Ths above excerpt is from a little article found right here.Sixteen-year-old Christian Taylor was found hanged in his bedroom on Monday, May 31: Memorial Day, a school holiday, which for most kids means the start of summer.
Taylor was a freshman at Grafton High School in Yorktown, VA. What's especially tragic about this suicide is that the teenager had complained to school and law enforcement officials about being bullied, but nothing was done to stop his tormentor. According to York-Poquosen Sheriff Sgt. Dennis Ivey, authorities had also looked into complaints by Taylor's mother, Alise Williams, weeks ago, but turned the matter over to his school after finding no crime had been committed. No action was taken, and Taylor's tormentor remained at school.
You know, there needs to be a zero tolerance policy on bullying in schools - the way we have for drugs and weapons.
And, no. It won't work to expect the kids to work it out amongst themselves. Studies have shown that the only way to stop bullying is for the person in authority to step in and put a stop to it. This is true of workplace bullying as well. (Something I've experienced, I'm sorry to say.)
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me too Ellie. The only problem with the person in authority stepping in to stop workplace bullying is when it IS the person in authority who is doing the bullying.
ReplyDeleteI was bullied in high school. When I complained, the principal had both of us in his office. The bully flatly denied ever doing it with an innocent grin on his f*ck*ng face. Nothing was ever done.
ReplyDeleteI stopped trusting authority figures right then and there.