johncrossley
Established Member
Bullying in schools was rife when I went to school decades ago and still seems to be sadly prevalent today. Should it be banned?
Is it not banned already? (Not that it stops anybody from partaking in such, unfortunately...)
Only if a crime is committed (for example, such as theft or assault) during the act of bullying.
"Ban" doesn't just apply to criminal law. I'd be surprised if any school doesn't have an anti-bullying policy which includes sanctions for those students who break the policy. Back in my schooldays bullying was indeed widespread, but it wasn't done right under the noses of teachers because it was a breach of rules and a punishment would (in theory) follow.Only if a crime is committed (for example, such as theft or assault) during the act of bullying.
Do you mean "should it be a criminal offence", then? No form of bullying is allowed by school rules.
You similarly occasionally get malicious Safeguarding accusations against adults a given kid doesn't like, unfortunately.
This particular situation happened to me. Not fun. Every single classmate was on my side but he and my parents decided I was in the wrong and made my life a misery for it.For instance, nobody is entitled to have any other given individual be their friend, so deciding you don't want to spend time with someone any more for whatever reason isn't necessarily bullying, even if it might hurt very badly.
Children, especially older ones, are very well aware of this, as they know allegations have to be investigated (quite properly) and the individual against whom the allegation is made can be named, and sometimes suspended from duty. The accusers, meanwhile, can hide behind the cloak of anonymity, knowing that they "can't be named for legal reasons".
My friends in the teaching profession tell me that several teachers have committed suicide over false allegations made against them. The allegations were publicised, but the fact that those teachers were not even charged with any offences, let alone convicted, was not.
This is a problem in many countries, resulting in an absolute shortage of teaching positions, some schools being forced to hire people whose background are unknown, which causes more problems. Public opinion has further put pressure on teachers, resulting in the loss of more teaching posts.Children, especially older ones, are very well aware of this, as they know allegations have to be investigated (quite properly) and the individual against whom the allegation is made can be named, and sometimes suspended from duty. The accusers, meanwhile, can hide behind the cloak of anonymity, knowing that they "can't be named for legal reasons".
My friends in the teaching profession tell me that several teachers have committed suicide over false allegations made against them. The allegations were publicised, but the fact that those teachers were not even charged with any offences, let alone convicted, was not.
What, exactly, would be covered by this new law that isn't covered by existing legislation?Maybe, that is what I'm debating. I'm not sure, basically. Obviously it is against school rules, but it practice enforcement is very limited. You would expect the bully to be suspended at the minimum. Making it a criminal offence may focus the mind.
What, exactly, would be covered by this new law that isn't covered by existing legislation?
I did two years National Service in the RAF (1957-9), and in my first year shared a hut with ~20 others. In my second year, our living quarters were smaller with around 6 airmen per room. We were a mixed lot - in my first year, largely from the London area, and I was from Manchester, so I got ragged about my accent. At no time, was I aware of any bullying. We did get earfuls from the Drill Instructors certainly, but that I assume was to toughen us up in case we were taken prisoner. So, why do schools continue with this barbaric behaviour?I went to a public school in the 1970s and bullying was common. ...
Minor bullying was the norm, but in a boarding school you are living with the bullies all the time so even that will grind you down. More serious violence, theft, vandalism, even sexual assault, etc. happened less frequently, and the school would almost always manage to cover it up. I know that I am not the only boy who has suffered permanent injuries.
That's not the way the law works.Anything that would be defined by schools as bullying that isn't currently covered.
Many schools do have anti-bullying policies,
I think more should be done against bullying. I was bullied at school and at work.
Bullies are generally cowards plus stupid. They do not try to oppress their victims one on one, but in front of others. Perhaps they should be offered help, or encouraged to take play sports.
I would be shocked if any school doesn't have one.Every school must have an anti-bullying policy.
I would be shocked if any school doesn't have one.
I know it's common to claim bullies are often in need of help or doing it to make them feel better about themselves, but I genuinely don't think most of them are actually in need of help. I think a fair amount of them are just generally bad people or just doing it because they can.Bullies are generally cowards plus stupid. They do not try to oppress their victims one on one, but in front of others. Perhaps they should be offered help, or encouraged to take play sports.
I think this is kind of where the line is blurred, because to be honest, if I had a towel I would definitely whip a friend just to wind them up. Sometimes it could literally just be something as much as a couple of young guys messing around as long as boundaries are respected. I think that last part might be a key difference though in determining when it becomes bullying.A lot of bullying occurs in the context of school sport, e.g. "towel whipping" and the stealing of items of clothing.
I actually find this interesting because I would initially think that bullying between boys would be higher than between girls but I also wonder how the presence of girls might affect the type of bullying between boys.One point I think worth mentioning is the difference in bullying between single-sex/co-ed schools. Having attended both, I can confidently say that bullying of any description was much more prevalent in (in my case) all boys schools. General p***-taking was largely overlooked by teachers, even right under their noses, as character building and thus not important enough to warrant action.
By contrast, when I was in a co-ed school, the leadership took a very hard line 'zero-tolerance' approach to bullying of any kind, being very liberal in dishing out punishments anywhere from detention to expulsion.
I think this is kind of where the line is blurred, because to be honest, if I had a towel I would definitely whip a friend just to wind them up. Sometimes it could literally just be something as much as a couple of young guys messing around as long as boundaries are respected. I think that last part might be a key difference though in determining when it becomes bullying.
I find this incredibly hard to believe. What school was this and are you sure this is true? If you can amend your post to include a link and quote (as per forum rules) that would be much appreciated, thanks.Problem is that some schools cover up the bullying, whether is is physical or online.
Only yesterday I was reading of a 13 year old girl who came close to suicide because she was pressured into sharing an explicit photo of herself with a boy in her school, who then passed the picture on to other pupils, both boys and girls. This boy then demanded more and more explicit photos which were of course shared widely, and he then threatened to pass them on to the girl's family.
The school was informed by the girl's parents, but they didn't do anything beyond "having a word" with the boys concerned, and certainly didn't want to involve the police.
I've not heard anything like that.I have heard anecodtally from friends in the teaching profession that covering up of serious misbehaviour at schools (eg. carrying knives) is widespread, and the primary (and in some cases only) concern of the school is to protect its own reputation.
Is this discouraged for carrying knives? If so, by who?In some senses the schools have their hands tied behinf their back by legislation. There is no longer any corporal punishment, and whilst I can understand that most people would not want this brought back, even non physical punishments such as detention or exclusion from school are discouraged.
Such behaviour is clearly not going to be "permitted" but if two friends are messing about and one whips the other in a manner that doesn't cause harm, and is just "messing about", you can't expect the punishment to be severe just for that; at the most that would be a detention, surely.I'm sorry, but "doing something to wind someone up" IS bullying, unless it's entirely reciprocal.
Teachers should certainly not be permitting that kind of behaviour in school changing rooms whether it's "for a laugh" or not.