Steve Zuber, an Ombuds with the Washington Office of the Education Ombudsman, says that school bullying has not changed much since his prior career as a high school teacher and counselor. Statistics from the State of Washington bear this out and show no decline of bullying in the last 10 years.
Zuber says that 60 percent of all bullying and harassment incidents his office handles involve kids with disabilities. He noted also that September and October are the worst time for school bullying as kids, “jockey for power.”
Every bullying incident has an emotional effect on bystanders,” said Zuber. “Your child will either be an aggressor, target or witness. There is no way you will not have to deal with this issue ... We focus on the target but we need to change the way we think. We need to consider all aspects.
Zuber discourages parents of bullied students from contacting the family of the bully as this usually just intensifies the situation. Instead, he suggests that parents go through the school administrative channels. (Redmond Reporter.)
I agree with Zuber, parents should not try to work it out between each other. For one, parents will protect their kids first, even if they are in the wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing for parents is to speak to their child and give them their full support for dealing with a bully at school. The parent should also let school teachers know to be on the lookout for their child.