Schools engender an environment that plays to the base and barbaric natures of teenagers. It is unbelievable to me that our society tolerates even a fraction of what occurs.
If I created a Facebook group that was specifically anti-Dale, and I make threatening comments or infer harrassment, I can go to jail. Yet, somehow its ok because its highschool and 'its a fact of life?'
I agree to an extent what the school should be able to do with students that are out of school. But in cases where a bulk of the animosity between bully and victim started in school, the school police officer should ready to arrest the bully the minute he/she steps on school grounds. Its illegal. In school or out of school no longer matters.
Part of the problem is that a lot of the kids don't take advantage of the opportunities that high school offers, so the majority of them are just wasting their time. Which sucks, because limiting the time kids spend there would deny the motivated kids the opportunity to take really interesting classes, get involved in arts, etc.
My high school focused a lot on getting all kids into post-secondary options, not necessarily college. It helped with the atmosphere a lot, I think because a lot of kids realized that even if their grades weren't super they still had a future, so it felt less like a waste of time.
Sit too many bored teens around each other for too long and it starts to look like gen pop in Oz.
You can never understand the opportunities offered to you in your youth until you are too old to take advantage of them.
And I cant conceivably think of a way that I would have made better choices based upon a hypothetical future which at the time didnt seem all that bright.
But from an entirely adult viewpoint you're totally correct.
True, we can't give kids motivation, we can only hope that something piques their interest. But I also worry about hobbling the kids who would take the opportunities- motivation is pretty easy to kill.
Using myself as a test subject again though, I think that I'd have an easier time grasping the opportunities if I didnt have to deal with the retarded (and fully supported by the school and a vast majority of the student body) culture that existed and still exists today.
Thankfully, that culture at that time did not include the internet.
Oh, I'd agree that it gets in the way. I actually managed to get a lot out of high school, but I did it by learning to completely tune out the culture. Which also fucks with my ability to make friends today.
While, at the time, the culture did include internet, it did not include facebook and myspace was just for pictures of your boobs. I have no clue if I would have been able to pull it off and maintain any semblance of humanity in today's high school culture.
There was no mention of implied threats or harassment in the report I watched. If you made an anti-Dale group I wouldn't be happy about it, but I'd ultimately dismiss it as the bullshit it was and move on with my life. I wouldn't get all wrist-slitty over it.
I'm not saying that bullying is a good thing, or that parents shouldn't react to it and talk to the other parents, or perhaps go with the student to speak to a counselor of some sort, but expecting the school to take action/monitor children activities outside of school is not the school's job.
The "it's a fact of life" comment was more in reference to "you shouldn't be surprised to find out it's happening because it happens to all of us."
"wrist-slitty"...oh Dale. I don't think you are capable of understanding people, depression, or what it really means. We are not talking about people who simply are "emo" or seeking attention, we are talking about CHILDREN who do not see a reason to live because they are being so terribly harassed, and so visibly hated.
you really don't seem able to comprehend the empty void inside that accompanies these sorts of feelings. And it does not take a pre-existing condition, or mental weakness.
No, I cannot comprehend the empty void because I'm not an emo bitch.
I endured school just like everyone else. I never once gave in to peer pressure. I never once drank, smoke, did drugs, skipped school, or did anything because people pressured me into it. Bullying sucks, but the whole point is to learn to face life's challenges and come out on top with your integrity, self-worth, and self-confidence in tact. If you can't survive high school then you're not going to survive life.
If I created a Facebook group that was specifically anti-Dale, and I make threatening comments or infer harrassment, I can go to jail. Yet, somehow its ok because its highschool and 'its a fact of life?'
I agree to an extent what the school should be able to do with students that are out of school. But in cases where a bulk of the animosity between bully and victim started in school, the school police officer should ready to arrest the bully the minute he/she steps on school grounds. Its illegal. In school or out of school no longer matters.
What passes for high school society is appalling.
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My high school focused a lot on getting all kids into post-secondary options, not necessarily college. It helped with the atmosphere a lot, I think because a lot of kids realized that even if their grades weren't super they still had a future, so it felt less like a waste of time.
Sit too many bored teens around each other for too long and it starts to look like gen pop in Oz.
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And I cant conceivably think of a way that I would have made better choices based upon a hypothetical future which at the time didnt seem all that bright.
But from an entirely adult viewpoint you're totally correct.
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Using myself as a test subject again though, I think that I'd have an easier time grasping the opportunities if I didnt have to deal with the retarded (and fully supported by the school and a vast majority of the student body) culture that existed and still exists today.
Thankfully, that culture at that time did not include the internet.
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While, at the time, the culture did include internet, it did not include facebook and myspace was just for pictures of your boobs. I have no clue if I would have been able to pull it off and maintain any semblance of humanity in today's high school culture.
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I'm not saying that bullying is a good thing, or that parents shouldn't react to it and talk to the other parents, or perhaps go with the student to speak to a counselor of some sort, but expecting the school to take action/monitor children activities outside of school is not the school's job.
The "it's a fact of life" comment was more in reference to "you shouldn't be surprised to find out it's happening because it happens to all of us."
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you really don't seem able to comprehend the empty void inside that accompanies these sorts of feelings. And it does not take a pre-existing condition, or mental weakness.
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I endured school just like everyone else. I never once gave in to peer pressure. I never once drank, smoke, did drugs, skipped school, or did anything because people pressured me into it. Bullying sucks, but the whole point is to learn to face life's challenges and come out on top with your integrity, self-worth, and self-confidence in tact. If you can't survive high school then you're not going to survive life.
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