Although I'm never too impressed with anyone who has an educational doctorate, it appears that Ms. Borba has her ducks in a row with regard to putting out good information on bullying.

Bullying as subject matter, appeared on the scene a few years ago. All children are bullyied at one time or another, so the plotters knew that the word would capture attention. Unfortunately all the bullying stories initially had to do with the gay agenda.

Before I realized the REAL agenda, I had written a piece on the KCW website about bullying. I've had several parents call to say the article was helpful, so that made it worthwhile to have written it.

What's interesting here is that the school district is bringing a "bullying" expert to talk to parents, when in fact, it is the KISD administrators who need to go and listen to her!

I tried years ago to get the Administration to put in place a reasonable policy in the Discipline Management Plan regarding bullying. I had had a great many parents over the years call to tell me what was happening to their children.

Here is KISD's bullying policy as it exists:

"On the request of a parent or other person with authority to act on
behalf of a student who is a victim of bullying, the Board or its designee
shall transfer the victim to:
1. Another classroom at the campus to which the victim was assigned
at the time the bullying occurred; or
2. A campus in the District other than the campus to which the
victim was assigned at the time the bullying occurred.
“Bullying” means engaging in written or verbal expression or physical
conduct that the Board or its designee determines:
1. Will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging
a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of
harm to the student’s person or of damage to the student’s
property; or
2. Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that the action
or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational
environment for a student.
The Board or designee shall verify that a student has been a victim
of bullying before transferring the student. The Board may consider
past student behavior when identifying a bully.
The determination by the Board or designee is final and may not
be appealed. The procedures set forth at Education Code 25.034
(see PROCEDURE, above) do not apply to a transfer under this
provision.
The District is not required to provide transportation to a student
who transfers to another campus under this provision.
Education Code 25.0342"

Anyone else see the problem here?

Why should the VICTIM be the one to be transferred? Why should the VICTIM'S family be the one that is put out by having to get the child up early and have him come home later as well as having to provide their own transportation?

Doesn't it make more sense to ship out the bully and inconvenience HIS family? Shouldn't the bully be the one to be taken away from HIS friends? Shouldn't the family of the bully be the ones to have to get up later, figure out a way to transport the bully and so on?

And what about the long term consequences? The VICTIM gets the stigma of being moved out, when ideally it's the BULLY who needs the stigma and then just maybe, he'll start getting a record that follows him around as he gets kicked out of one school after another! And you can count on the fact that if the BULLY sees kids being moved away from him, he'll think that's real sport and move on to the next VICTIM.

The school board has the right to move any student from one campus to another if they want to, so they have the power to fix this miscarriage of disciplinary action.

Common sense left our school district many years ago, but nowhere is that fact more apparent than with this issue.

Bullying
By Mary McGarr
September 7, 2005

One of the things you can do to help your child as well as perhaps other children is to read the article printed in the Houston Chronicle on August 29, 2005 regarding bullying. It was written by January W. Payne, for the Washington Post. This is an excellent article explaining what bullying is and gives some resources for dealing with it.

Bullying is one of those things that has always been a part of growing up, but it need not be if parents are observant. When bullying occurs, one can be the parent of the bully or the parent of the child being bullied. Both parents have a problem on their hands that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately too many adults believe that living through a bullying episode builds character. Anyone holding that opinion is not very smart.

The bully is usually a child who has not had proper parental restraints in his life. He (and girls can be bullies too) probably has not received the necessary attention that he needs, and in order to get it, he abuses, mentally or physically, someone weaker than he. The bullying probably starts with younger siblings or kids in the neighborhood. When school starts, it continues. The bully is most active in middle school/junior high, but the attitude and the actions can continue into adulthood.

The child who is bullied is often physically small or weak or just plain too nice. He may be a Special Education student. Any target is fair game for the bully. Acts include nasty remarks, pulling at clothes, being stuffed in a trash can, sexually explicit comments and so on. Everyone knows the routine.

If your child is being bullied, you as a parent need to stop it. Go to whatever lengths are necessary to stop it. This is one of those situations where a father, if available, needs to come to the rescue. Start with the teacher and give him one day to stop it. If that doesn’t work, go to the principal. If that doesn’t work, call one of your elected school board members, and don’t let them off the hook until they do something to help you. Go to the news media if you have to.

If you are the child being bullied, there is nothing in your life that is worse. If you haven’t been there, you cannot imagine how awful it is. DO NOT let bullying happen to your child.

In the last session of the Texas Legislature, there was legislation passed that added to the existing law regarding bullying by students. The policy change was one of a few addressed at the July 2005 Work/Study Session of the School Board.

Assistant Superintendent Bonnie Holland noted the changes. There were a few questions from the Board members, but not one, nor did the superintendent, comment on the skewed position that the State has taken on this issue. Those of us in the audience were stunned at their inability to perceive the problem.

Apparently, in Katy ISD if a child is the subject of bullying, HE can move to another school. The logical approach to the matter would be for the BULLY to be moved to another school! Why should the bullied child and his family be the ones to have to change schools, provide transportation to that school, and disrupt their family life? The insanity of it is just mind boggling!

The bully’s family ought to have to endure the hardship of having to get the bully to a new school. If the bully continues his habits, then he should get to move again and again and again, until someone somewhere, stops him. A record of the bully’s actions needs to follow him from the minute he is first accused. One accusation can be allowed to pass if there is just one witness. If there is a record, the school will know of the past, and two accusations constitute grounds for removal.

I have to wonder about the intelligence of everyone from the legislator who created the legislation, to the legislators who voted for it, to the school boards that choose to mindlessly implement it without creating local policy that fixes it.

If someone is bullied because they are small or a special needs student, the school does something about it. If the student being bullied is pretty, straight A student, athletic, and is bullied because of jealousy, the school does nothing about it. They will say the victim needs to change and stop what she is doing that is making the kids bully her. I am not kidding. They will say the victim needs to learn different behaviors that will not make them want to bully her. The victim is supposed to jump through hoops to avoid being bullied. Nothing is ever done to the bullies.

If someone is bullied because they are small or a special needs student, the school does something about it. If the student being bullied is pretty, straight A student, athletic, and is bullied because of jealousy, the school does nothing about it. They will say the victim needs to change and stop what she is doing that is making the kids bully her. I am not kidding. They will say the victim needs to learn different behaviors that will not make them want to bully her. The victim is supposed to jump through hoops to avoid being bullied. Nothing is ever done to the bullies.