third grader being bullied

Jewishmofm

Thu, Dec 01 2011, 10:58 pm

Our 8 year old son is being bullied in school. I have heard only a little bit from him, which I would shrug off, but one of the teachers- not his-met dh and told him "you know your son is being bullied?" also an 8th grade friend of the family told his father kids are starting up with ds, fathered relayed it to us. I then "went fishing" for specifics from son, and dh called menahel with and left msg "please call want to speak about our son being bullied". that was motzai shabbos. menahel hasn't called back yet. dh thinks we should calmly storm into menahels office and have it out face to face. I'm thinking maybe one more phone call first. what can we do without school's involvement, seeing as their not ready to get together on this?

September June

Thu, Dec 01 2011, 11:27 pm

Since the bullying is taking place in school, there is little you can do without the school's support. It is very important for the school to take a strong stand aganst bullying. Try to speak to the menahel again, if you can't get through then show up in person. You are your son's best advocate, make sure the school takes the matter seriously. Maybe you can start a bull free program in your son's school.

Do you know who the bullies are and how they are bullying your son? If you do, try speaking with their parents.

Last edited by September June on Thu, Dec 01 2011, 11:33 pm; edited 2 times in total

33055

Thu, Dec 01 2011, 11:28 pm

I would find out who is doing the bullying and call their parents. I also would document everything with e-mail. If the bullying is on a school district bus, call the bus company and get the kids suspended. Go to the principals office. I am not one to storm. Document if he can't see you. My son was bullied, the principal did nothing. I finally told my son to fight back. When the principal called me to complain. I showed him the documentation. My son did not get into trouble and the kids stopped.

Jewishmofm

Fri, Dec 02 2011, 6:40 pm

Thanks for your help, mothers! school is so not going to run a bullying program. I do know who the boys are and what they have done. my son told me today that menahel spoke with him and the boys. and he will tell menahel if they do anything again and they will "get in big trouble". so my son he'll talk to but not us?

octopus

Sat, Dec 03 2011, 6:53 pm

there was one incident with my child. of course we went down to the school. both my dh and I. we weren't hysterical or anything. but we stressed that in order to send our child to school we need to know that our child is physically safe and is in an environment where he can safely learn without fear.we stressed safety,safety,safety. the school saw we meant business since me and my dh appeared (dh took off from work. I wanted it nipped in the bud.) My child also saw that his parents took a real stand and if he tells his parents something important, we will take action and protect him. we were extremely firm.

first of all, if the principal did not get back to you right away-that's a lot of chutzpah. especially if you were clear in your message that this was regarding bullying. documentation is important! document bullying incidents AND when and how many times you called school,etc. google anti bullying laws for your state.even if a school doesn't have a zero tolerance policy your state may have one.I think you should still go down to speak to the teachers and principal-IN PERSON. It does show that this is something that is top priority. I'm not understanding if the kids do it again, they will be in big trouble. they should be receiving consequences now!!!nip it now!!! also be prepared to pull out if you have to (last resort) if nothing is done about it. the emotional baggage a child lives with from constant bullying is not worth it. THAT was the advice I recieved from a world class (imho) educator. I think you have a reasonable right to know what your schoolis doing NOW to ensure that your child is safe. not that those boys will be in big trouble if they do it again. sorry that;s not good enough.