Reports of Bullying Taken Seriously |
|
As a school division, we didn’t answer many of the questions that were put to us by the media because we are restricted by privacy legislation from doing so. School divisions, like municipalities, public libraries, health regions, universities and other ‘local authorities’ in Saskatchewan are legally bound by ... The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LAFOIP). The Act obligates the division to protect our students’ privacy. This is true even if a parent chooses to share their opinion; particularly if there are or may be other students involved, as well.
Most reporters are familiar with the Act and understand the constraints within which we operate when answering their questions. Those constraints do leave us vulnerable on occasion to public accusations that we are unable to address in a similarly public fashion – even though we have the information to do so. In this particular situation, we have a number of facts that differ greatly from the account provided publicly. However, as a school division we do not try to resolve concerns through the media. Instead, we’ve found that successful resolutions to concerns and challenges come when the home and school work together. We take reports of violence or bullying seriously, and we investigate and respond accordingly. We do so in every instance. The investigation may confirm the report or it may refute it. Either way, we don’t talk about it in the media and we don’t share the information with anyone beyond those who are permitted and required to have it. It’s not our intention to appear uncooperative, it’s about protecting student privacy and acting in the best interests of children, particularly when emotions are as high as they are in this recent situation. The public has become highly sensitized to bullying – and that’s a good thing. Our school division is taking a stand against bullying, too. We’ve partnered with the Red Cross to deliver RespectEd anti-bullying training to catalyst teams of our School Community Councils. Each of our schools has developed an anti-bullying policy. Many of our schools have participated in anti-bullying and anti-violence projects and student awareness and advocacy events. Our students and their safety are our highest priority and we will continue our work so that every student is treated with respect. Printed version of this statement Please note: Comments are moderated. We will not publish comments that disparage or attack any of our students or staff. |
Much has been said in recent days in both the media and in online forums about Prairie South School Division and its approach to reports of bullying.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 May 2010 21:22
Comments(16)
It sounds as though the victim and his family was punished, not the perpetrators. Names don't need to be revealed when discussing discipline or actions. The public will continue to believe the Board is negligent until a release shows otherwise. To blame the public for becoming "highly sensitized" is a poor excuse for lack of action or public accountability. By the way - ALL of your schools should be participating in a centrally organized anti-bullying campaign. Zero tolerance should be the net result if safety is paramount, as you state above.
While I understand the constraints that the school division is under regarding privacy, I don't believe they have figured out how to protect children from being bullied. Anit-bullying campaigns and policies do nothing when the bully or bullies deny allegations and appear appropriately shocked that they have been accused of it.
I was the victim of bullying when I was growing up, and it continued until I grew large enough to be intimidating. The bullies were mostly from prominent, respectable families and my complaints were always met with "you must be mistaken" or " maybe you did something...". After I was chastised for making the accusation (black eyes, bruises and all), I was put on probation for making unfounded accusations.
Bullies are sneaky. Even if you don't identify their accusor, they simply redouble their efforts on all their charges. Only rarely do these people get caught and actually have to deal with the 2 week suspension for breaking a limb. When they return.... you guessed it.
Suspensions and in-house disciplinary actions have limited effect. The only way to effectively manage bullies is to include mandatory counselling after classtimes for the remainder of the school year (after reasonable attempts at curtailing their activities). If they miss their councilling, they should be subject to the legal system for young offenders because that is what they are. If an adult beats up another adult, they can be charged with assault and jailed. Just because they are under age does not make them any less accountable for theis actions. Nor does family standing.
Honestly, I don't know if measures like this would work or not. But I do know the frustration of being victimized by my teachers immediately after being vicimized by bullies and I feel only strong decisive action will have any impact.
To the first two posters, don't believe everything you read or see on the news until you have heard both sides of the story. Bullying is an issue to be taken seriously, but not every time a parent accuses others of bullying their child is it true, or in some cases based even remotely in reality. The only thing worse than not dealing with bullying is falsely accusing and punishing others before an investigation brings out the truth of the matter, everyone should remember that, ESPECIALLY in this case.
As a student leader at a Prairie South school, I can assure you that student safety is the number one priority of the division. Since the amalgamation, policies on student safety have become so strict that freedom in recreational activities has been greatly reduced. For example, on a trip to the beach you may not enter the water unless there is lifeguard on duty and students must wear helmets if they go biking with the school. It is difficult to attend extra curricular events if students rely parent drivers. Parents are now required to get criminal records checks in order to drive students other than their own. Students are no longer allowed to drive themselves to and from games or other extra curricular events.
School division staff members do not possess magical abilities that allow them to end bullying. All incidents of bullying are more deep-rooted then they appear. It is unfair to assume that Prairie South is not doing everything they can to resolve bullying problems, but they cannot do it single-handedly. Stopping bullying is like attempting to move a mountain -- Nearly impossible unless everyone takes a shovel and digs in.Given this information, it can be inferred that the school division was and is investigating the problem and looking for the best possible solution. If the school division did suggest that a student's parent drive him and/or her I am sure it would be a temporary solution to a long term problem. Bullying is major problem in most schools. However, under no circumstance would a bus driver, principal, or school division completely ignore a bullying incident.
SO, like this stunning young gentelman said before, yeah. They need protection.
I totally agree with Andrew Nestor. He is right.
I agree with you Andrew Nestor about having limited activities at school, as these new safety rules are very limited in what kids can do. The school division needs to remember that we as parents are able to purchase insurance at the start of the school year. Our kids are missing out on learning all kinds of outdoor activities because of the safety issues. We have a problem with kids not exercising enough and the school divisions do not help with all these rules, but this has nothing to do with the bullying that goes on. This is a very good point you have brought up.
As for the bullying problems in schools today, all staff at schools are trying their best. Sometimes they do not realize what is really going on as they can't see the real extent of the bullying or they know how bad it is and are to emberassed to ask for help. It is okay to admit that your bullying problem has gotten out of hand, we are all human and make mistakes or lose control. What really gets me is that some of these bullies know what to do and how to do it so they DON'T get caught or into trouble. It is amazing how only a handful of bullies can run a school and be in control, but no one seems to notice or wants to admit there is a problem. There needs to be more education on bullying for the kids and parents. We all need to work together to get a handle on this problem. It is okay to ask for help when you have lost control. When kids are all saying it is easier to be a bully that way the bullies don't pick on them, because the staff do not believe them. That is a sign that there is a problem. Everyone is also right that there are 2 sides to every story, and the truth falls somewhere in between both stories. I feel that as a parent we are there to help our children in times of need and when you run up against the story that it will be dealt with, just to find out they were talked to that does not solve anything. All parties need to have a meeting together so everyone is aware of the problem so we can work together as a team.
Write comment