Who is responsible for bullying?

[UGLY]

http://www.slate.com/id/2249307/?GT1=38001

Unfortunately in our society we have bullies and because of their actions people sometimes can not cope and take extreme measures to escape the bullying. We had the incident here in Colorado at Columbine and recently we have seen some young men and women take their own lives because of the bullying. We can all agree that bullying is terrible and I have always despised bullies. We can also agree that there is a difference between bullying and pranking or some things that happen in the locker room, not all things but some.

The question as the article says is are adults responsible for the actions taken as a result of bullying. Are the teachers and parents responsible for what happens to the victims of the bullies. If a teacher witnesses bullying are they just as much to blame if they do not stop it immediately?

My stance is that the parents are liable for the actions of their kids, but if they do not see the bullying and it is not reported to them they can not he held to account. If a parent or the school notifies the parents of the actions of their child and they choose (like many parents do) to ignore or deny the warning then they are responsible.

As far as the school and teachers are concerned they are liable. Chances are that they have seen the bullying and have not stopped it. Some people are saying that teachers want to fit in with the bullies because thy view them as the in crowd. I dont know why a teacher would be concerned with that but supposedly it happens. Either way the school is responsible for the children while they are there. If bullying is going unchecked then the school along with the teachers are liable.

[Spider]

UGLY, I am in 100% agreement except the part at the end about the man crush. I also blame a society which endorses and glorifies violence with video games, movies, rap lyrics, and the rest. I hate to sound like the old fart that I am, but where are our values? Where is the respect for others that we grew up learning and is the essence of the sportsmanship that we try to teach our athletes in spite of all the bad examples they see? While parents can't be responsible for their kids' actions if they aren't made aware of them, they are responsible to a large degree for their kids' attitudes and morality. They have to let kids know at a very young age what is and is not acceptable, and they have to live by this and set an example.

End of rant . . . for now.

[Chance174]

UGLY, I am in 100% agreement except the part at the end about the man crush. I also blame a society which endorses and glorifies violence with video games, movies, rap lyrics, and the rest. I hate to sound like the old fart that I am, but where are our values? Where is the respect for others that we grew up learning and is the essence of the sportsmanship that we try to teach our athletes in spite of all the bad examples they see? While parents can't be responsible for their kids' actions if they aren't made aware of them, they are responsible to a large degree for their kids' attitudes and morality. They have to let kids know at a very young age what is and is not acceptable, and they have to live by this and set an example.

End of rant . . . for now.

Spider, i agree with you to an extent. Yes there are more video games now and more TV shows with violence than before but isn't it up to the parents to determine what their kid does?

When i was growing up I could only watch G movies and a few approved PG movies. I wasn't allowed to watch MTV or play violent video games.

When it comes to violence on TV there used to be a ton when i was growing up and the generation before. My father grew up watching old westerns, they have just as much as a lot of the movies these days (the special effects sucked) and the cartoons when i was growing up were more violent than the ones today.

I think it comes down today that parents utilize video games/TV as a babysitter and don't pay as close attention and rely on society to raise their kids.

It is a touchy subject but parents and kids are too soft these days(not all). Kids get in fights, bullys have been around since the beginning of time....these have never changed, it is the lessons learned from them that have either been forgotten or twisted.

You are right Spider parents have to set the example!!

i apologize for my ramblings, it has already been a long week

[UGLY]

Should the school be held criminally or civilly liable. I think they should if they are found to have not taken steps to stop the bullying.

[Spider]

Should the school be held criminally or civilly liable. I think they should if they are found to have not taken steps to stop the bullying.

The school is responsible for the safety of the students as much as can reasonably be expected. If a reasonably identifiable threat to a student's well being - emotional or physical - is seen and ignored, the teacher and the school are responsible for the consequences of their inaction.

[washed up wrestler]

There was a big myth going around after Columbine (see UGLY/Littleton) that the two domestic terrorists were bullied. That isn't even remotely true. If anyone did the bullying, it was Klebold and Harris.

Sometimes bullying can be misconstrued for boorish behavior.

Bullying has and will go on forever. I think it's the parents that need to stay on top of it with their children. Probe them for information. If the child is closed lip about it and you suspect it may be happening, dig a little deeper with the school administrators and make a plan from there.

[Flop The Nuts]

There was a big myth going around after Columbine (see UGLY/Littleton) that the two domestic terrorists were bullied. That isn't even remotely true. If anyone did the bullying, it was Klebold and Harris.

That's true. Read any book about Columbine and you'll find that Klebold and Harris weren't bullied.

[BonnieJ2]

Should the school be held criminally or civilly liable. I think they should if they are found to have not taken steps to stop the bullying.

I think it would be wrong to hold the school criminally or civilly liable if they don't hold both parents equally liable.

[Spider]

I think it would be wrong to hold the school criminally or civilly liable if they don't hold both parents equally liable.

Even if the parents were unaware of the problem and the school knew about it but ignored it?