My daughter is being bullied!!
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| Sat, 09-09-2006 - 11:12am |
We just moved to a very small town in Idaho from Raleigh, NC. My daughter's high school where she is a freshman only has 450 kids in the whole school.
The first week went fine she met a girl named Brandee and they became friends. Well, Brandee decided to transfer to the "alternative" school, and suddenly this "gang" of girls started picking on my daughter.
They threatened to beat her up if she remained friends with Brandee. My daughter simply told her that her friends were her friends and that she was not going to fight about it.
They called my home and the mother even threatened me, for no apparent reason.
I filed 2 police reports, talked with the principal and one of the girls was suspended for 3 days.
Yesterday the sister of the girl that got suspended was shoving my daughter in the back during class and throwing things at her. I told the principal, he basically ignored it.
I am not going to take this.
Our teens and all other children deserve to learn in a safe environment, and not be afraid to go to school.
I have created an online petittion if anyone cares to sign. We must put an end to this.
Gone are the days of simple name calling, now we have to worry about weapons in our schools and the number of teens that commit suicide due to bullying is on the rise.
Let's end this NOW.
Samantha
http://www.petitiononline.com/antibull/petition.html

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I'm going to put on my asbestos suit right away, coz I know what I'm going to say is not PC, gentle or popular, so here goes...
I've lived in small towns all my life, so I think I can speak fairly knowledgeably about life in a small town and by extension, a small school.
You are very wrong in this situation.
We are NOT racist by any means, but let me tell you, the High School student body president just came to my house because those girls are crazy. They call them the "mexican mafia" OK????
Are you seeing my point here yet?
I also grew up in a small town and went to a small high school 550 kids grade 7-12 so trust me, I know what I am talking about.
We actually enjoy this small town, we just don't enjoy the bullying that this little "gang" is creating for my child.
What is it going to take? A murder? One of these bullies' brother just got out of jail for beating a kid in the head repeatedly with a rock!! See me point yet?
If not...take off your blinders
I agree with ONE thing the previous poster said -- that it's difficult for outsiders to fit in when moving from a big city to a small town. Beyond that, I strongly disagree with her comments. To be honest, I am a little offended at the insinuation that it is probably the fault of the "new kid" and that these things just happen. Maybe that wasn't her intention, but it seemed that way to me.
We moved from a big city to a small town two years ago and I have also found acceptance here difficult. I guarantee that I have never criticized this town or the way they do things and neither have either of my children. Yet, my daughter got bullied very badly on the school bus. Luckily, my daughter was able to get it stopped without my intervention, but there's a big difference between what happened to my daughter and what's happening to your daughter -- it wasn't a group of kids doing it to her, just one and the girl backed down when my daughter stood her ground. I was prepared and ready to get the principal and anyone else involved to get it stopped if necessary.
What you are describing sounds very, very dangerous. I hope you can get this resolved. Please be careful and keep the board posted.
I first off want to send a {{{hug}}} your way. I am so sorry this is happening to your DD and to you.
I don't have any btdt advice and I have to admit your post terrified me no end. We just had a realtor leave our home; it's going on the market Monday. We currently live in California, in a relatively small community in East San Diego County and are trying to leave California altogether. We hope to relocate to the Denver, CO area and if that idea alone isn't a scary enough idea, reading about your experiences has me petrified.
If I were in your shoes, I'd probably pull my DD out of school and begin homeschool immediately. There is no way would I would allow her to remain in that situation.
What caused you to move to that particular community? What sort of knowledge did you have of it, the schools, neighborhood, etc. beforehand? Obviously these are self-serving questions, but I hope you have time to respond!
Never said small town living was perfect by any means, but when your first statement is "we just moved from Raleigh to a small town in Idaho" what is one to think when MY previous experience has been of a "city girl"
There's something to this story that we're not getting. It's possible, as the OP said, that this is a school with some racial tension, and that her daughter is a target. But the link to a petition site makes me suspicious about why the message was posted here.
I agree with the general meaning of the OP which is that bullying is something that should be nipped in the bud, and that adults/parents/schools need to have some degree of control on what's happening in schools. While kids/teens need to handle some of this themselves, it can get out of control and they need to know they can depend on adults to back them up.
Sue
I am sorry if you took that offensively. I was merely stating a fact that we had moved from Raleigh to a small town.
We didn't have these problems with my daughter at the schools she attended in NC.Thus we are shocked by what is going on here.
I was born in Miami, I know what big city crime is and it's alot more than happens here.
sorry if I touched a nerve it was not my intention.
Heck, half my family is from pop 100 towns in Arkansas
I posted the petition link in hopes that WE as PARENTS can UNITE and make sure that ALL of our kids are kept SAFE!!
That's all.
I am sorry if the link offended anyone. I didn't realize how bad bulying can be util it hit MY home and now I will do whatever I can to safekeep all of our children from having to endure the abuse that my daughter is taking at school.
There is power in numbers, either we can DO something, or we can sit idly by and let it continue.
I highly doubt that a petition signed by a bunch of anonymous people not even attached to the situation is going to make any difference whatsoever. Its not that action is pointless -- its that PETITIONS are pointless. They don't accomplish anything.
Unfortunately what people respond to most is action that hits them personally. Politicians, for example,like to get re-elected. School principals want to avoid expensive lawsuits. (Most) people like to avoid jail. So, you want to do something about bullying you do something in your corner of the world. The rest of us will take care of ourselves as we all come from different areas where bullying is handled in different ways.
In the meantime ensure your school principal is fully aware that if he can't protect your child on school property, he will face some legal consequence. Ensure your local police authorities are aware of what is going on. And most of all teach your child to protect herself. Sign her up in self-defence classes to build her confidence. NOTHING prevents bullying as much as a person who is self-confident and capable of standing their ground.
Good luck to you...
I hope none of you have to endure what my family is going through. I find many of you t be quite unsupportive. I think you would want to keep your children safe.
Then again, this is MY MISSION, not yours.
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