Melanie: I’m a teen myself. Yes, the schools do get a little out of hand every now and then. I’ve personally never been a part of any bullying or anything. People can be so cruel though. I have seen it happening. She’s not the first and not the last teen to be a victim of bullying. There’s nothing you really can do to stop it. You have to learn to ignore it.
Ole Guy: These kids should be prosecuted under the full weight of law, as any adult would, and made to suffer the full consequence. To do otherwise will only serve as invitation to repeat the offense in the name of “children-will-be-children” behavior. Consequently, generations will become adults with that much less self-control and respect for human frailty.
Jetflyer: Kudos to the prosecutors. Those little criminals should be punished hard as examples of the bullies running around the school. That will make the little garbage understand that bullying has consequences.
Glenn: As I’ve said before, we need more male teachers in schools. The female teachers just cannot stand up to the mean gang-like kids. Therefore, they say nothing. The bullies not only should be punished, but charged with a misdemeanor. It has to stop somewhere.
Moe Moe: This sort of bullying happens everywhere. My own kid was categorically harassed because she had dyslexia, and one of the teachers called her “stupid” in front of the whole class.
From that point on her days in this school were nonstop harassment, jeering and bullying. My prayers go out to this poor girl’s family. They should have pulled her out of this hell hole of a school. That’s what I did, and my kid is much happier and healthier for it.
Josey: This is ludicrous. Another worthless district attorney looking to make a name for himself. Sad truth is kids commit suicide, especially high school kids who, on average, are 10 times more likely to commit suicide than the other ages. Internal factors such as hormonal changes, depression, self-esteem, family issues such as moving — all these things can be contributing factors.
It’s a travesty for some rogue prosecutor to ruin the lives of nine high school kids solely to make a name for himself as “the guy that stood up for picked on teens.”
Technical Afterthought: She killed herself. Whatever happened to sticks and stones?
Rick: School administrators should get off their butts and walk the halls along with teachers. When they find any evidence of bullying, they should speak to the parties involved and put the bullies and their parents on notice.
A second occurrence should see the bullies sent to an alternative school for a full school year. Even bullying outside the school disrupts the educational process for the student being bullied and there should be consequences.
Unfortunately, most administrators are just paper tigers that refuse to deal with bullies and their parents. We also need stronger laws to stop bullying and set appropriate criminal consequences.
Teacher-mom in Cobb: The “anti-bullying campaign” at my middle school is generally a once a year thing that the kids ignore or make light of. Instead, anti-bullying messages should come on a regular basis and teachers and administrators need to be vigilant to help those students being bullied who don’t ask for help.
I consider it part of my job to correct behavior that is mean or cruel, but I am sure that adults don’t see a large part of what goes on in the locker rooms and buses.
In the midst: What I see as the serious concern is whether the parents of the students accused of bullying were ever notified of their children’s behavior. What we see a lot of in schools is that even when the school follows its procedures for bullying, the parents are not doing their part to monitor their child’s behavior.
The schools are now left to deal with what goes on inside and outside of the school. I have seen and heard parents come to a school and want the school to deal with what one student or students have posted on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter about their child. When did that become the responsibility of the school?
Crime of Omission: On more than one occasion, I have had a student who would torment and bully others in the class. She would physically and emotionally harm others on a consistent basis. This particular child had a mother who was very active on the PTA and was a bully herself. The principal was afraid of the parent, so was indirectly afraid of the bully/child.
The peers of this fifth-grade child suffered. She also tormented students in other grades because they rode the same bus and lived in her neighborhood. I sat in numerous parent/teacher conferences with the principal and guidance counselor of the school present. Nothing was done to support the victims.
The guidance counselor agreed with me that the child was intentionally inflicting harm on others but our hands were tied. My principal would not enforce consequences for the child because the parent would often threaten the principal.
I live in DeKalb: My children, then 6 and 9, were walking home from school on the first day at a new school when two children started throwing rocks at them. When they told me about the incident, I immediately called both parents. The first was concerned and agreed to talk with her son. The second responded, “What do you want me to do about it?”
I told her that if it happened again I would file a complaint with the police and call the school. It never happened again. Sometimes you have to push back.
Devil dog: The part that really bugs me is that the bullied kid gets punished if he/she fights back. Parents sent their bullied kids to me for karate lessons.
I taught them how to fight, yet when a bully picked on them and they retaliated guess who got suspended for 10 days?
Victim: Maybe bullying shouldn’t be punished by criminal law but something does need to be done to shake these kids who think they can do whatever they want.
It’s not just teenage drama. These kids carry this on into college and some through adulthood. They continue to treat people poorly and show little respect for others.
I can attest to this because I am bullied every day at work by adults who make fun of me in front of my face, and others who we work with. I don’t deserve it and neither do my co-workers. And my superiors don’t care and don’t want to know. It’s the same now as it was in high school and middle school.
Roxy: Bullies learn how to be so from home, from their bully parents. Too many whacko parents try to bully their way around the teachers and administrators.
The kids learn how to bully from mommy’s and daddy’s example.