Gay Geiser-Sandoval - Educationally Speaking

Gay Geiser-Sandoval

o7 I wrote the following column about bullies before there was more

carnage on a high school campus close to homef7 ,o7 in San Diego

County’s city of Santee. It could just have easily been here. News

reports said a 15-year-old f7 who o7 was constantly picked on and

called f7 a o7 freak, dork and nerd, allegedly decided to take a gun to

campus and shoot people. On Monday, that is what he did. I’m sure there

was a zerof7 -o7 tolerance policy against weapons at that school, and

it didn’t stop the bullets from piercing students and staff. It’s time to

stop thinking that a law or policy will save our kids from harm. The time

to stop bullying is in elementary school, so that a frustrated student

won’t decide he has had enough bullying and seek a permanent solution for

his tormentors.f7

I don’t like bullies.

Bullies have been around since before I have. When I tell people that

I write a column about educational issues, many of them relate to me the

terrible time they had in school under the reign of terror of a bully.

Harry Potter even has to clash with a bully and his goons at Hogwarts

School.

Last year, after a student ended up in the hospital at the hands of a

bully and the student witnesses took a vow of silence, parents had had

enough. They wanted the terror to end. After a few meetings, the district

decided to form a Bully Committee, made up of parents, teachers and

administrators from throughout the district. They even got information

from New Zealand on the issue.

So, on Feb. 27, the board held its first reading to include a ban on

“bullying” in its zero-tolerance policy.

Ironically, it was just days after the American Bar Assn. called for

the end of zero-tolerance policies across the country. The association is

not in favor of weapons, drugs or alcohol at school. The association is

also not in favor of a blanket policy that does not take into account any

of the circumstances surrounding the incident or the background of the

individual.

We are the first district, apparently, to consider adding

“intimidation” into its zero-tolerance policy. So, maybe we will be the

first district to be in a lawsuit about the legality of it. The policy

will now include language that states, “The district will not tolerate

any gestures, comments, threats or actions, either written, verbal or

physical, which cause or threaten to cause or are likely to cause bodily

harm, personal degradation or disgrace.”

The punishments can include expulsion, suspension or transfer

(apparently permanently, instead of for 90 days).

Does this mean it’s been OK to be a bully on campus up until the bully

zero-tolerance policy gets passed? No. The education code prohibits such

activity. The penal code makes it a crime to push or hit someone, steal

from them, rob them, threaten them or assault them. If we have bullies on

campus doing that stuff, why don’t we arrest them?

The problem isn’t that we need a new rule or policy. We have plenty of

rules, laws and policies already. The problem is to change the mind-set

of the students at school who let bullying exist. Most bullies say they

start by the time they are in third grade. So, we can’t wait until

seventh grade to deal with the issue. The bully threatens and intimidates

off campus as well as on. Unless the student can fly to school, a bully

policy on campus won’t protect them elsewhere.

Do we instruct our kids to look the other way when the bully is after

his victim? Or, do we tell our kids to unite and tell the bully to leave

all of the kids alone? Do we try to make changes through peer assistance

programs and counseling? Do we ask if his parents at home are bullying

the bully? Has he learned at home that fists work better than words?

A policy never protected anyone. It’s the people who enforce the

policy who make it work. For bully behavior to be eradicated, the

enforcers can’t always be the adults. Let’s not institute the bully

zero-tolerance policy but instead find a more effective way to have kids

stand up against the bully reign of terror.

* GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs

Tuesdays. She may be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .