I feel like an alien speaking out about bullying today. I've seen it all, but many haven't. So what I have to say tends to be looked on as the opinion of an alien, and gets the reaction, "What do you know?"
Unfortunately the same things I saw happening 25 years ago are still happening today, but now on a grander scale. At that time I felt that we (teachers/schools/authorities) were not doing enough about it. I spoke up about this, but I got a similar reaction to what I would get today, funny enough.
And it wasn't as if there was no one who understood me or who didn't agreed with me among my colleagues.
When bullying was taking place in the playground in the early 80s, principals threw themselves into a state of denial. Confronted about these happenings, they would reason that if bullying did exists, "what good would it be admitting it? We'd only give our school a bad reputation."
It was a lose lose situation.
Today, there is no point in suggesting we have a no-tolerance approach to bullying - but I think that's what was needed way back. It is probably too late now. But even so, the culture of denying that it exists is still there in some schools and this is fostered by principals and some BoTs too - and their reasons are similar to the reason I explained above. Patch protection.
Unfortunately, bullying also exists in some staff-rooms. Never mind the students bullying each other.
1 comment:
Kia ora Shaun!
Thanks for these bulletins.
I feel like an alien speaking out about bullying today. I've seen it all, but many haven't. So what I have to say tends to be looked on as the opinion of an alien, and gets the reaction, "What do you know?"
Unfortunately the same things I saw happening 25 years ago are still happening today, but now on a grander scale. At that time I felt that we (teachers/schools/authorities) were not doing enough about it. I spoke up about this, but I got a similar reaction to what I would get today, funny enough.
And it wasn't as if there was no one who understood me or who didn't agreed with me among my colleagues.
When bullying was taking place in the playground in the early 80s, principals threw themselves into a state of denial. Confronted about these happenings, they would reason that if bullying did exists, "what good would it be admitting it? We'd only give our school a bad reputation."
It was a lose lose situation.
Today, there is no point in suggesting we have a no-tolerance approach to bullying - but I think that's what was needed way back. It is probably too late now. But even so, the culture of denying that it exists is still there in some schools and this is fostered by principals and some BoTs too - and their reasons are similar to the reason I explained above. Patch protection.
Unfortunately, bullying also exists in some staff-rooms. Never mind the students bullying each other.
Nuff said?
Catchya later
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