No more school buses

[lizzybennet]

I'm not letting the kids ride the bus anymore. I'm just tired of the small acts of bullying that constantly go on at that school. And when my kids tell the bus driver/teacher/recess monitor, they never get help. They get ignored. They get told "Well, if you don't know the kids name than I can't do anything about it." Or they get told that it was their fault. The totally ironic thing is that this school makes such a huge deal about fighting bullying. One of their weekly activities (like library or music) is counseling. Fat lot of good that does. How about the kid who calls Petey "Pee"? Or the kid who punched him in the back when he tried to clean up a ball at recess? Or what about the kid who called zack a chicken weiner? Or the kid who stole his jacket and hid it?

Chris hates this school but I've been more forgiving. I've been willing to give them the benefit of a doubt. Not anymore. My kids aren't riding the bus, which means they won't be there for before-school recess (which is where most of this happens.) I'll pick them up after school too, so they don't have to deal with mean kids and an indifferent bus driver. Last night when Zack told me about the chicken weiner remark, it was just too much. I remember how kids can get away with a lot (A LOT) on buses. I don't want my kids exposed to that.

Comments

[jediwonderboy.livejournal.com]

hrmmm...

Are you going to tell the school why you won't have your kids riding the bus then?

I have another thought about this, and it's a very "boy" thing, but I don't know how you view boys' interaction with each other, and how you think one should deal with bullying.

[mysteena.livejournal.com]

I haven't talked to the school about it yet. I have parent/teacher conferences at the end of this week. I'll talk to the teachers about it at that point. I do realize that as a girl/woman, there are definitely aspects of being a boy, and the ways that boys interact with each other that I don't understand. If these incidents didn't seem to bother my kids so much, then I wouldn't let them bother me. Chris, as a kid who saw more than his share of bullying in school, has told the kids that it's ok to hit a kid who hits them first. Fight back, don't roll over. The situation has never escalated to that point, thank heavens. It's mostly mean words, with physical bullying only occurring twice that I can recall. Both of those times happened to Petey and when he told the playground monitor and his teacher he was told that nothing could be done if he couldn't tell her the name of the kid.

Yes, I'll be talking to the teacher for sure.

[frizbeemom.livejournal.com]

I've been stressing out because I can't manage to change my schedule early enough to have the kids ride the bus home. Instead, they go to the school's small in-house program for before/after school care and we pick them up and drop them off. Maybe I'll stop stressing about them not coming home straight from school. Maybe we are eliminating some problems I don't even know about! I wish kids weren't so mean!!!! Teasing/bullying/making fun of others was SOOO not tolerated when I was growing up (small church school) and it really amazes me sometimes on how cruel kids are ALLOWED to be to each other. We as adults stand by and wring our hands but no one puts the fear of God into those kids so that they treat each other like human beings. Instead, we let them do their things. I think the school should be more responsive.

[mysteena.livejournal.com]

I agree, the school should be more responsive. We have parent/teacher conferences at the end of this week and you can be sure we'll be talking about this problem. I wouldn't sweat about your kids not riding the bus. I'm sure they're better off at the school. There's just no way a bus driver can supervise what's happening on the bus and drive at the same time. The oldest kids on my kids' bus are in fifth grade. At the beginning of the year I thought that would be fine. At least they didn't have mean middle schoolers, right? I guess there's no age limit on meanness.

[gnawtee.livejournal.com]

Kids are so cruel. Not looking forward to that aspect of school.

I would be contacting the principal to ask what the heck.

Chicken wiener??? How original..not.

I never rode the bus when I was in school, but I've heard Ashley say some kids are mean and she's only in kindergarten!

[themenow.livejournal.com]

I spent 8th grade crying every day on the way home from school from the torture of a bully. It was awful.

I'm so sorry your little girl is already experiencing this. Kindergarten...she's just a baby!

[mysteena.livejournal.com]

I rode the bus my whole school career and believe, kids can be quite mean and no one catches them. In high school it's way worse. It's scary and at times I can quite understand why parents choose to home school. I'm fairly certain that when we move this next time, we won't be putting our kids back in public school. Hopefully we can find a good charter school that will jive with our kids' learning styles. We feel like they've just been squashed here, especially Petey, compared to the awesome learning opportunities they had in Spokane.

[themenow.livejournal.com]

This is awful!! I'm so disappointed in this school. It's so sad, it's almost like there is this weird small town mind trip going on. Did you ever read "It" by Stephen King? The town of Derry was very, "just ignore it and it'll go away" even when really awful things were going on.

I hope you guys can get out of there soon. Your kids are so awesome and they and you and Chris deserve to be in a place where your awesomeness is really appreciated.

*hugs* I'm sorry your babies are being picked on. I had a whole conversation in my head of what I'd say to Crystal's dad if I'd ever talk to him. Don't you ever just want to grab the kids or their parents and just tell them what you think of the bullying?

[mysteena.livejournal.com]

I started to read "It" but I didn't finish. I think I watched the movie...

The strange thing is that people who live here love this town, and love the school. It's so baffling. I feel like I can never be honest when people ask me how I like it here, or how I like the school. They get defensive if I start to tell them how I really feel. So I just keep my mouth shut and my head down. Like I tell Chris all the time, I live here but I don't actually live here. I'm just living my life but I haven't allowed myself to feel like I'm a part of Idaho. Maybe I'm missing out on something, I don't know. He hates it here. I guess this is my way of preserving my sanity. I don't think about the fact that we live in such a place. I just am.

I'm having parent/teacher conferences at the end of the week. yes, we'll be talking about the bullying problem.

[themenow.livejournal.com]

So I just keep my mouth shut and my head down.

I think that is the best course. I noticed that when I talk to people about why I don't go to Enterprise to visit. What is there in Enterprise? Nothing. There is nothing to do there. I don't drink so having another beer bomb party is unappealing to me. I don't line dance so driving to Dothan to go to some country club isn't appealing either. Sitting and talking is fine...but we need something to talk about.

Hopefully you'll be out of there soon.

Good luck at the conference. Don't hold back. Let them know.

You know, maybe it's because the people don't know any better. Maybe this tiny town is all they know and so to them it is okay. You should rent the movie "Population 436". It's your situation but much more dramatic and creepier.

[texastea.livejournal.com]

Yuh.

Also, good for you. Be your children's advocate and get 'em off the bus if you are able to drive 'em.

[xx-symphony-xx.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry your kids are having a rough time with the school. I know how that can be because Kevin sure has experienced more than his share. I don't know why it is that the good kids get picked on. Maybe the others are just jealous that they are so good. Your boys are kind and considerate and are always thinking of others and that might just be a foreign concept to some kids. It just makes it hard to enjoy school and puts more stress on you to have to worry and also have to drive them there and back. Now I wish more than ever that you were still here! Hang in there!
Lucy