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With the new school year beginning, students and their parents are once again concerned with issues of bullying in school. As a headmaster, it’s not unusual for a parent (and sometimes even a student) to subtly ask about the level of bullying when interviewing at a new school.
I always answer with confidence: the degree of bullying at our school is almost non-existent. Predictably, the look of calm relief that washes across the faces in the room is measurable.
If you’ve ever been the brunt of bullying (and most people have at some point), knowing that it’s just a passing phase and will eventually stop doesn’t really help getting through tomorrow. The biggest immediate question is: how do you deal with it right now?
This post is part of a series inspired by Dream School: NYC, a SundanceTV docu-series that follows 15 New York City teenagers who left high school and are now trying to get back on track to graduate. The Beekman School partnered with the show to help customize the learning experience for the students.
Sadly, bullying is on the minds of many parents and students, and why not? Clannish and mean-spirited behavior isn’t just a product of face-to-face interaction, but also raises its ugly head in cyberspace. The anonymity of the Internet has allowed cowards to make nasty comments about students they don’t like. Recently, newspapers have reported on a 13-year-old girl who jumped to her death in Florida after being hazed and tormented by fellow students, ages 14 and 12.
