Bulling in the Public Schools and the Laws that Protect Students and Essay

Bulling in the Public Schools and the Laws that Protect Students and Teachers - Essay Example Still, the public has the right to be informed as much as possible. Two Case Studies of Bullying The following are stories of two victims of bullies: ("Case Studies," 2008) Case 1: MY name is Katelyn Weinert and earlier this year I was bitten on the arm by another student at high school.The school suggested I move away from my group of friends and find somewhere else to "hang out" to lessen the chances of this student and I coming into contact with each otherThis boy doesn't just contain his harassment to school either. My mum has witnessed him approaching me on a number of occasions in public harassing me. Case 2: MYfirst few years of high school were torture. If it wasn't bad enough being new to the school certain people went out of their way to make it worse. There were a few people who used to write nasty notes, follow us home and make prank calls. This one particular bully used to harass my younger sister who was 10 at the time. It only happened when I was not there. It wasn't long until she started with me These days I look back and wish I could have ignored the harassment, but during school that's when you're trying to find yourself, and it's little things like that that can affect us in adult life. The cases cited above should be an eye opener to legislators, educators, and students of education that bullying could victimize practically anyone. The frustrations expressed by the two victims should obligate authorities to tackle this problem seriously. But first things first, facts about bullying should be set straight. Myths about bullying must be deconstructed as shown in the next section. Myths about Bullying According to psychologist Dan Olweus, there are ten myths about bullying. To the degree that these are not addressed,... This essayb approves that regardless of the causes of bullying, the people in the receiving end of bullying had the right for protection, students and teachers alike. With this need in mind, there were several legislations passed against bullying although these by themselves are not enough. It is important for teachers and parents to consult lawyers and other legal experts about the technicalities involved with federal and state laws on bullying. For example, there is a prevailing 10-day myth on suspensions. According to this misconception, the maximum cumulative days that an offender must be suspended is 10 days. This is not entirely true. This is only true with students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act. But even if students have disabilities according to the definition provided by IDEA, if such students pose clear and present danger, the safety of other students must also be considered. Hence, the law does not preclude school administrators from disciplining such bullies beyond 10 days. This report makes a conclusion that anyone charged with a crime cannot make ignorance of laws as an excuse. Ignorantia legis neminem excusat or ignorance of the law excuses no one. Every person is presumed to know the provisions of the law. With this in mind, victims of bullies should not be afraid that the law will favor those offenders. On the part of school administrators and teachers, they ought to be informed of specific laws that will tackle and deal with problems of bullying. And they should utilize every provision of state and federal laws in favor of the victims, since bullying is an offense that should not be taken lightly.