I have previously written about bullying, and another serious incident has come to light in the Western Isles. A teenage girl, who was pupil at the secondary school here in Stornoway, has taken the local council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, to court for failing to provide a safe environment at school and for discrimination on the grounds of provenance - she came to the island from England. She has now had to leave Lewis to enrol at a sixth-form college in Yorkshire.
Allegations in this case vary from verbal to physical abuse at school, and in spite of repeated complaints by the girl's mother (who I happen to know) no action was taken. The bullies justified their action on the grounds that their victim was English. The Council also declined to fund transport to take the girl to the other secondary school in the island, at Tarbert (Harris).
No comment was forthcoming from the school, as the case is the subject of legal action. I do want to post a reminder of a previous bullying case in Stornoway, which led to the pupil concerned taking her own life. I have further information, which I cannot post on a public blog, which reinforces my position that bullying is endemic at the school concerned.
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I really wonder why bullying has become as bad as it is. I`m sure it wasn`t that bad when I was at school back in the sixties. Of course it did exist, but on the same scale as today? I don`t think so.
ReplyDeleteSandra xxxx
I am at lost with bullying... it can spread so quickly and can become so violent... and I have seen schools and the authorities almost with no power because the law does protect all children, so somehow bullying is almost protected when it comes from children... I think they still have a lot to clarify about this issue that grows non-stop... my daughter was for some time bullied and I was starting to be really concerned when it went as far as receiving raw eggs on my windows and saw graffitis with the name of my daughter on every bus stop, then my daughter could not go into town without being kicked down. I thought she would become agoraphobiac. The school did their job, but were still powerless the time tthe social services started to re-act, and yet the bullies in question were used to the Police who were used to those kids and it's like "oh again..." and almost forgotten... the Police also feels powerless as they deal with kids... the kids understand the system very well and know that there is a free zone to any attitudes (as long as they do not kill directly) until a certain age.
ReplyDeleteValerie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/iiimagicxx/surreality/
I remember the movie Lean on Me.....I agreed with how the real life principle took care of business....Bullies shouldnt be allowed to attend school..yep..it means they miss out but such as life....We adults expect way more from our children...I dont know a single adult that could handle another adult calling them names...pushing them around and no employer to back them up...we couldnt even handle one moment without beating the crap out of them...schools expect kids to be doormats in terror.....If we imagine one bully story happening to us...we would agree that we couldnt handle it.......sooooooooo..the bully needs to go....
ReplyDelete~Raven
Bullying is a very serious thing. Some entity needs to look into the local council, it seems. Someone close to me attempted suicide when she was 16, and bullying was very much the impetus to her attempt. Thankfully, she is still alive and well today. I hope this issue gets resolved and the bullys dealt with appropriately.
ReplyDeleteLori