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Column: Discrimination and bullying in schools — why is it so difficult to stop?
Gargoyle screenshot of CNN.com news story (click to enlarge)In this CNN story, Jaheem Herrera's mother discussed the bullying and taunts that led to her 11-year-old son's suicide. Published: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 11:38pm
UNTIL I READ Jaheem Herrera’s story I didn’t know of an 11-year-old who had been driven to suicide. Uni, in which students scarcely find an act of bullying, seems to have sheltered many of us from the degree to which harassment can go.
Jaheem, who was in the fifth grade at Dunaire Elementary School in DeKalb, Ga., took his own life following repeated anti-gay taunts and threats by his classmates.
His mother, brokenhearted by his death and previously unaware of how severe the bullying was, has spoken out about her son. Her main question: Why did no one at the school intervene?
The anti-bullying state legislation that is constantly being put in place in schools across the country is showing its faults as elementary, middle, and high schools fail to police bullying happening inside the classroom.
Why? The problem can be the legislation itself, whom the legislation covers, or how teachers are able to implement the state legislation in individual schools.
So, can the state effectively regulate bullying, or must it be stopped at the source: within the school itself?
A crucial problem with bullying legislation in all states is that it does not define physical bullying as illegal, comparable to any other type of assault. If a teacher or parent does note harassment, he or she can’t do anything to stop the bullying beyond verbally reprimanding the student.
This mode of punishment does nothing, usually causing a backlash against the victim. What many parents are calling for today is statement in print that makes bullying punishable by expulsion and, after a certain number of incidents, removal to an alternative school.
In some cases, the problem has been whom the legislation can protect. In Georgia, for example, legislation only officially bans bullying in sixth through 12th grade. Jaheem Herrera, a fifth grader, got help from no one.
This raises an alarming concern: Is bullying legislation the only driving force behind adult intervention when it comes to in-school harassment? Don’t all teachers have the responsibility to intervene, regardless?
A third problem with legislation is that several states leave teachers few tools or resources to combat bullying: a half-hearted informational video, a brief lecture most kids ignore.
All of these complications make bullying legislation essentially null; there is no protection for kids unless an astute adult intervenes or another student steps in. My opinion: Schools should quit ignoring acts of harassment just because it might be a liability and start addressing those acts for the sake of their students and parents.
One grassroots organization that is making this mission its philosophy is No Bully of San Francisco. Founded by Nicholas Carlisle, an Oxford-educated lawyer who was bullied himself at school, the initiative combines extensive training for teachers, counselors, and administrators with creative workshops for kids.
The organization, which covers the surrounding school district and has seen several successes, also includes additional training for students immediately following an incident, so that teachers can react to the problem in a constructive, holistic way.
What do you as Uni students think can or should be done about this problem? Do teachers and parents have the obligation to step in when they see bullying happening? Will there ever be a state or federal legislation that is actually effective?
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It was utterly shocking to
It was utterly shocking to read about how such a young, bright and hopeful boy took his own life. How could his school let this happen? Teacher must have known what was going on. Why was nothing done to help him?
What do you think teachers should do?
Kelly, thank you for your bringing attention to this horrifying incident. Even at Uni, I witness students bullying each other and I often wonder what a successful teacher intervention would look like. I know it is my obligation to intervene and try to protect students who are being bullied, but research shows that when confronted, bullying often goes underground and adults are no longer able to see it. I also worry that sometimes when a teacher intervenes the student ends up being bullied even more as a result of that intervention. These aren't reasons not to intervene, as this story clearly illustrates, but I am curious what students, who witness all of this first hand, think a successful teacher intervention would look like.
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