[marki]

This is really sad. As an educator I can tell you that we do all we can to try and stamp out bullying but it is becoming a greater problem with the escalation of violence at some schools. Bullying is a very complex issue and there is no single solution. Sure we have bullying policies, we try to be vigilant, staff are always on duty before, during and after school but still it persists. At my school any child caught bullying undergoes 6 months of councilling as well as special programs we have in place where they are pulled out of several classes a week to complete the program (over a period of 1 year). If I catch a kid bullying in any of my classes they get to spend a week (recess and lunch) following me around picking up crap in the playground as well as a bit of practice at scrapping old chewing gum from under the tables, then I pass them on to the psyc's (we have 3) for the official programs. The biggest problem folks is that much bullying takes place undetected (especially the cyber variety) and unless the victim has the courage to tell someone we may never know. We also have a website setup where the kids can report bullying anonynomously and we catch quite a few via this means. When kids have had the courage to stand up and tell someone the bully has been shut down so completely that it ends there (I have not seen a fight at my school for more than 6 years). If you have a child that is a victim of bullying encourage them to stand up and tell someone in authority, the school must act, it is bound by law to do so.

Mark