To some extent I agree with Poirot and Paul.

The child has the right to attend school without facing physical violence and abuse.

However, I understand that public schools are extremely limited in the punishment they can mete out to the offenders. As I mentioned in another thread, the schools my kids went to were private school and at both schools there was very little bullying.

The reason is simple, both schools worked on a zero tolerance towards bullying, and bullies were given one warning then expelled. Public schools may not need that level of punishment, but the inability to discipline teenage thugs endangers not only the children, but the teachers too.

Of course, all bullying is wrong, and teachers should be keeping an eye out on it in the playground. How hard can that be ?

Bullying and teasing is already far too common, and always has been. I was little for my age, although devastatingly handsome, so I used to get picked on a bit, especially by the bigger kids who were ambivalent about their 'true nature'. But being very social, I hung around with a cohesive group of all the bright and funny kids, which got me through.

ALL kids have been teased or bullied at one time or another. And if we're honest, all of us have at some time or other, teased some other kid. I used to tease a Dutch kid in one class, on the very mistaken belief that Dutch were really Germans and thereby all Nazis. I'm quite ashamed of it now: but how could I think that a country that produced Audrey Hepburn be remotely Nazi ? What an idiot.

But I don't recall the boys who never seemed to have any interest in girls being especially NOT bullies. Or vice versa. Sorry, too many double negatives: I do recall that the boys who had an interest in girls did not stand out particularly as bullies. There was one kid in high school who I thought was, let's say ambivalent about girls, who slashed my bike tyres, the prick. But after all these years, do I still bear any grudges ? Bloody oath.

Joe

Mr Gerrit, I'm a senior citizen too and I can recall those days when people had spines and didn't faint at the sight of blood. Well, the girls didn't. In biology class, when you had to prick your finger to test your blood type .... Guess who ended up on the floor? The boys!

The thing that really disturbs me about this thread is the rush to negative judgement on a child, when none of us here can possibly know what the real story is. That in itself amounts to something very like bullying.

So you were tough, so bullying never hurt you. Well, bully for you. That does not give you the right to pontificate on the deleterious effects it could have on a child about whom you really know nothing.

My family has a history of being bullied, temporarily.

As my father told it, he started at a new school and was picked on before he even had time to take off his school bag.
Some of the other kids said to the bully to let him get his bag off but the dad said that he didn't need to take it off for smug like the bully.
Short sharp exchange of blows and the bully had had enough.
A few days later when the Grandfather opened his gymnasium the bully no doubt had cause to think.
I was bullied at school but the bullies were careful to operate out of sight of the teachers, two to one is always difficult so I waited my chance and got each of them when alone. End of story.

When I first started work on the NSW Railways I was bullied by an older but smaller boy.
Every afternoon he let my bike tyres down and every afternoon I pumped them up, by the end of the week there was an audience and my tormentor then made the mistake of hitting me.
When he had been reduced to tears I turned to the assembly and said "I never hit a smaller person than me first"
Never had any more trouble.

My children have had similar events and results. None of them have ever been bullies but rather champions of the littilies and all were impressed never to dob anyone in, as was/is the policy in public schools.

I went to 17 different schools. Eight of these the first couple of years when dad came back from WW11. Being small I was bullied at each school change.

Teachers ignored it, & I usually had to fight the age group bully within a few days, in a ring formed of students, similar to those of patrons, that were common out the back of pubs in those days.

After I came home bloody a couple of times, dad taught me to fight. I mean fight, not box. After that I could usually take care of the bully, which gave them a problem. I was not interested it taking the roll myself, & they were discredited.

One thing I noticed was that the bullies avoided the school football teams & such. I made a point of becoming good enough to make the football & cricket teams, as a quick way to acceptance at a new school.

Back then bullying was mostly physical, & only hurt for a while. Today it appears to have a nastier edge, & does more damage long term. I do believe many teachers avoid their responsibilities with bullying, preferring to walk the other way, & not see it. Such teachers should be made personally answerable for this attitude, & be included in funding any compensation awards.

On the other hand, those girls who complain of bullying on social media do have a very simple answer, & should use it.

Cossomby, I have conducted since 1982 a special lifeline service dealing with people contemplating suicide. Far too often all they needed was someone to talk too and to show them that everyone has up and downs in life. Some people still contact me thanking me for being there when they needed someone to listen to. People are often too weak and hence too often suicide seems to be the easy way out. This mentality needs to be address so people will realise that without the downs in life you do not understand the ups in life. The best way, at least in my view, is to shown to someone who contemplates suicide is to ignore it and view the bully so to say as someone who has a mental deficiency who needs to bully others to make himself/herself important. Putting someone in cotton balls isn't going to do it.
As some commentators made clear we all at times suffered at the hands of bullies and may have bullied others.
In todays society kids are in my view too weak to deal with ordinary living conditions. Parents are denied to discipline their children (and I do not refer to corporal punishment) and those kids become adults often too weak to deal with life's problems. We seem to get a society of wimps where anything that goes wrong is a major life obstacle. And none ever went ahead with suicide. Some remain in contact with me for over 3 decades, just to let me know how they are doing. People often are in despair because no one is there to show them an alternative. If we all were more alert to our neighbour than far less suicides would eventuate