicide, Delaney said. The boy left behind a note for family members, he said.
© 2009 MassLive.com LLC.
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bullies get a free ticket at Hyde
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and what about those two grad suicides this year?
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b&
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You know what? Bullies in high school are nothing.
For the past several months, I have been dealing with one of the worst bullies in the free world... fucking Sallie Mae.
I am a responsible borrower. I pay my payments, in full, on time, every single fucking goddamn cocksucking motherfucking month. My parents have co-signed on two of these loans, and I always keep them in the loop about what is happening.
These stupid sallie maefuck-nutted piece of rancid shit nimrods keep fucking this up by disbursing them to the wrong loans (which are in deferment.) They keep calling me, harassing me, telling me the loans I made a payment for are delinquent, and every time those fuckers call, I get a superfuckingvisor on the phone to correct the problem. What do I hear? "This will be fixed. Your account should be current in a few days." But noooo. Those bitches sill call me. Every time.. oh we're sorry. We're not sure why it didnt go through. It's fixed now. The last time I spoke with them, I really, honestly was stupid enough to believe that they fixed this problem.
I just got an email from my mother, saying that sallie mae just called her and informed her that the payment for september was not made (uh, yes it was, it's just that you mongoloids cant seem to fix it) and they bullied her into making a payment on her credit card.
I am so angry right now I am shaking. I'm ready to fucking throw up. I'm ready to break into their offices and skull fuck their database. (which is the culprit. the drones are only doing what the computer is telling them to do.) AND NOBODY CAN FIX THE FUCKING SYSTEM!!
It's like that goddamn movie CUBE. Anyone seen it? People get poured into this giant cube, filled with traps to kill them. Why? Who the fuck knows? "There is no conspiracy. Nobody is in charge. It's a headless blunder operating under the illusion of a master plan. This is an accident, a forgotten, perpetual public works project. You think anybody wants to ask questions? All they want is a clear conscience and a fat paycheck."
I'm sure at some point, SOMEBODY knew how this system worked, and they built it that way for a reason, but they're loooong gone now. All that's left are the worker whores doing their fucking job and doing whatever the fucking computer screen is telling them to do.
This isn't just fucking up my credit. It's fucking up my parents. Hey, welcome to the good ol USA, where you get ass-raped for being responsible, and there's nothing you can fucking do about it.
I'D RATHER GET PUNCHED IT THE FACE. ::unhappy::
Jeeezzz... Is anyone actually reading this thread? :beat:
"You know what? Bullies in high school are nothing."
...Umm, yeah, r-i-g-h-t... At least ya made it to adulthood, Castle.
Sirdeaner Walker might not so easily agree with you. Her 11-year old son hanged himself with an extension cord following months of bully abuse at the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Despite repeated communications from his mother, the school apparently did nothing more than force Carl Walker to eat lunch with the allegedly most vocal bully.
What was the point of that move, eh?
Well, the Springfield New Leadership Charter School believes in cultivating a character culture, specifically one enacted and enforced by one's peers. And that fine "positive peer culture" was installed, as it turns out, by none other than Hyde School, who actually founded and ran the place for at least three years.
No surprise to some readers, I guess... Kindness and tolerance for other peoples' differences are seen as weaknesses by Hyde. They seem to hold those particular virtues with great disdain.
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and what about those two grad suicides this year?
@ bear no one reads this any more,
Mr PEW,
Are you saying two Hyde grads killed them selves this year? I guess we should take them off the mailing list.
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and what about those two grad suicides this year?
Mr PEW,
Are you saying two Hyde grads killed them selves this year? I guess we should take them off the mailing list.
Since when has death ever stood in the way of Hyde's fund raising? Heck, they probably consider those parents easier marks now that the necessity of certain expenses has been rendered moot.
I'd be willing to bet at least one set of those parents has already received an opportunity to memorialize their loved one in exchange for a substantial contribution. :D
Oh, and not that it makes any difference in the "preparation for life" scheme of things, but that would be two former students that committed suicide. One actually graduated from Hyde, namely, Frank McGill (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=27023) (RIP 02/15/2009). The other one, Carol Anne Brown (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=27330) also attended Hyde, but finished high school elsewhere (RIP 04/12/2009).
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Some select Comments on the above article "Springfield boy, 11, commits suicide (http://http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/springfield_boy11_commits_suic.html)" (The Republican, April 07, 2009):
Posted by wsjls April 08, 2009, 2:27AM
just wanted to say what a sad and terrible ordeal this family has to go through,and the pain his little friends are going trhough,my daughter was very close to him and she hasnt, stoped crying and keeps asking me why would he do that,then she said to me that a girl in the school told him the day before he commited suicide that,he was so ugly ,that she was tired of seeing his face,so she was going to lie to the principal and say he hit her,so he can get suspended and he had said he was scared of getting suspended,because he didnt do what the girl was going to acuse him off. THIS IS UNEXCEPTABLE!!!!!! Kids being bullied in school and taunted by other kids and "suposibly" NO ONE, noticed this baby was being teased and bullied,no teachers noticed anything going on with so many kids involved bothering him,the kid was so afraid to reported,he thought he had no otherway out. My consolences goes out to his family and God Bless This sweet angel, that's with him now! my daugter will miss him terribly,she said he was a wonderful friend and a very sweet boy
Posted by springfieldm April 08, 2009, 10:43AM
I picked my son up from the school, and he also cried, I told him that you, above all, should love yourself, and that telling on bullying is NOT snitching,....and I am not trying to blame any teachers or administrators at this school, but bullying goes on in that school frequently, and by the same kids...so much for zero tolerance...I had to pull my kid out of another charter school in Springfield for the same reason, bullying, and the assistant principal tried to blame my son because he was not quiet about the bullying, she did not blame the kids actually doing the bullying...that school had a zero tolerance policy also towards violence...what it amounts to is that it is written on paper but never implemented...the main bully person there was female also...I thought she was a relative of the assistant principal the way the woman protected her....
Posted by vupt April 08, 2009, 11:34AM
How completely tragic! The family must be suffering immeasurably! What led that poor child to find such a horrible way out of his misery must have been a constant in his life. One time bullying doesn't justify suicide. He must have been incessantly bullied.
I know teachers feel overwhelmed at times, but not only are you responsible for the education of your students, you are also responsible for their welfare. And that includes both verbal and physical abuse by their fellow classmates. If you, as a teacher, cannot handle all of that, you need help. Don't be afraid to ask for it. It's not a sign of weakness. Life isn't the simple values it used to be 30 years ago. It's way too complicated now, and TEACHERS NEED HELP! Unfortunately, someone had to die to get that realization across!
Posted by nickson April 08, 2009, 12:33PM
for the record - this was not his first attempt. The teachers have tried to stop the bullying, it's impossible if parents are in denial and without parent cooperation.
there is s crisis team at the school for the students AND teachers. everyone is absolutely devastated. It is a very small school and everyone is seriously affected.
why is everything always blamed on teachers?!?!?
Posted by citizenospfd April 08, 2009, 12:46PM
I am 44 years old and i still remember VERY CLEARLY the bullying I received going to a mostly white jr high and high school. NEVER underestimate the damage bullying causes. It can last a lifetime!!!!
Posted by brende58 April 08, 2009, 2:30PM
My heart breaks for the family.Back in the day when I went to school there were playground fights and teachers let us work them out,pulling hair,slapping and name calling for girls and it was 1 on 1.Boys used their fists or took off their belts and again 1 on 1.Now a days it's a free for all,and the schools know about it.If this young person was bullied to this point and nothing was done I hold the school responsable.I'm having a hard time trying to understand this and I'm in my 50's so I don't know the parents are going to explain it their chilren who knew 'em.Lord,please be with them.
Posted by vupt April 08, 2009, 2:32PM
nickson: "Everything" is NOT "always blamed on teachers." THIS topic is especially sensitive because 99% of bullying occurs on school campuses. Isn't that where teachers are? If they are not protecting the welfare of children at that time, then who is? Teachers (AND Parents) need to be aware of this and intervene immediately! Not wait, or punish the child (due to some misdirected judgment) that is the victim. Sometimes, something so egregious as this poor child's death, will bring about change. Change in how we react to the feelings of children, a No-Tolerance attitude with bullying, and more help for teachers to perform their daily functions of teaching, monitoring, and intervening when needed in our ever-growing class sizes!
This child saw no way out of his way of life. Don't get me wrong....the parents need to bear this guilt for the rest of their lives. I hope they're smart enough to nurture any remaining children in the home, because they forever lost their chance with this poor child.
Posted by pitoybebo April 08, 2009, 2:42PM
I am a mental health clinician in Springfield and have some clients that are having problems with bullies in school. it is true that teachers do not get involved. some little kids are evil and sneaky, have an image of a saint but control other children with threats of violence and tell those controlled kids to hurt other children. principals and teachers need to be aware that not all children are good innocents kids. staff should take each and every complain at face value and investigate, ask questions to other children and work with the parents to both children the bully and the victim.
Posted by tranquil April 08, 2009, 3:11PM
The boy probably most likely suffered from depression and may not have been diagnosed. Unfortunately, these disorders often go unrecognized by families and physicians alike. Over 6% of kids have it. Signs of depression in kids are viewed as mood swings and not acted on. Just seeing a therapist and an anti-depressant probably could have saved him. Early diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders are critical. I can only imagine what may have been going through his mind. If you picture a dark cloud that never leaves you, fatigue, loss of interest in anything; living day to day seems like an endless sentence. The Budget contributed to a lot of services being cut. Thanks Duval. Depression is treatable if people would seek the help, not be embarrassed, or push it to the side. My condolences to the family.
Posted by heartsong April 08, 2009, 3:34PM
Human lives are fragile things. They’re vulnerable to chance and violence, shattered by prejudice and rejection. Yes the event we are remembering this afternoon is of course one where human fragility and expendability became very plain, and was felt deeply and crushingly by those who loved Carl best.
This thought brings us to think about the fragility of our picture of ourselves. We need to be reminded, and sometimes the reminder is very harsh, that our ideals and our achievements in this life are breakable too.
Tek Time wauk good. Yuh may buck yuh toe but hush. Blow pon it an' gwawn. Nuh hate nor hurt nobody.
Good memory of an individual is usually afforded by the quality of life that individual displayed practically as he or she pilgrims earth. A good memory is contingent upon good deeds. It is against this that Solomon wrote, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches."
Posted by kcim April 08, 2009, 3:54PM
This is for Twin22. I don't care that you are a teacher. I spoke the truth and I am sure that if my father were alive today he would agree with me. He worked for the School Dept for 20 + years and some of the stuff he saw would make a person head spin, but guess what the teachers were right there to fix the problem.
Now adays the teachers come to work try to teach the kids then go home. My son's teacher when I told her what was going on told him the next time a student is picking on him to tell her right away so that she could "fix the problem". Well whenever he told her he was being picked on she just told him to sit down and DID NOTHING.
Teachers have a responsibility to protect our kids when they are in school. Most of them could care less. So yes I do put the blame on alot of the teachers because they don't care. You can get as mad as you want, but when my son would wake up and beg us not to send him to school, we didn't force him to go because he was histerical and crying like crazy. I wasn't going to put him in that situation. He is a very caring and sensitive child who cares about others and he didn't deserve to be picked on like this little boy did and he felt he had no other choice but to do what he did.
Also, I want to thank spfldcrew for agreeing with me. You are right in saying that teachers turn a blind eye on certain things that are going on. If it is not life threatening then who cares. Picking on or bullying someone is petty to some people but the kids that it is happening to doesn't see it that way.
I think maybe if the school dept would develop training sessions on how to detect when a student is being bullyed or picked on something like this might not ever happen again.
Posted by beequeen09 April 08, 2009, 6:12PM
This is just awful. My son was friends with him and he is taking it very hard. I talked to my son and his father did too, in order to help him come to some type of understanding as to what has happened. My son does not know why such a thing has happened to his friend and is totally devastated. I asked my son about whether his friend was being harassed in school or anything but my son said that he did not see any bullying. Unfortunately, my son was not with him all the time so the bullying could have taken place at that time. It is sad that he felt as though he could not tell someone.
My prayers go out to the family and all his friends. They will all miss him.
Posted by teishat April 08, 2009, 7:00PM
well let me say that the nlcs community has been rocked by this tragic loss. all of the details are unclear as to why he decided to take his own life. I work at nlcs in another grade and had the pleasure to run into the young man a time or two. each time i ran into him in the hall way or what not, he appeared to be pretty content and always seemed to be in a good mood. I have talked to his close friends and they all stated that there was no tell tale signs that he was suffering on such a level they all said"he seemed fine yesterday" and that was the day before the tragedy occurred. I wanted to comment to let the city know that as soon as word was confrimed about his passing grief counselors were on staff. Today we have added even more crisis counselors for staff and for students because we need all the help that we can get. A lot of children took his death in many ways. Those who made fun of him admitted to the couselors that they felt as though the death was some how their fault and thats something that we are coping with. Basically I cannot express the sympathy that i have for his mother family and friends and his death has not been taking lightly. I have used this unfortunate incident to remind the older grades that words hirt and that they should remember that they are unaware of what life is like for others out side of school. I told them to be considerate of others feelings because we now have the unfortunate example of how words could lead to death. We are trying to do all we can for the students and staff a like that are suffering and we are even attempting to help his family cope. The whole situation is unfortunate and all of us who are affected just wonder what the heck we could have done to change this horrible event from even being a thought in his mind. I tell my students that even though they are just my students i care for them as whole people and if they ever feel that there is no one to talk to.. I am here. I pray we never have to bare witness to something of this magnitude ever again. It will take a while to return to a sense of normalcy but we are doing all we can for all of those affected...
Posted by drwynne30 April 08, 2009, 10:47PM
How about you all stop placing blame and start adressing the problem? I live with someone who was very close to the child and she is devesated, and some of these comments she may take personally. She already feels responsible, and she is not. The truth is, the kind of depression that accompanies this sort of act is above and beyond anyone in a school system. You want better care in schools? Pay more, train better. But let's not place vain. If we want this truly amazing childs death to not be in vain, then I am sure he would agree, we should stop point a finger and start learning, recognizing, and dealing with the issue.
And all you idiots out there that want to blame bullies and teachers, why don't you blame yourselves, because it is people like you, who are so blame-happy, that are unable to realize that placing blame does not solve problems.
I am disgusted with most of the people who commented. Before giving english lessons, learn something about humanity, before placing blame, figure out your part in this. What could -I- have done different.
Society will never improve if we focus more on placing blame than self-improvement. I am embarassed by the comments to this article.
Posted by tranquil April 08, 2009, 11:12PM
The blame goes to the school and their failure to act. The boy was harassed for 7 Months. Harrassed! Your child may take some comments personally? Did she take part in it? Is that why you are defending her? I do blame the school, the teachers, and the kids that continued to bully him. The teachers are trained to deal with these issues, you know, all the in-service days. The issue has been there, identified, and NOT acted on. Harassment is against the law. He was bullied to death. The school failed to act on it. So, Drwynne30, you are very defensive of your child and don't want any blame yet you want to blame the "idiots" on this forum. You are sad. What comes around goes around. I hope your daughter realizes what her actions may have led to.
Posted by erikkahope April 09, 2009, 1:32AM
i was going online to check the local news and the first artical i see is this one.i am deeply sadened because ms.walker(or as i call her),Deana was my counselor for the homeless progaam i am in shock.My most heartfelt sympathy goes out to Deana.I know that she is an amazing woman who helps so many homeless families get through tough times. i know she was a great mother and it breaks my heart because i know there are no words for the heartache she must be feeling.i just hope that time will heal her heart.i will keep this little boy in my prayers and hope that this help parent realize that bullying is a serious issue and it is up to us as adults to be good role models and teach are kids that bullying is wrong.
Posted by qwerty7890 April 09, 2009, 7:24AM
Question: Why are all of the grief counselors at the school where the boy passed away, white? There is a whole team at the school this week, but they are all white. Doesn't this say something about the administration's level of understanding of the students' needs? Children desperately need someone that they can relate to, in this case, and in others.
Posted by pastoreric April 09, 2009, 11:56AM
My wife went to Spfld public schools more than twenty years ago and they were horrible then. I can't imagine how bad it is now. We have seen, over and over, the results of bullying. Murders, violent crime and - suicide. If you were never bullied you can never know what these kids go through. I will NEVER regret my decision to homeschool.
This school is a shameful example and (although I am not big on lawsuits) this mother should sue this school. I believe they were criminally neglegent in this case as evidenced by the multitudes of unreturned calls from the mother. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!! These school officials are as complicit in this suicide as are the bullies themselves. Yes,they should be sued, and this poor mother should be awarded extreme punitive damages.
I understand that schools cannot do it all but, their idea of mediation was to make this boy eat lunch with the girl who had threatened him! ARE THEY KIDDING!?!? These are kids,they need to be TAUGHT how to resolve conflict.
Heavenly Father, Please receive this precious child into your everlasting care.I rejoice that he will forever know your endless love and the pain of his life is but a distant memory as he is now with you in eternal glory. Also Father, won't you gather this grieving mother into your loving, merciful arms and gently asuage the deep grief she is feeling. I pray that she will find solace and comfort in your everlasting arms.
In Jesus' Name...Amen
Posted by carrollynn April 15, 2009, 2:49PM
It's time to recognize that this child didn't choose a behavior in order to be bullied to the point of self destruction. Hate is taught, and our society is replete with hate lessons. This child's plea should not be ignored. As adults we must fight for the children. You don't have to look far to witness parents who bully and speak hate. Therefore, we must empower schools to intervene which means they will have to address hateful and non-supportive parents in the process. Such parents can be extremely intimidating, but we must do the right thing. Can you imagine this child's pain to commit suicide at the age of eleven. I also feel for the children that will live with the knowledge that they contributed to his plight. They are victims as well.
Posted by ptmich May 05, 2009, 11:20PM
WSJLS:
PLEASE GET YOUR DAUGHTER AND GO TO THE SPRINGFIELD POLICE AND IDENTIFY THE MONSTER THAT SAID THESE CRUEL THINGS TO CARL WALKER HOOVER THE DAY BEFORE HE COMMITTED SUICIDE. THAT LITTLE DISGUSTING MONSTER NEEDS TO BE SEVERELY PUNISHED FOR CAUSING THIS BOY'S SUICIDE. THIS IS DISGUSTING. I AM SO MAD...OH MY GOODNESS, I WISH I WAS THE TEACHER THAT WITNESSED THE RUTHLESS TAUNTING OF THIS BOY...I' M JUST SO MAD THAT I CAN'T EVEN GO ON...I GET ANGRIER AND ANGRIER THINKING ABOUT ALL THIS POOR BOY WENT THRU AND ALL HE WAS TRYING TO DO WAS GO TO SCHOOL. THOSE SELFISH BRATS WERE SO JEALOUS OF HIM. I'T JUST AWFUL, PLAIN AWFUL...I HOPE HIS BULLIES ROT IN HELL!!!!
© 2009 MassLive.com LLC.
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Yet another school which blames the victim and exonerates the perpetrator:
On Monday, she said Carl told her that he accidentally hit a TV at the school with his backpack and the TV bumped into a girl, who shouted at him and threatened him with harm. He called his mother after school and said he had gotten a five-day suspension, she said.[/list]
...
School officials told her they had decided that the mediation of Carl's dispute with the female student was to consist of the two students eating lunch together all week, she said.
It belies the school's failure to address suffering wrought by bullying, she said.[/list]
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The Republican
Mom says Springfield boy, 11, who committed suicide was repeatedly bullied at school (http://http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/mom_says_springfield_boy_11_wh.html?category=Deaths+category=Education+category=Springfield)
By Michael Brault
April 08, 2009, 9:06PM
By MIKE PLAISANCE
and PATRICK JOHNSON
Staff writers
(http://http://blog.masslive.com/breakingnews/2009/04/large_ae%20walker-hoover_cr.jpg)
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, 11, killed himself at his home on Northampton Avenue in Springfield on Monday.
SPRINGFIELD - Two days after the worst day of her life, when she found her 11-year-old son had committed suicide by hanging himself, Sirdeaner L. Walker said on Wednesday she wants the bullying to stop.
She found Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanging by an extension cord on the second floor of their 124 Northampton Ave. home Monday night after he had endured another day of taunting at New Leadership Charter School, where he was a sixth-grader, she said.
"I just want to help some other child. I know there are other kids being picked on, and it's day in and day out," said Walker, 43.
VIDEO News coverage: 11-year-old's suicide brings bullying to forefront (http://http://videos.masslive.com/abc40/2009/04/11yearolds_suicide_brings_bull.html)
She spoke in her living room surrounded by family and friends. They had just returned from a church service.
Photos of a beaming Carl - he played football, basketball and was a Boy Scout - peered from the top of the television.
Walker went upstairs to check on him Monday night.
"It was the worst experience of my life, and I'm a breast cancer survivor. Four years, it was four years ago I had breast cancer," Walker said.
She phoned the school repeatedly since Carl began attending in September but the bullying continued, she said.
Other students made him a target, daily calling him gay, making fun of how he dressed and threatening him, she said.
Carl had attended Alfred M. Glickman Elementary School up to fifth grade, but few of his friends accompanied him to New Leadership Charter School, she said.
VIDEO News coverage: Vigil for Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover (http://http://videos.masslive.com/republican/2009/04/vigil_for_carl_joseph_walkerho.html)
On Monday, she said Carl told her that he accidentally hit a TV at the school with his backpack and the TV bumped into a girl, who shouted at him and threatened him with harm. He called his mother after school and said he had gotten a five-day suspension, she said.
School officials denied the incident had prompted a five-day suspension, said Walker, who nonetheless remains upset at what she said was the school's pattern unresponsiveness.
"I called there every week," she said.
School officials told her they had decided that the mediation of Carl's dispute with the female student was to consist of the two students eating lunch together all week, she said.
It belies the school's failure to address suffering wrought by bullying, she said.
"If anything can come of this, it's that another child doesn't have to suffer like this and there can be some justice for some other child. I don't want any other parent to go through this," she said.
Henry M. Thomas III, chairman of the school's board of directors, failed to return repeated calls seeking comment.
Walker said she was upset with Thomas for failing to return her calls, as well.
The New Leadership Charter School, 180 Ashland Ave., is offering grief counseling to students and staff in light of the death of a six-grader on Monday, according to the school's Web site. Go to spsnlcs.com (http://http://spsnlcs.com/) and click on Login to Homework (http://http://www.homeworknow.com/fetch/index.php?number=250005601270).
Donations can be made to help the boy's family by contacting the school, the Web site said.
"The NLCS family has suffered a major loss," said the Web site.
Walker works as director homeless programs at the Massachusetts Career Develop Institute here. She will turn 44 on April 23, and she said she and Carl would joke of how their birthdays were so close, as he would have turned 12 on April 17, she said.
According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Center, nearly one in three youth nationwide reported either being bullied, having bullied someone, or have done both.
According to the center, one recent study of grades 6-10, showed as many as 13 percent reported bullying others, and 11 percent said they were victims of bullies.
Victims of bullies become anxious, insecure and cautious, suffer low self-esteem and rarely defend themselves or retaliate. Often they feel isolated and withdrawn.
The most common reason cited by youth for why someone is targeted for bullying is because the person does not fit in.
The Center also notes there can be long-term effects for both the victim and perpetrator of bullying.
Victims as adults suffer from depression and poor self-esteem, while 60 percent of bullies in grades 6-9 had at least one criminal conviction by age 24.
The National School Safety Center defines bullying as physical confrontations and direct threats of violence, but also indirect forms such as rejection and exclusion, humiliation and name calling, manipulating friends, and more recently, hurtful messages sent by e-mail or posted on Web sites.
Mike Plaisance can be reached at [email protected] (http://mailto:[email protected])
© 2009 MassLive.com LLC.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE5yINOn4N4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE5yINOn4N4)
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Unbelievable.
What can ya do, but laugh laugh laugh, albeit cynically as all hell, when Malcolm shamelessly tries to milk yet another unfortunate bullycide as yet another opportunity for marketing one of the bully meccas of New England: Hyde School.
Seriously, how come Malcolm fails to mention suicides and suicide attempts brought on by the bullying going on at Hyde School, bullying that is not only condoned but required by Hyde School officially as part of its Brother's Keeper philosophy?
Where's the accountability, Malcolm, for Hyde School's role in perpetrating and covering up those bullycide events?
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Breaking News
Posted: Apr 5, 2010
Hyde Schools
Bath, ME & Woodstock, CT
Bullying: Our Broken Schools (http://http://www.strugglingteens.com/artman/publish/HydeSchoolsBN_100405.shtml)
Contact:
Rose Mulligan
207-837-9441
http://www.hyde.edu (http://www.hyde.edu)
April 01, 2010
President of Hyde Schools in Bath, ME and Woodstock, CT, Malcolm Gauld, addresses one of the ongoing issues in schools in America-bullying-and argues that our culture's preoccupation with achievement lies at its root. Gauld is recognized as one of the nation's leading experts on character education and parenting. He is President of Hyde Schools, the network of character-building public and private schools that pioneered the 'Attitude over Aptitude' philosophy.
In the wake of yet another tragic teen suicide, that of Phoebe Prince, the Massachusetts teenager who hanged herself recently in her own home after enduring months of bullying at the hands of schoolmates, I again find myself asking: What are we really teaching our kids?
After 35+ years of working with kids and families, I sometimes claim that I have immunity from astonishment. That's not true. The loss of any student is always a major jolt, a sensory overload that leaves an emotional scar lasting forever. However, the loss of a student by his or her own hand is immediately unbearable, taking on a feeling that can only be called sickening. As educators, we become obsessed with finding some way to ensure that kids like Phoebe Prince do not die in vain.
And yet, our schools remain paralyzed, focused on objectives that are not only unsound; they actually fuel many of the problems we profess to want to solve. Our dynamic reminds me of an old "I Love Lucy" episode. When Ricky comes home to find Lucy on hands and knees looking for a lost earring on the living room floor, he asks, "Did you lose it here in the living room?" Lucy replies, "No, I lost it in the bedroom, but the light is so much better here."
That scene reminds me of what we're doing with our kids in our schools. We care more about what they can do than about who they are. And they know it. They know that we're totally focused on improving their test scores. On some level they might sense that we'd also like them to develop their character, but they know it's really only the "Suggested Reading" section of the syllabus. Parents might blame the schools, but we are fully complicit in the problem as are the colleges with their steadfast admissions requirements. Never kid a kid. Regardless of whether they can figure out the quadratic equation we want them to solve, they will never misread our true expectations of them. They simply establish their priorities in accordance with ours.
Just as no amount of tinkering was going to save the horse-and-buggy from the advent of the automobile, the schools of today are not going to get us where we want to go. We need to retool, overhaul, or better yet, flat-out junk what we've got and begin anew with fresh priorities:
There are schools, such as those within the Hyde Organization, that do strive to honor these priorities one school at a time, knowing that it's too slow. We look to partner with others - schools, parents, communities - who want to trigger a national discussion that will transform schools into the inspirational beacons they absolutely must be for kids like Phoebe, those in S. Hadley, and millions of others across the country. We owe it to them. We owe it to us.
About Malcolm Gauld
Malcolm Gauld is recognized as one of the nation's leading experts on character education and parenting. His character development program, delivered at the Hyde schools, has been featured on The Today Show, PBS, and much more. A natural storyteller, Malcolm uses humor and personal experience to convey his practical, insightful, and timely messages on parenting, character, and leadership to a wide mainstream audience.
For more information about Malcolm Gauld, Hyde Schools, and The Biggest Job We'll Ever Have parenting workshops, contact at 207-837-9441, or visit greatparenting101.com and http://www.hyde.edu (http://www.hyde.edu).
Copyright ©2010, Woodbury Reports, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Hi Ursus,
Interesting topic. Two things here I see , one being internet bullying. I don't think the bully actually realizes that they are bullying another human being. (not that I believe that the one doing the bullying can be educated to this fact ) Due to the psychic make up of the bully. You could point this out until you are blue in the face and the bully would just not get it.
The other fact of internet bullying is that the bully (wheather they realize it or not ) leaves an electronic trail, that can be traced back to them , where upon if the bullying tactics resulted in the death of a person... well hopefully the authorities would get the first crack at them.
If the bullying is done on an open forum like fornits, face book for example , the bully again will never admit to bullying due to their psychic makeup. What the bully doesn't seem to realize is that their actions (though directed at one individual or a few ) is witnessed and seen by the multitudes of those readers of these type of public forums.
Yes I am sure someone will find humor in the "bully that doesn't know its a bully " , they should really be known as predators and not as bullies and in that context its not as funny is it .
The other thing that struck me by this thread is that the program was one big bully (predator) . My specific program was elan and even though us suviviours have called it a corercive program and it was, you could also say that it was a program based on bullying to get to its means.
And as a result of this type of bullying to break down individuals , which was very successful , the directors and assisitant directors of elan had a knack for being supreme bulliers. Yet they had no knowledge or insight in how to build back up the broken individual. (broken from the intense bullying brought on by elan 's type of program and its henchmen's implementation of the elan concept) Therefore is it any wonder that a lot of good people have commited suicide, in my opinion from just having come incontact with ricci's progam and the his henchmen that helped him run it.
To me and this is just me,I see the programs as places where really intensive bullying ocurred, very similar to intense public school bullying , and internet bullying. All which can have the same result and that is causing a person such pain that they actually make the decision to end their life.
I guess the bottom line is that all forms of bullying can result in the possible death of the victim. Whether it be in the form of "encouragement " by other students on a hike or what ever word you want to use. The end result can be death as we have all witnessed and that is sad it is also very morally wrong to say the least. Sure bullying and corercive are words that are interchangable when talking about some of these programs.
Peace
Matt
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:suicide:
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Ursus ,
I in no way mean to belittle any death caused by bullying, any suicide caused by bullying is a very tragic and in my mind preventable. If the victim has someone compassionate who cares about them to intervene and talk with about the victimazation and can go to the proper authorities to end the bullying. Then I think this horrible and tragic end could be avoided.
Even if these steps are taken as seen on the NBC news the other night , still the damage was done and a young life ended suddenly thru suicide. I am refering to the girl from Ireland.
I also want to clarify that elan's bully tactics in my opinion were insanely abusive (both mentally and physically) Like the Cowboy Kickass (I truly have no idea what a cowboy ass whippin was ) a truly brutal and horrific encounter that left severe bruises on the back of one resident that I witnessed as kruglik pulled up Chris Badgers shirt.I saw afew of these Cowboy Kickasses go down. Ricci seemed to enjoy them, as I remember he started the first one I saw.
No the bullying tactics proscribed as therapy by elan and its henchmen were criminally insane. As residents we had no one to turn to. Our phone calls were screened ,and our letters going out were read as well as what was recieved. No we never felt safe.
When ever there was a state investigation ,we could not tell the investigators what was really going on, and if we tried as Badger tried well you were gaurranteeing yourself more certain pains of hell. Of couse elan always hid the drugged and corner people (down in the dorms) when there was a state investigation. but once the investagators left it was screaming and pain as usual.A totally closed abusive community , no one to turn to.Which made you feel even more hopeless and helpless and totally in fear of what was going to happen next . And that is how elan and its henchmen wanted you to feel, and they liked it that way. Afterall they constantly told us that a five o'clock they were going home and we were still stuck here.(except the one on duty that night )
This begs the question why did elan and its henchmen feel the need to hide from the authorities ..... the money and their freedom, thats why.
By all means what elan and its henchmen made residents do to each other should really be considered brutal and criminally insane , yet this was elan's therapy. If there was any way that any of this brutally abusive tactics had ever made it to the proper authorities , you could bet your bottom dollar that people would have gone to prison, a long time ago and that hellhole shut down.
elan and its henchmen in my opinion should spend the rest of their lives in prison and the ghosts of former residents that are no longer here as a result of having come in contact with elan and its henchmen ,should haunt them until they die.
elan could break people down and severely damage them , yet elan could not repair nor did it care to repair the damage it did to good human beings , many now are dead . And you know I consider myself very lucky to be walking amongst the living after what I went thru. What I witnessed and what I experienced in that hell hole was criminal , sick ,twisted and down right evil.
I thank you for letting me clarify my point about bullying and what elan and its henchmen did in their quest to break down good people , and their inability to rebuild damaged souls. Simply criminal.
Matt
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i
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:shamrock:
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:birthday:
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I think most of us think of bullying as a type of harassment and intimidation of (often) individuals for the sake of exerting a power disparity for some sick reason or another. The way I see it, that's pretty much what goes on in most programs. The therapeutic community modality is perfectly primed for exploitation towards those ends, and from what I can tell, all these programs are based on or are heavily influenced by that model.
Merriam-Webster (http://http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bully):
Main Entry: 3bully
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): bul·lied; bul·ly·ing
Date: 1693
transitive verb
1 : to treat abusively
2 : to affect by means of force or coercion
intransitive verb
: to use browbeating language or behavior : BLUSTER
synonyms see INTIMIDATE[/list]
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Ye Olde King Bully hisself popped in a few cents in an Op-Ed in the Portland Press Herald earlier this month. Outside of the predictable Phoebe Prince opener (never lose a chance to turn someone else's tragedy into yet another marketing opportunity), most of this material is tried and trite platitudes recycled from previous publication.
However, here he espouses a new twist I'm not so familiar with, namely that competition is now the root of all evil. Gah-LEEEEE, exactly what do ya think happens on the sports playing fields at Hyde, Joe?
:beat:
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Portland Press Herald
May 8, 2010
Maine Voices: Bullying versus the American character: Change is possible (http://http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/bullying-versus-the-american-character-change-is-possible_2010-05-08.html)
Too often we try to control or contain aggression, instead of transforming those who have it.
By JOSEPH E. GAULD
BATH - Bullying is a bone in America's throat, as shown by the brutal behavior of nine teenagers that led to the suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince in South Hadley, Mass.
One Maine educator likened bullying to black flies: "You'll never be able to stamp it out."
This describes solutions to date: Try to contain it; hire consultants, hold training sessions; be more vigilant. Massachusetts legislators highlight our impotence by proposing a law to make bullying a crime.
It is amazing how the bad behavior of youth has become accepted by schools as something we cannot change, only seek to contain or control.
Once school shootings like Columbine began, the response focused solely on issues of security; who has tried to deal with the attitudes that led to the shootings?
We now have decades of yearly surveys that indicate the vast majority of American youths cheat at school and now that a third steal from stores. Again our response was to crack down on the cheating, not to deal with the attitude behind it.
However, today the annual survey on cheating and now stealing seems to be accepted by society as a necessary evil. As one student remarked, "Cheating is necessary to give you the edge you need to succeed in life."
There are other youth attitudinal problems that should concern us -- like the survey that indicates that of youths 18-25, only 20 percent could be classified as "purposeful."
These attitudes and behaviors are detrimental and unacceptable, and if left unaddressed, they can have serious effects upon children's lives and our society as a whole.
We don't need to contain these counterproductive attitudes and behaviors. We need to change them. This will mean changing the way we raise and educate our children.
Our children are born with animalistic self-gratification, self-protection and self-centered survival instincts -- the real source of all these unacceptable attitudes and behaviors. Our job as parents and teachers is to help them transcend these lesser instincts in order to enable them to find their higher human self.
We are fortunate to live in a nation that uniquely supports this effort. America is committed to develop the individual; its Bill of Rights protects the dignity and worth of everyone. We are the land of the free.
But unfortunately, we unwittingly developed an educational system that does not respect this birthright. It primarily evaluates students by their academic proficiency.
This narrow window into human potential disrespects the dignity and worth of most students. Note the majority of students do not like school, and 30 percent drop out.
And it primarily motivates students by competition, which primarily motivates a capitalist society of healthy, mature adults. Curiosity primarily motivates the development of healthy, growing children, which then increasingly allows competition to serve as an additional motivation.
One survey of 24,000 home-schooled students found them scoring by 9th grade four grade levels above both public and private school students on standardized tests. Clearly their motivation was curiosity, not competition.
Since our educational system is basically disrespecting most students, and further putting them in competition with each other before they are prepared to handle this pressure, kids revert to their animalistic instincts in dealing with each other. The same "pecking orders" exist in nature.
Since adults demonstrate they are not capable of dealing with bullying or cheating, bullies and the primitive youth culture gain power because kids know adults can't respond.
Having founded a network of private and public Hyde Schools (the newest school will open in Brooklyn, N.Y., this September) devoted to the premise that each student is gifted with a unique potential, supported by curriculum devoted to the development of character -- "Courage, Integrity, Concern, Curiosity and Leadership" -- I know this higher human self can be developed in every student. Here is how:
1. Put self-discovery first; what the student can do, second.
2. Bring family and school together. Parents and teachers also need to become students of the process.
3. Students need to take responsibility for each other and take active leadership roles at home and school.
4. Make character development active at home and school. Once a student can internalize integrity, he or she will have it for life.
What I propose here is transformational change, which is very difficult, but it is doable. How long are we going to tolerate this decline in the American character?
Better to change now by choice rather than change later because we have been forced into it.
Copyright ©2010 MaineToday Media, Inc.
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Disturbing to say the least.
Josheph E. Gauld...........Perfecting the art of bullying :beat:
I have seen all types of Bullies.
What do you call a bully who for example builds 5 entire websites (over a 5 month period) dedicated to bulling one or two people and when they get shut down comes with thier "bully pack" over to a public forum until it is temporarily suspended for the same exact reasons.....
oh I almost forgot the bully then proceeds to entirely flood the public forum once again for months and then threatens the public forum that was kind enough not to ban them with DMCA notices :deal: all the while demanding that multiple moderators and admins call her immediately lest she kill herself. :suicide: and all while pretending to be her daughter who is defending her poor suicidal mother who is in reality bullying at that very moment. :bs:
This bully cries the victim but not only that we have had rape victim, :dose: life threatening physical conditions, :poison: and now the latest threats of suicide. :dose: What the hell kind of bully is this? anybody know??
How can a bully cry victim? is there such a thing as a VICTIMBULL?
Could this type of bully kill herself and then try to blame it on the very people she viciously attacked for months? :waaaa:
Thank goodness for screen shots!
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Comments (http://http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/bullying-versus-the-american-character-change-is-possible_2010-05-08.html?comments=y) left on Joe's Op-Ed posted above, "Maine Voices: Bullying versus the American character: Change is possible (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=28219&p=384445#p364157)" (by Joseph Gauld; May 8, 2010; The Portland Press Herald):
henryelm said... May 8, 2010 at 10:14 AM
"One survey of 24,000 home-schooled students found them scoring by 9th grade four grade levels above both public and private school students on standardized tests. Clearly their motivation was curiosity, not competition." and other studies show they don't perform as well as public school students. I noticed a certain slant and figured it must be someone who doesn't understand kids Or education.The shock is he does. Kids are born evil?? HUH?? Just the opposite. They LEARN to bully it's not innate.
henryelm said... May 8, 2010 at 10:20 AM
The right has KNOCKED "character education" OUT of public school with their on going anti education and anti funding tirade. They want to eliminate all the so called frills that support kids in their learning. They want basics only education. They want teachers to stop parenting and supporting kids and to focus ONLY on teaching them. You've got no one but yourselves to blame if you don't like the results. All that to privatize education.
henryelm said... May 8, 2010 at 10:25 AM
HYDE school has done wonderful things( as do other private schools). This bashing "public education piece" is beneath dignity of the founder. when did PUBLIC school become the enemy?? When the right wanted to privatize it and fund "their own" schools.
Copyright ©2010 MaineToday Media, Inc.
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Bullying is when a person is picked on over and over again by an individual or group with more power,either in terms of physical strength or social standing.A bully might say mean things about someone,grab a kid's stuff,make fun of someone,or leave a kid out of the group on purpose.