Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and co-author of "Letting Go with Love and Confidence: Raising Responsible, Resilient, Self-Sufficient Teens in the 21st Century.", says,"Character is about doing the right thing when nobody is watching or when it's hard to do. The person with character says, 'not in my presence.' "
According to statistics provided on www.stopbullying.gov , the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported more than 1 in 4 kids, grades 6 to 12 were involved in some type of bullying, in 2008 - 2009 school year (latest available numbers).
Recently, the Neosho School District has come under scrutiny for an alleged act of bullying, on one of our buses. The Neosho Schools take bullying very seriously, unfortunately, in my opinion, the manner in which this incident has been handled has served to harm the cause of anti-bullying efforts. Please allow me to explain and realize I in no way intend to minimize the allegations being made, also realize, due to The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), I am not going to be able to discuss the specific situation, of the child, rather my focus - here is on teamwork.
The recent incident has led to an online attack of the Neosho School District and a couple of our Administrator's. I want to emphatically defend our Administration and assure you they will deal with ANY situation of bullying, brought to their attention! Safety of ALL children, within our community is our number one priority. I have seen several parents allege inaction, by the Neosho School District, with regards to bullying.... to this I ask, to whom have you complained? I have been on the school board, for nearly two years, and I am unaware of any complaints being brought before the school board, because a parent felt they had not been resolved by our staff. The Neosho School District has anti-bullying efforts in place and has aggressively trained staff to deal with this pressing issue.
If any parent feels they have an issue with their child, particularly the safety of their child, I encourage them to follow the procedure and discuss the situation with the Principal involved. If, after that meeting, they feel their concerns have not been addressed; then contact our Administrative Office and speak to an Assistant Superintendent OR the Superintendent.
Now, here is my real concern and point of today's Blog..... notice my terminology - two paragraphs up - when I say the word "attack". I know people, myself included, have felt "attacked" over this issue and that is most unfortunate. We ALL want to prevent any bullying and keep kids safe. Any time, ANY person, or entity is placed on the defensive it detracts from the main issue. It is just human nature. If someone makes statements against you, your family, etc; you - most likely - will feel a bit ruffled and emotions will rise. That is counter productive to what really needs to happen with all serious matters.
I have noticed many people "liking" a facebook page related to this incident and I wonder.... instead of just "liking" a page, what real effort could all of us make to prevent bullying all across Neosho? We can make threats to go to this agency or that agency, to seek legal counsel, or degrade one another in public forums, BUT unfortunately - at the end of the day - kids are still being bullied! Why? Because, ALL serious matters REQUIRE teamwork to be solved. We must work TOGETHER to face this issue and educate people to end the cycles. There are many reasons children bully other children.
Education, teamwork, counseling, and a UNITED front are the ONLY ways we are going to keep our kids safe. I have seen enough division, in the Neosho Community. It is time it comes to an end. I think there are many positive actions in progress, to make Neosho an even greater place to live...... I hope we can SOON add positive team action to prevent bullying - to the list of Neosho's great efforts!
Please visit www.stopbullying.gov to learn more.
If we can't agree, let's at least be civil.........
I have two questions and two comments.
ReplyDeleteFirst, why should a parent have to appear before the school board to discuss a bullying problem?
Second, people are coming forward now, shouldn't the Neosho school board be willing to address the accusations?
We removed our child from the Neosho school system several years ago due to incessant bullying and poor teacher performance. We spoke to teachers and administrators who did absolutely nothing to remedy the problems.
We sent letters to the teachers and the superintendent. We received no response from the teachers or the administration.
I have known for years that there are problems within this school district that go unresolved. The staff of the Neosho school district act as if they haven't the time to put real effort into solving problems, they just want the problems to go away on their own.
Respectfully,
Mat Clark
Mr. Douglas, I have two questions and two comments.
ReplyDeleteWhy should parents have to appear before the school board to discuss a problem that should have been resolved by the staff?
The fact is the bullying problem is now being brought into the light.
Why not just be appreciative that there is a significant problem and address the problem with concern?
We removed our child from the Neosho school system several years ago and placed him in a different school.
We experienced constant problems with our son being bullied at school and on the bus. Our numerous complaints went unresolved. We spoke with teachers and administrators, they did nothing. We sent letters to the staff and the superintendent that went unanswered.
We can name names of administrators and teachers who allowed our son to not be properly taught as well as a teacher who gave the kids in her class the answers to their assignments. We can name a certain revered principal who told us that as long as our son received a 60% on his assignments, that was good enough.
We can name teachers who we had several conversations with that since our son claimed to not need help in class they were not helping him even though he was flunking.
The staff of the Neosho school district is not living up to their responsibilities. This truth is a well-known fact within the community and is a constant topic of conversation. There are a lot of unhappy parents in this community.
Respectfully,
Mat Clark
Mat, I am not at all saying a parent should have to go to the School Board or the Superintendent. Of course, that should be the course of last resort. What I am saying is, parents DO need to report these incidents to our staff AND upon making a report we all must work together to resolve the issue.
ReplyDeleteIf any parent, yourself included, is frustrated or upset with the situation continuing - after working with a Teacher or Principal - then they should come to the Superintendent and ask for help. We will not ignore any such report.
I am sorry and sad you have had such a terrible experience and that you hold such negative views, of our School. That is not what we strive for and not being specifically familiar with your situation hampers my response - BUT I Sorry things weren't handled to your families satisfaction. All I can say is, we will strive to do much better, in the future, and as long as I am on the Board, I will advocate for fair treatment of all people. That is just basic human decency and we must deliver.
I was clear, in my Blog, how serious of an issue this is and it is NOT inherent only to Neosho. These types of incidents are rampant nation wide. Bullying is difficult to address, without all parties working together. Facts MUST be determined and investigated. Having a person accussed of bullying is a terrible thing, as well. When we, or any school district, points a finger at a student and accuses them, we must ensure we have as many facts as possible.
We also must do a good job of referring those responsible for the bullying to appropriate counseling, so we can , again, work together to end the cycle.
Mat, as to your specific situation, if it has taken place in the last two years, I'd appreciate a private email from you, as I'd like to find some answers as to how we let you down. Thank you for taking the time to have your voice heard. My email is: steve105@swell.net OR you may feel free to call my cell phone at 417-592-4357.
This happened about 4 years ago; we had repeated meetings with school officials and they did nothing. We sent a letter to the Superintendent and our email went unanswered. I can give you names but I doubt at this point that it will do any good. These people are well-entrenched in the Neosho school system and they have the support of the community. We were chastised by several in the community who are friends of teachers and administrators for removing our child from the Neosho school. When parents are close friends and family of people working at the schools who support them at all cost, these faculty members are not going to change. The community has to rally behind the underdog because the system does not defend them.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, there is not appropriate disciplinary action taken against the students who break the rules. The same applies to the faculty.
I am willing to discuss this further with you in private.