The U.S. Department of Education held its first-ever summit this August to address the problem of bullying. In addition to representation from its offices for civil rights and safe and drug-free schools, the summit also included representatives from the U.S. departments of justice, agriculture, defense and interior as well as superintendents, researchers, corporate leaders, community partners and students.
As an adult survivor of peer abuse, the compelling questions that come to my mind are, what took them so long? Why didn”t anyone seem to care when I was being bullied in school?
The attention that is being paid to peer abuse is decades overdue. Solving this problem will take the combined efforts of the school and its wider community.
Bullying is not a new problem and I don”t believe it is more severe than it was in years past; bullying has encompassed and continues to involve physical, verbal and psychological abuse. What has changed is that I believe society is finally gaining awareness that bullied students” civil rights are being violated and that bullying can have lasting, devastating consequences.
My hope is that by advocating zero-tolerance for bullying, I can influence my former schools and the schools in my present community to provide today”s students with the support that was withheld from me.
The actions I endorse are two-fold: first, that aggressive laws must take a zero-tolerance approach. If schools won”t adopt policies or enforce the ones they have, than we need state and federal laws.
Bullypolice.org envisons the “perfect law” that can be viewed in detail at www.bullypolice.org/ThePerfectLaw2006.pdf. Its most significant provision, in my opinion, is that it does not define the victim. Instead, it recognizes that any child can be a victim and that the bully is the root of the problem. Also important, the law mandates anti-bully programs, it doesn”t merely suggest them.
The only addition I would suggest are that the ideal law should include provision for adult survivors of bullying who are no longer eligible for services under California Education Code. The ideal law should permit adult survivors to obtain psychological assessment and counseling with all costs to be borne by the district.
A formal apology would be nice, too.
I believe one of the reasons that bullying is allowed to flourish is that its effect is still too often trivialized and the victim is blamed for having failed to prevent being the victim of abuse. The district-borne expense of assessment and counseling would go a long way to emphasize the seriousness of the offense.
The second action I endorse involves actively engaging the entire community.
A detailed report from the National Center for Education Statistics cites findings that peers were present in 88 percent of bullying episodes. “Thus, bullying frequently involves the support of peers within the school community and is often not an isolated event between two individuals.” The report can be viewed and downloaded from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005310.pdf.
Whether a school hosts Challenge Day or another program of its choice, I support programs that foster connection and understanding.
Challenge Day presentations are scheduled for Sept. 20 and 21 at Clear Lake High School and for Sept. 22 and 23 at Lower Lake High School. These programs need adult volunteers.
For information about volunteering for Challenge Day at Lower Lake High School, please contact Amy Osborn at 994-6471, ext. 2707, or e-mail amy.osborn@konoctiusd.org. For information about Challenge Day at Clear Lake High School, please contact June Wilson at 262-0291. Further information about Challenge Day can also be viewed online at www.challengeday.org.
Cynthia Parkhill is the focus pages editor for the Record-Bee and editor of the Clear Lake Observer-American. She can be contacted at ObserverAmerican@gmail.com or 263-5636 ext. 39.
