Vanna,

Firstly, the idea that you have the solution to bullying (the talking cure) is extremely naive. I'm not sure where you derive your certainty but it is surely misplaced. What works for one child won't necessarily work for any other. Moreover, what works for a child at one age, doesn't necessarily work for the same child when they are older/younger. There is no magic bullet to solve bullying and it is faintly ridiculous to try and claim one. Bullying is a human failing that occurs at all levels of society, in all ages, and is NOT a recent invention. What is recent, is the 'tying of the hands' of those who have in the past been able to deal fully with the problem.

Secondly, on the basis of one video of a child being bullied, plus his media statements, you believe you should be sacked and sued, and the teachers should be required to attend a star chamber stye inquisition. Yet we have no information on whether the child had reported the incidents. We don't know much at all, for sure, which makes your strident claims of proof of negligence, rather empty.

What we do know for sure is that a portion of our society is continually undermining individual responsibiliy in favour of blanket state/corporate responsibility. It is behind the epidemic of frivalous lawsuits that has arisen in the past 20 years. It can be seen in sentencing guidlines for criminals, which regularly gives significant weight to the childhood of adult accused, at the expense of their own responsibility in the matter.

And its corollary here is the desire to blame the school for the inability to solve bullying, whilst at the same time, taking away the schools right to effectively punish those they do catch. Talk about rock and a hard place.

Prison wardens can't guarantee the safety of the inmates and they have locks, cages and guns. How a school, which has to meet the touchy feely politically correct orthodoxy, can guarantee that no act of violence occurs at school is beyond me.

Otokonoko,
I have considerable doubts about suspensions.

If ever politician who carried out bullying was sacked, there would be no politicians left.

And if every teacher who carried out bullying was sacked, there would be no teachers left.

And would girls be suspended if they carried out bullying, or would suspensions only be applicable for boys?

I have considerable doubts regards corporal punishment also.

Would it become excessive or unnecessary corporal punishment?

And would girls receive corporal punishment if they carried out bullying, or would corporal punishment only be applicable for boys?

And would it become a matter of cane the boy first, then ask questions latter, or ask no questions at all?

If teachers believe that their life is difficult, think not.

In a class room there are few risks for the student, except perhaps eye strain, or back injuries due to poor seating arrangements. There is also the risk of bullying inside the classroom.

In the playground there are more possible risks, including falling, tripping, sunburn, falling down stairs etc, and more chance of bullying occurring.

Basically, the teacher only has to contend with a few risks inside the classroom, and just a few more risks outside the classroom.

Compare to an industrial work environment, with everything from possible exposure to hazardous substances, exposure to industrial noise, working near moving equipment, having to carry out confined space entry, having to carry out effective isolation, having to work at heights, having to avoid spills or leaks, having to carry out manual lifting, having to monitor for possible equipment failure or equipment wear, and also risks such as falling, tripping, sunburn, falling down stairs etc.

Also there is a problem of fatigue in the workforce if they work shift work or work long hours, and having to reduce possible bullying amongst the workforce.

I believe teachers shouldn’t be too ready to think that they have insurmountable problems, because their problems pale in significance compared to the problems faced by many others in their daily job, and quite often paid a lot less than teachers, with a lot less holidays.

Paul L

"SCHOOL bullying victims have received almost $1 million in compensation from the Department of Education since January last year. "

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/school-bully-victims-paid-1m/story-e6freuy9-1225973555354

Personally I don’t like litigation as much as many other people, but in the case of schools I have seen, I believe litigation is more than necessary, as it would be one of very few things to grab the attention of many teachers.

I do not know of any school that publishes its safety statistics, when safety statistics are being readily displayed on the front gate of many companies.

Stepping into a school is like stepping back 20-30 years in terms of management and administration.

As for risk management, it is now the number one principle of management in many companies, and yet I have known of teachers who have the most minimal interest or knowledge about risk management.

Duty of care was actually superseded some time ago by risk management, but in the case of many teachers, they want risks to be the responsibility of the public.

Fair enough.

Your doubts about suspensions and corporal punishment are well-founded - particularly where corporal punishment is concerned. I can't imagine how we would expect students to learn not to be violent when the people who are meant to be setting an example are committing violent acts.

As for suspension, I'm still not sure. I'm talking about suspension for violence and for acts that endanger others. Just as there are degrees of risk, there are degrees of bullying. Mild name-calling should not draw a suspension, but violence, in my opinion, should. Online smear campaigns/rumours that make life unbearable are even more serious. A black eye heals, while the belief that a girl is promiscuous, or that a boy has an STI, or that a teacher likes lifting skirts, does not heal.

If the bullying is carried out to that extent, the damage is permanent. No questioning, no suspension will undo that. While expelling the child will not undo it either, it will at least indicate to peers that such vindictive behaviour is not welcome in a certain school.

As I asked before, though: what do you propose?

As a further note, I'm guessing the teachers who have spurred your distaste frequently complained of insurmountable problems. While I don't expect to change your perceptions, my experience of teachers is, once again, very different. Of the teachers I know, only a few seem to think their lives are fraught with unmanageable difficulties, and they are the ones who last a year or two before quitting. While an equally small number would agree that a teacher's life is as simple as you say, most of us are aware that there are people with much worse jobs and much worse pay. Maybe that's why so many people quit their jobs in the "real" world and go to uni for four years to become teachers relatively late in their working lives.

We tend to have a stronger grip on reality than you give us credit for. Once again, I think you must have been exposed to a concentration of particularly bad eggs.

Otokonoko,
What do I propose or suggest?

I have already given a simple strategy for teachers to quickly and effectively reduce or eliminate bullying (ask the bully a series of questions until they can’t answer one, then send them away to think about their answer)

Very effective even with adults in reducing bullying at the name-calling stage before it escalates.

There are a vast array of other possible strategies. Some other posters have mentioned peer group pressure that creates bullies. It does, and peer group pressure can be used to educate bullies.

Have you noticed during school concerts that the students become riveted when another student is performing on stage, and then lose attention when a teacher or adult walks onto the stage.

Good.

The students are paying attention to their peers.

The students could also produce a video on bullying, and this video could be shown to the students during their school inductions. It can also be shown to bullies during normal school hours if they are caught. They may pay attention to a video produced by their peers.

The list of possibilities are considerable, and it can be left up to teacher initiative to develop something effective, without the necessity for expulsion or corporal punishment.

Blaming the parents could very much be a lazy approach, as it just uses the parents as an excuse to do nothing, and uses the parents as scapegoats.

I am having problems following vannas logic. On the one hand she uses the retail or industrial workplace as an analogy for the school environment.

On the other hand he/she claims that in all circumstances a few well prepared questions can combat all manner of bad and potentially dangerous behaviours and attitudes and suggests that in his/her line of work (Health & Safety I'm assuming) this is all it has ever taken to solve bullying as well as myriad other 'human' issues.

I can't for the life of me imagine what industry this person works in.

Let me raise a couple of workplace 'actions' which would not be tolerated by any industry - nor work colleagues.

Workplace assault.
Being under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs.

Now depending on the workplace the remedy would be instant dismissal or instant suspension. The next installment, pending results of drug testing or investigation of the incident, would likely be dismissal or at very least, workplace probation.

That's because the HEALTH & SAFETY of the MAJORITY - not to mention the physical workplace or environment are placed at risk of such INDIVIDUAL bad behaviours.

So what did our Mummies & Daddies teach us as kiddy-winks in the 50s & 60s? Well mine, and my relatives and friends of that era, all have pretty much the same recollection: That is - given to understand we are responsible for our own actions. Those actions will either earn us approval and/or acceptance and/or reward or disapproval and/or rejection and/or punishment.

Having raised 3 kids of our own and played a part in the lives of 6 young people who were in need of guidance and a chance at life, and being involved in business for the past 25 years I absolutely agree that effective communication is at the core of human management. While I also agree that the behaviour challenging questioning is an effective tool, it cannot be the only one as it is NOT appropriate to a number of situations .... continued