Governor Signs Bullying Bill (TN)

[The Straight Story]

Governor Signs Bullying Bill
Posted: 6/22/2005 11:08:48 AM

Governor Bredesen has signed a bullying bill and admitted that he was beaten up nearly every night as a first-grader.

Bredesen signed the bill yesterday and said other children used to bully him for his accent when he moved to Boston.

The bill requires school boards to develop policies to stop bullying or harassment on school grounds.

http://www.abc24.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=97E4D91B-CA50-46A9-9A51-481751EFE4B8

[handywork]

1. bullying sucks but,

I doubt a law will fix this...

[sakabatou]

2. I guess this is promising...

[jarab]

3. I would hope this bill will assist

school officials in identifying/handling bullies before they get to the physical violence stage.
...O...

[FreedomAngel82]

4. Me too

I too was picked on as a younger kid in middle school by this girl. Hopefully this can help other kids.

[Jackson4Gore]

5. Bullying is a thing of life

No law is going to stop it and no person is going to enforce it.

[NashVegas]

6. That Doesn't Make It a Good Thing

A kid being subjected to it is going to have problems, the bully already has them.

[Lars39]

7. School districts faced with some hefty lawsuits will put a stop to it.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

8. Who wouldn't enforce it? The bullies?

You could say no law is going to stop murder. That doesn't mean you do nothing.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Right

I would rather him try something then nothing at all. Too many kids now days are bullies and think they can bully others around (look at the republicans for example). If you're bullied you don't like going to school and you don't do quite as well cause you're always worrying about that bully. Hopefully this will help.

[geniph]

10. Actually, a strict policy of consequences for bad behavior

can indeed lessen the incidence of such behavior. I work for a public school district and knowing that bullying meets with swift retribution does indeed make it happen at least less openly and less aggressively.

Saying that no law is going to stop bullying is like saying there's no point to desegregation since humans are basically tribal primates suspicious of those from outside the tribe. Sometimes you do what's right, no matter how difficult it may be to change attitudes over time. But attitudes CAN be changed. It takes years of diligence, but it can be done.

There will always be kids who'll be mean if they can get away with it. The whole point is to make sure they can't get away with it, and that they know that. Bullies are inherently cowardly; if they know there's a greater authority who will descend on them in wrath, they will not dare to bully.

[FreedomAngel82]

11. Right

Bullying is just such an immature and a thing that shouldn't be in a school enviornment. When I was in school I went there to learn and get good grades so I could hurry up and get out of high school, not be bullied on. My brother was bullied all throughout his schooling. It got better throughout the elder years of high school but it didn't help with the classroom enviornment and things like that.

[Jackson4Gore]

12. Still

This is just a 'feel good' bill that will go nowhere. If schools really wanted to stop bullying it has to be in hearts and minds of the teachers and faculty. That is the only way it can be prevented. Hopefully this will cut down on it somewhat, but like I said, it starts with the teachers and their will to do something.

Also, even though our school had an anti bullying policy, no one took it seriously. All the students and most of the teachers poked fun at it most of the time. I think bullying is too often used as an excuse for things such as in the case at Columbine HS. I am sorry, but bullying did not make them kill 20 people, that was a cop out excuse. There are issues deeper than that. Don't get me wrong, bullying is real, but people too often use that as an excuse for things. Bullying takes place everywhere in life, so the best thing to do is to learn to stand up for yourself and not take crap.

[guruoo]

13. Well I guess we'll just have to get off..

our butts and make sure schools enforce it.

[H2O]

14. Bullying is encouraged

by the people in the White House, the people in the Senate, House, the MSM, etc. Watch Faux news enough and you will see it. W does it all the time.

[emdee]

15. Then he should understand how bullied the elderly and sick feel....

over his Tenn"we don't"Care cuts.

I think that parents and teachers should always intervene whenever they see someone acting in a manner that is rude to others. The old "kids will be kids" rule doesn't fly with me. If I see it, I try to stop it. Of course, most bullies know how to do it without being seen.

emdee