BULLYING in schools is one of the manifestations of a lack of discipline, which starts with liberal parents who insist on handling their kids gingerly, with a huge dose of indulgence.
Very agreed ! during CCA activities, older boys would physically beat, pinch the younger boys until the child don’t wanna attend CCA; on the school bus coming home , older boy would choose seats behind younger ones and knock their heads, pull their hair from behind until the child gave up taking school bus . . . if u complain to the school, the vice principal or teacher-in-charge would just say the bullies are just being playful and close the case, no action taken . . . and avoid meeting the complaining parent . . . (very rampant in supposedly good primary school in Ang Mo Kio ). . .
I faced this bully when I was attending primary school in the 1950s. Bully was common in those days and is still going strong today. It is human nature that the strong bully the weak.
No use compliant to parents or school principles. How to stop bully?
Simple.
I spend two years training marshall art and build up a strong physique. When bullys tried on me I beat the hell out of him.
I have to agree with steamroller on this matter. While we hope for establishment to solve our problem, we must also take some measures to solve the problem ourselves. Do not allow your child to be a target of bullies. In addition to piano and ballet lessons, how about some physical strengthening marshall art classes as well.
I personally is a 3rd dan black belt and I sent both my son and daughter to Tae Kwon Do when they turned 6. They attained black belt by primary 4 and they are confident enough to standup to any bullies in school. My son is a national schools Wushu medals winner and no bullies have ever try picking on him.
The only way to stop the bully is to teach the bully a lesson that will not be forgotten.
"Bully" the bully.
For this to happen train your children (both sons and daughters) to be physically and mentally strong so that no bully will ever come anywhere near them.
Don't depend on the School Principals, Teachers, or the MInistry of Education (MOE) to do it for you.
On the other hand, often these bullies come from families that are dysfunctional. Here is where the MOE have to step in and help solve their problems.
Bullying activities have always been around, that have extended to "ragging" in Institutions of Higher Learning.
I’ve always been searching for an answer to this question and the ‘?’ still remains :–
Should I tell my son to fight back the bully or should I tell him to report the bully to the school?
To advice him to fight back (my son is taking martial arts lessons outside of school), I would be encouraging violence!
However, reporting the bully to the school didn’t seem to work because he had done that before but like myotosan had said, my son's teacher too just brushed it off as ‘they’re just playing!'.
Theodore Roosevelt said:
"To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."
For years, our schools have been churning out countless social menaces. MOE must be resolute to act in this matter and take a serious look at our current Education system. Is MOE providing our young a HOLISTIC education?
If I may relate this issue of school bullies to that of the homeschool issue, one of the reasons why some chose to homeschool their children is to shield them from such unpleasant experiences. Sometimes these experiences can mark them for life and ruin their self-esteem, in the few devastating cases in the USA, rob them of their lives when others gun them down. The learning of martial arts should not be seen as a form of defense against the bullies. We are not living in a world without law and order. The learning of martial arts should be kept in the domain of the, well, arts, and for sports and healthy living. Reporting of bully cases to the school authorities is the right way to do it. But if the schools are not doing a good job of it as some of you have implied, and neither is begetting violence for violence the way to go, then one alternative is certainly homeschooling.
December 25, 2008 Thursday, 08:52 AM
