Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Scared to Go to School


Scared to Go to School:

"He says schools need to have clear and accurate policies on bullying, confidential ways to report harassment, a safe haven within the school. “But more importantly,” says Meyers, “I think you need to have mechanisms in place where teachers learn what bullying is, so they know how to identify it, so they know how to respond, so they don’t think, ‘oh, that’s just kids, that’s just what kids do’.”

And, experts say, parents shouldn’t underestimate their power within the school.

“Parents have got to realize that it’s just not the schools that can do this,” explains Vermont state representative Peter Hunt. “The schools receive these kids. The schools really have to have the parents’ support.”

Some educators say parents, teachers, and children should all fight for a kind of “zero tolerance” for bullying."