A mom stormed into school to confront child's classmates over bullying. She was arrested
I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. For one thing, the mother was correct in that the school should have enforced the rules and kept order among the students. Schools tend to be somewhat lax on discipline.
But she did violate the law by going into the school without permission.
Moreover, for a kid being bullied, to have his mom come in to confront his tormentors - that could just as easily set him up for more bullying.
And the way this was described, it was clearly more than simple bullying, which implies a 1-on-1 situation. This is more a case of several kids ganging up on one kid. Perhaps if the school has anti-gang policies, they can be punished on that basis.
I'll confess that I was bullied when I was a kid, not just in school but also at home. However, I had to learn to stand up for myself and fight back. That was a well-known theme in popular culture, too - from sitcoms and movies. At least when I was a kid, the school rules allowed for that. If there was a fight, whoever threw the first punch would get punished (if they were seen as the aggressor), while there would be no punishment for simply defending yourself.
However, school policies changed at some point where it was decided that both parties in a fight should be punished, even the one who is defending oneself. But if the schools aren't going to intervene or do anything when it comes to bullying or verbal aggression, then they should probably loosen up on their rules against fighting. Simply "ignoring" someone who is verbally aggressive isn't really enough.
Thoughts?
Frustrated by what she believes was bullying of her third-grade son, with fewer than three weeks left of school, Jamie Rathburn entered Greenbrier Elementary School and emotionally confronted his classmates.
She left the scene and was arrested three days later, when she was charged with disturbing schools and booked into the Greenville County Detention Center before being released on a personal recognizance bond, according to a police report.
Rathburn said she regrets her actions but remains concerned about bullying for her son and other children, and she said she's disappointed in the response she's gotten from the Greenville County school district.
Rathburn first sent an email to her son's teacher in December, she said. One of her son's classmates had picked on him about his hair, she alleged.
"Picking becomes bullying really quickly nowadays, and I've taught my kids not to tolerate it, so before something transpires could you address it," Rathburn asked in an email she shared with The Greenville News.
But classmates continued to bully her son throughout the school year, she said. She said he said he was called names, hit with a computer and jerked backwards off a slide by his throat at one point. He had bad days at school about three days every week, Rathburn said.
After one incident where a student was allegedly making faces at her son, a teacher said he told Rathburn's son to "ignore him, stay away and be the bigger man, and I think it will stop," and the teacher offered to speak with Rathburn if she had further concerns, according to an email Rathburn shared.
But by May, Rathburn's frustration reached a boiling point. She told administrators at Greenbrier that she was considering reporting them for not addressing the bullying situation, she told The Greenville News and wrote in an email to Brian Sherman, the assistant to the superintendent for the school district. She said that in response to her complaints, administrators separated her son on the playground so they could more easily watch him.
It was the next day that Rathburn entered the school before the morning bell.
Rathburn said she does not know if her son's alleged bullies have been disciplined.
I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. For one thing, the mother was correct in that the school should have enforced the rules and kept order among the students. Schools tend to be somewhat lax on discipline.
But she did violate the law by going into the school without permission.
Moreover, for a kid being bullied, to have his mom come in to confront his tormentors - that could just as easily set him up for more bullying.
And the way this was described, it was clearly more than simple bullying, which implies a 1-on-1 situation. This is more a case of several kids ganging up on one kid. Perhaps if the school has anti-gang policies, they can be punished on that basis.
I'll confess that I was bullied when I was a kid, not just in school but also at home. However, I had to learn to stand up for myself and fight back. That was a well-known theme in popular culture, too - from sitcoms and movies. At least when I was a kid, the school rules allowed for that. If there was a fight, whoever threw the first punch would get punished (if they were seen as the aggressor), while there would be no punishment for simply defending yourself.
However, school policies changed at some point where it was decided that both parties in a fight should be punished, even the one who is defending oneself. But if the schools aren't going to intervene or do anything when it comes to bullying or verbal aggression, then they should probably loosen up on their rules against fighting. Simply "ignoring" someone who is verbally aggressive isn't really enough.
Thoughts?