Bully Prevention

By JAY REEVES (AP)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A 15-year-old high school student who jumped to her death from an interstate overpass complained of bullying at school and never got over the death of her sister in a freak accident, factors the coroner said Thursday likely played a role in her suicide.

Chilton County Coroner Randall Yeargan said Alex Moore of Jemison left her rural home early Wednesday and walked to an overpass above Interstate 65. Several drivers on the highway saw her plunge, Yeargan said.

The death was ruled a suicide, Yeargan said, and investigators are trying to determine how much of a role bullying played. The teen’s father said the girl expressed anger and grief over her sister’s death in a suicide note, but did not mention bullying.

The coroner said Moore clearly was having a hard time at Jemison High School, located in a farming community in central Alabama about 40 miles south of Birmingham.

“The word we’re getting is that she had been harassed or bullied by other kids. You know, kids are cruel. She wasn’t in the ‘in’ crowd,” he said. “And, she was having considerable problems with the loss of her sister. That may have played as much a role in it as the bullying.”

The teen’s father, Jim Moore, said in an interview with The Associated Press that relatives didn’t know the extent of the bullying and teasing Alex had endured until after messages from classmates began appearing on Facebook pages following her death. She talked of teasing, bullying on the school bus and some boys “messing with her stuff” recently, he said, but it didn’t seem to be a major problem.

“She was a good kid, a Christian girl. She loved animals,” he said. “(But) she was overweight, she didn’t have a lot of friends and wasn’t in the ‘in’ clique.”

The Chilton County school superintendent’s office referred questions to Jemison High School Principal Alan Thompson, who didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

Jim Moore said Alex’s older sister, 25-year-old Lesley Anne Moore, died about two years ago after stepping into live electrical wires that had been knocked down in an automobile accident. Alex believed the driver should have been held accountable and was upset when he wasn’t, Moore said.

Because of that experience, Alex didn’t trust authorities and may not have been willing to tell administrators about bullying at school, Moore said. She complained to an assistant principal recently about harassment from male students, he said, but she let the matter drop after an administrator talked to the youths.

“She told her to come back to her if it happened again, and she never did,” Moore said.

Moore said neither he nor Alex’s mother realized what was happening at school until classmates and friends created Facebook postings and groups talking about all the bullying and harassment she endured. In some postings, students apologize for being mean to her.

One student began a group that said the teen “was made fun of daily.”

In describing the group, the student forming it said, “Heartless people, our peers, teased her because she was not up to their standards. Well, not a lot of people are.”

School bullying has gained new attention after two students in Massachusetts hanged themselves separately in recent months after suffering repeated harassment from classmates. In one of the cases, six students are criminally charged in connection with the student’s death. A new Massachusetts law enacted last week bans bullying on school property and cyberbullying.

The Canadian Press

ASSINIBOIA, Sask. — A five-year-old Saskatchewan boy who lost a leg in a lawn mower accident is being bullied on the school bus and school officials aren’t helping, argues the boy’s father.

Robert Coomber says his son, Ryan, got a black eye after being hit by an older student on the bus ride between the school in Assiniboia and the family home in Willow Bunch, about two hours southwest of Regina.

“I asked him why. He said it was because he was singing,” said Coomber.

Coomber said he called the older student’s parents but they were unwilling to help. The next call was to the RCMP.

“The RCMP came and took photos of Ryan’s face and said that we were in full rights to press charges, but we decided not to, that we would let the school handle it instead of putting this kid through the justice system,” said Coomber. “Instead of handling it, they removed Ryan from the bus because they said it was unsafe for him.”

Coomber said there was no co-operation from staff at Ryan’s school or at the older student’s school, which he said “refused outright to discipline the child in any way.” Ryan’s school goes up to Grade 4 and the older student’s school covers Grades 5 to 8, but they share a bus.

Coomber said an official with the Prairie South School Division told him that it would be best if he drove Ryan the 50 kilometres each way to kindergarten.

The frustrated father says it’s not the first time Ryan has been bullied on the bus and he’s just one of many victims.

“It’s usually pushing, shoving, taking his bag, taking his winter clothes. The first kid actually tried to pull his prosthetic leg from him. And this is a joke to everyone … in the system,” said Coomber.

“All my boy’s trying to do is to have his right to an education and to a safe environment.”

“He was singing on the bus. They tell children from the youngest of ages about singing and singing about buses, ‘The wheels on the bus go round and round.’ So you start singing on the bus and that gives a person the right to belt you in the face hard enough to give you a black eye. That doesn’t seem right. So when we complained, we were just trying to make right by Ryan and unfortunately it was completely ignored.”

The Prairie South School Division said it couldn’t talk about specific student issues because of privacy laws, but a spokeswoman said there are anti-bullying policies in place and a process to resolve disputes.

Saskatchewan Education Minister Ken Krawetz said an investigation is underway to find out what happened.

“Until that is complete, I don’t think the board of education will be jumping to any conclusions. The short-term solution, I guess, was to ensure that there be no further antagonism between students and to ensure that the parents were able to drive the student to school,” said Krawetz.

Krawetz said school boards have policies to ensure safe environments and that extends to school buses.

Ryan was run over by a riding lawn mower in May 2008. His left leg needed to be amputated below the knee as well as four toes on his right foot. His thigh bone was broken on his right side and his pelvis was shattered. The spinning blade cut out a portion of his liver, some muscle on his chest and muscle on his buttocks.

Ryan spent a year and thousands of hours learning to walk with the prosthetic limb. Coomber said now his son is struggling to understand this situation.

“Mentally he’s OK. He’s a little confused about why he’s not allowed on the bus any more and he’s kind of bummed out that he doesn’t get to see his friends on the bus,” said Coomber.

Coomber taken earlier by Canadian Press

 By James Ihaka and Isaac Davison

A boy who stabbed his teacher four times with a knife had been bullied by other pupils, his family say.

The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, stabbed Te Puke High School maths teacher Steve Hose in the back of the neck and shoulder on Monday shortly after class began at 11am.

He is in custody at a secure Child, Youth and Family residential placement facility in Auckland.

A close whanau member told the Herald the family were still in shock, saying the attack was “completely out of character” for the Year 9 pupil.

The man said the boy was “little and placid” and a “quiet thinker” who, because of his size, had been a target for bullies.

He had been suspended from school this year for about three days after he apparently fought older students who he claimed had been picking on him.

The man said the school had a culture of bullying and people would write affidavits in support of his claim.

“There were a number of occasions where [the boy] was bullied. I am of the opinion this is what led him to do what he did.

Still, this is completely out of character … we don’t condone what has happened but we need to know what could have triggered him to do something like this.”

The school principal, Alan Liddle, said the school had no formal record or allegations of the boy being bullied.

He said an internal investigation would deal with all circumstances surrounding the attack.

The boy had been in the care of his grandmother at her home in Manoeka on the outskirts of Te Puke after his parents split when he was a few months old.

He apparently had asthma, but enjoyed playing rugby league.

His relative said he was kindhearted and would help prepare his younger cousins for school and could be seen helping his elderly neighbours with their gardens and lawns.

“You could say he has had it pretty rough but things could have been worse if he had stayed with his parents.”

Asked if the boy had any gang affiliations, he said “he did not have a patch…but that does not mean he was not a prospect. It is a possibility.”

Rachael Adams, the boy’s legal representative, said a family group conference would take place within the next few weeks.

Originally published: May 10, 2010 7:50 PM
Updated: May 10, 2010 10:17 PM
By REID J. EPSTEIN  reid.epstein@newsday.com

Suffolk Legis. Jon Cooper said he was spurred to act after hearing one Lake Grove family’s story.

Photo credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara | Jamie Isaacs, 14, of Lake Grove, says she was bullied by classmates in school. (May 10, 2010)

The bullies at school were so mean to Jamie Isaacs for so long, her parents said, that her grades suffered, she fell into depression and her parents tried selling their Lake Grove house.

Isaacs, 14, is at the center of proposed anti-bullying legislation in Suffolk that would hold school administrators responsible for writing up repeated incidents of bullying and punishing children who bully.

“I was scared to walk to the end of my driveway,” Isaacs said Monday while sitting at her dining room table. “If someone tells you they want to kill you, that’s not something you can just let go.”

VIDEO: Click here to hear Jamie Isaacs’s story in her own words

Beginning in the second grade, classmates at Sachem Central School District’s Wenonah Elementary School in Lake Grove hit her with book bags, poked her with sharpened pencils and threatened her on the school bus, in hallways and online, she and her parents said. Books and clothes were stolen from her locker, she said, and in online postings she printed and saved, it was suggested she partake in graphic sexual acts.

Suffolk Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), who sponsored the legislation, along with another bill banning cyberbullying in the county, said he was spurred to act after hearing the family’s story.

“My concern is that some school administrators or teachers don’t take the problem of bullying seriously enough,” Cooper said. “For whatever reason, they turn a blind eye to these activities that take place under their watch.”

Jamie’s parents, Anne and Ronald Isaacs, plan to testify on behalf of Cooper’s legislation at Tuesday’s public hearing in Hauppauge. The family Monday described futile meetings with school administrators in which they were told incidents on school buses were not their concern. When their now-12-year-old son, Danny, told school officials a fellow student threatened him with a knife earlier this year, he was suspended for lying, the Isaacses said.

Starting in December 2007, the Isaacses filed four separate notices of claim against the Sachem school district, accusing administrators of failing to stop the bullying of Jamie and her brother Danny and suspending the children from school without cause. The Isaacses claimed damages for medical expenses to treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and insomnia, as well as for time they missed from work.

The Isaacs said they called Suffolk police to report harassment incidents, but a police spokeswoman Monday said an investigation into a 2007 harassment incident was found to be noncriminal.

Sachem school officials declined to comment on the Isaacses’ case, citing “student privacy laws and ongoing litigation.” In a statement released by the district’s public relations firm, the district said it has a “zero-tolerance policy” for bullying.

The headlines across the country on bullying has been both shocking and tragic.  From Massachusetts, Phoebe Prince, to South Florida and two horrific acts of school violence that could be linked to bullying, it is time bullying it stops.

A new study confirms other research that chubby children are more likely to be the victims of bullying. About one-third of kids in the USA weigh too much. Researchers at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor analyzed the bullying incidents of 821 children ages 8 to 11.

The odds of being bullied were 63 percent higher for kids who were overweight than their classmates of an average weight, according to researchers, and the bullies did not discriminate based on gender or economic status. Overweight boys were just as likely as girls to be bullied by their peers and surprisingly, those with good social skills weren’t spared from the bullying either.

As children struggle today with peer pressure and self-esteem, it is imperative that parents keep the lines of communication open with their children. 

Some schools are creating Anti-Bullying Clubs.  More parents, teachers and schools need to ban together to help start an organization in their schools. 

USA Today recently published an article, Chubby Kids Get Bullied More Often.  Obesity can effect not only your child’s physical health, but also their mental health.  Being teased and bully can literally destroy your child’s self-esteem leading to depression and worse. 

Isn’t it time you and your family take the time to learn how to eat and live healthy? 

First Coast News, Jacksonville is challenging families to participate in Kick It Up!  Kick It Up initiative to fight obesity and improve the health of all Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia residents.

Obesity and bullying are both preventable.  Education is key, learn to eat healthy, exercise and treat others as you would like to be treated.

One way is to sit down with your child and ask questions.  And then listen closely to their answers.

• Does anyone ever feel left out at home or at school?
• Why do you think you feel that way?
• Do you ever get the feeling other people don’t like you?
• What makes you feel that way?
• Do you think the person who made you feel that way may be trying to make you feel bad, because he or she feels bad?
• What do you think you could say to that bully that would make a difference in how she or he treats you?
• Do you ever stop to think about how you can handle someone like that bully?  

When you think of a bully, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?  Is it someone on TV?  Someone you saw in a movie?  Someone you see every day?

•  A bully is usually not a happy person, not someone who smiles or is easy to get along with.
• A bully usually acts mean and angry much of the time and says things that frighten people, or hurt their feelings, like “Shut up!” or “Do what I say!” or “You’re stupid!”
• When we run into a bully, we may get scared and freeze, we may want to run away, or fight w/the bully, or cry.

But a bully is someone who has a problem, too.

• When we run into a bully, we are concerned about ourselves and our safety, and usually don’t stop to think about the bully.  That’s normal.
• If we stop and think, we realize that a bully is someone w/a problem.  He is not happy, and there’s probably a reason for that.  The bully may have had a bad day, a bad week, a bad year.
• You know, most bullies become bullies, probably because someone once bullied them.

Many of you may remember bullying incidents in your youth, and now in adulthood may think it’s just part of growing and it never really affected you. You would be one of the fortunate ones, for bullying has much too do with stunting a child’s emotional and intellectual growth, even if it never has more than minor physical effects.Please take this opportunity to educate yourself about an issue that affects 30%, or more than 5.7 million, of children and youth in the United States because that is how many of them are estimated to be bullies, have been the victims of bullying or both.

It just seems like every year the stories get worse when it comes to children being bullied. I saw on the news a few months ago that a girl committed suicide from being bullied. Then there was the mother who cyber bullied her daughters friend. We are looking for parents, students, and anyone that is interested in helping us on our crusade over the next 65 days to help improve the situation for children of our community. If you are interested or have nay ideas please respond to this post!

BULLYING STATISTICS
 
Thirty percent (30%) of U.S. students in grades six through ten are involved in moderate or frequent bullying — as bullies, as victims, or as both — according to the results of the first national survey on this subject.

Bullying is increasingly viewed as an important contributor to youth violence, including homicide and suicide. Case studies of the shooting at Colombine High School and other U.S. schools have suggested that bullying was a factor in many of the incidents.

RECENT STATISTICS SHOW THAT:

• 1 out of 4 kids is Bullied.  The American Justice Department says that this month 1 out of every 4 kids will be abused by another youth.  
• Surveys Show That  77%  of students are bullied mentally, verbally, & physically.
• In a recent study, 77% of the students said they had been bullied. And 14% of those who were bullied said they experienced severe (bad) reactions to the abuse.
• 1 out of 5 kids admits to being a bully, or doing some “Bullying.”
• 8% of students miss 1 day of class per month for fear of Bullies.
• 43% fear harassment in the bathroom at school.
• 100,000 students carry a gun to school.
• 28% of youths who carry weapons have witnessed violence at home.
• A poll of teens ages 12-17 proved that they think violence increased at their schools.
• 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.
• More youth violence occurs on school grounds as opposed to on the way to school.
• Playground statistics – Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. Adult intervention – 4%. Peer intervention – 11%. No intervention – 85%.
• ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS – School Crime and Safety:
• 46% of males, and 26% of females reported they had been in physical fights.
• Those in the lower grades reported being in twice as many fights as those in the higher grades. However, there is a lower rate of serious violent crimes in the elementary level than in the middle or high schools.

Teenagers say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings
 — 87% said shootings are motivated by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them.”
 — 86% said, “other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them” causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in the schools.

Students recognize that being a victim of abuse at home or witnessing others being abused at home may cause violence in school.
 — 61% said students shoot others because they have been victims of physical abuse at home.
 — 54% said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence in school.

Students say their schools are not safe.

Anti-Bullying Video