KSL Report “Student Brings Gun to High School in Rooseveltâ€
February 3, 2006
Quoted from the KSL article:
“The teen told Mckenna he was being bullied and needed a gun for protection. But he refused to give details. On Tuesday he also told his friends he had problems.
Henry McKenna: “He was very depressed, very angry about certain things that we’re not sure.”
Eric Dongaard, Student, Union High School: “All I heard was that a kid brought a gun to school because he was getting made fun of at class with a bunch of kids, and got sick of it and brought it to school.”
Since Columbine, a great deal of research has been done. Most interesting was the 2m Secret Service study which concluded that 75% of school shooters were bullied or harassed at school. This is not about gun laws or “pat downsâ€.
Coincidentally, only an hour before this story broke, a graduate of Union High testified at a Utah Senate hearing on an anti-bullying resolution during which testimony he described being severely bullied at Union High and the fact that NOTHING was ever done about it.
These are our rural Utah schools, and this is the fourth or 5th such incident in Utah in the past year. Approximatley 250 parents expressed concern in comments on the KSL website after the 3-part series on schoolyard bullying in February 2005.
This problem IS solvable. And the results brings with them, improved grades, and reduced alcohol and drug abuse.
Bullying is a pervasive problem in many schools, and as reflected by the fact that no one commented on that part of the story, I think reflects our myopia toward bullying.
Chances are, the kid with the gun was a pretty gentle kid at wits end, if not scared for his life. The bad kids were the one’s that nearly drove him to an act of desperation.
If you don’t think bullying is a problem just ask your kids. Even then, you will detect a note of resignation or complacency. That’s how bad it is. Kids accept it, teachers accept it, and parents too, unless it’s their kids getting bullied.
The truth is many acts of bullying would be convictable offences if perpetrated by an adult.
Kids have the right to feel safe at school, and it is our responsibility to protect that right.
Studies have shown that the great majority of school violence is the result of bullying.
It is possible to completely eradicate bullying in schools. Its being done in other countries, and its not that expensive. It mostly takes will and commitment on the part of faculty, staff, and parents. When good kids trust teachers to enforce justice and fairness when theirs has been violated, starting in kindergarten, they will stand up to bullies and support their friends in doing so…and the bullies become the protectors celebrated for their courage.
#1 by Linda Archibald at February 5th, 2006
My son is 13 and in the 7th grade. He is in the Jordan school district. We moved out here to this district so he could get more help in school. He is in a cluster class. He is getting bullied every day. He usually handles it pretty well, however some days it is just more than he can take and he will say something to me. They call him horrible names as he walks through the halls. They throw spit wads at him. They try to tirp him, and of course then they say they didn’t do it. I spoke with his teacher and she acts as though there is nothing going on. She acts as though it is partly his fault because he “acts like a victim”. She wants him to tell her every time something happens. She does not understand that as soon as a kid does that he is branded a nark (tattle tell) and then just gets bullied more. Plus if he is upset enough to have a tear is teacher takes priviledges away from him for “whining”. It is frustrating as a mother to know that my child has to deal with this daily and nobody is doing anything. He is a very kind, good hearted person and does not deserve this kind of treatment. If people don’t like him they should just stay away. He has to try to find someplace to sit at lunch where he won’t get his food messed with or taunted at. I am now to the point I am going to see if I can get him into another school, for whatever good that will do. My only other option is to home school him, however I need to find a way to make money at home so I can do that. Some thing has to be done for my son and for all the other kids going through this hell everyday of their lives. No wonder they end up doing unthinkable things. I would just die if something happened to my child because I didn’t try to do something on his behalf. Please continue with this pursuit to put an end to this very real problem.
Sincerely,
Linda Archibald
#2 by Blackie Bassett at March 9th, 2006
“ACTED LIKE A VICTIM”??? I’d sue THAT teacher. she just admitted there was a problem and then said its your kids fault. Thats Bull$#it!. She needs to have her teaching certs taken away.I’m seeing other reasons in what you’ve written for her to loose her job. The whining thing is her own way of bullying. Small wonder she blows it off, she’s a bully herself.. I think teachers who are like this one should be put on public display
Find other kids who are being bullied at that school, talk the parents and file a “class action” suit..