Bullying in the Schools?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_lang/20050720.html

"I've often heard of victims being sent to other schools for their own safety or peace of mind, and I agree that sometimes that is the best thing to do. But I really believe this sends entirely the wrong message to everyone. Students should be hearing the loud and clear message that bullying is never acceptable, allowable, excusable or convenient."

This seems like punishing the victim. Shouldn't it be the bully who is removed from the school, inconveniencing him and his family? Chances are that once the victim is removed, the bully will find new prey.

...I've often heard of victims being sent to other schools for their own safety or peace of mind, and I agree that sometimes that is the best thing to do...

What if there isn't another school to send them to? Let them rot? How about getting the guts to effectively deal with the problem? The writer of the article also mentioned:

...I would almost never tell a bully how I found out about the offending behaviour, only that my knowledge had nothing to do with the victim. The last thing the victim needs is to be labelled a "rat" by a pack of emotional thugs...

When would she tell? Had nothing to do with the vic? IMHO I don't think bullies are that dumb. A bully knows they are being one. The writer makes some good points but the emphasis on staff/adult responsibility is weak. The staff actions in these matters are decisive and they must never pass a fault. The staff should have no choice in incidents such as these. I'll explain. In the military, a soldier has a certain amount of lee-way in some circumstances, in others there are none. The Queens Regulations and Orders (QR&O's) defines this by using the words "may" and "shall". "May" gives one some wiggle room and "shall" gives none what so ever. Using that simple criteria would take the wiggle room out of deciding what is bullying and what is not by the adult directly involved or witnessing. See an incident? It shall be reported to the administration for action. Witness an incident but not bother to report it and it becomes known? Then you're on the mat in front of the boss explaining yourself. It is harsh but it could be a matter of life-or-death. How many incidents would never have happened if grown-ups were paying attention to what the kids, say, in the hallway were doing and saying? This may and shall business about the staff would likely become moot if there was in fact an effective plan for dealing with this stuff to begin with.

...victims would usually profit from some help in determining how to send different signals to other people, ones that do not telegraph a susceptibility to bullying...

What!? I get the impression from this part that there is a portion of blame being attached to the victim? Am I reading this right? A "Don't be a dork and you won't get hit" attitude?

BTW, I still think involving the parent of the bully at the start is crucial. This would give the staff an immediate indication of the attitude at home and serve notice to the parent of the unacceptable conduct of their child. It would send a message real fast to the school population at large that bullying will not be tolerated.

Like I said at the start, maybe I'm being a hardass...

I remember when I was in grade 4 and was continuously bullied by these particular grade 8 boys.I finally had enough and nailed one of them with a tree branch in the school yard.They never bothered me again after that.Only the victim has the real power to stop the bully.Teachers should do more to stop bullying.I had to resort to the tree branch because the teachers were useless.The bully only suffered a small cut on the lip.The tree branch was small.