1 Ohio school, 4 bullied teens dead by own hand

[aronnax]

What measures?

Perhaps teachers could be more involved in the dealings with bullying. Have the teachers actively engage in Student social life to see if there are any students being bullied and then addressing it.

Another is to make the students feel that they can be open to teachers. Many times, abuses such as these goes unnoticed because the victims never go up to the teachers and inform them. Make the system so that, it doesn't seem like there are such repercussions for "squealing to the teachers".

Encourage students to not just conform with the norm, make it that differences are encouraged and not punished by peers. I was bullied terribly as a kid. But it took me asserting myself confidently for all the bullying to stop. Sometimes, people need a push in that direction in asserting themselves and schools should serve as that push. Students and teachers need to be able to communicate together for the teachers to be able to do something about it.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Maybe the parents didn't know. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't tell anyone.

Quite an irrational decision on her part to commit suicide than. Not even seeking help from the two people you'd trust.

Where's the line then? What kind of bullying would warrant expulsion?

Continuous harassment like the girl presumably faced. Seriously, after 4 suicides, the school should have a zero tolerance policy.

Get help for what?

For whatever would made them even think of going to the grave and laugh.

 

[Tee Kay]

Quite an irrational decision on her part to commit suicide than. Not even seeking help from the two people you'd trust.

I didn't tell my parents about the bullying I get at school, either, usually. For one, they had enough to worry about.

Another reason was that I simply lacked the confidence. That's what bullying does; it erodes your confidence until you feel completely helpless and alone and reduced to passively accepting what you're dealt out. At the point it would seem you have no one you could talk to; you wouldn't even try. And you'd try to hold on until you can't take it anymore, when you'd do drastic, stupid things. The thought of going to someone you trust for help would cross your mind, but you might never try it because you "know" it would fail or it would be useless or it'd make you look silly and stupid.

Which leads to what you and aronnax were talking about; helping push kids learn to assert themselves, eliminate the stigma associated with talking to teachers, while at the same time reduce bullying. The best way to do the latter is what aronnax said; teachers should be more involved in the social life of the students. In the absence this, punishment or talking-to would have little to no effect.

Note, I am not claiming I understand what this particular girl thought, or what is best for this particular school. I most likely don't. This is just a generalization with a sprinkle of anectodal evidence thrown in.

 

[TheLastOne36]

I didn't tell my parents about the bullying I get at school, either, usually. For one, they had enough to worry about.

I would usually not tell my parents of any bullying I got either, (Mainly because after Grade 7, I wasn't really bullied, but that's different) but to get bullied to the extremes like this girl has? I think I would definitely told me parents.

If I was a girl being called a whore every day at school, I would've definitely asked my parents to change schools. (it's not like you could recover your reputation anyway)

As for the second part, it hasn't occurred to me, but really, it'd had to be bad parenting as well in addition to the bullying if the girl wouldn't even trust her own parents enough to even talk about her issues. Of coarse she could be afraid that her parents would do something 'stupid' as in going to her school to talk to the principle which could mean embarrassment and humiliation for her, but better that than suicide.

 

[FriendlyFire]

Or...as Sean Kennedy said...

"Don't kill yourself. Kill other people!"

Probably a time bomb waiting to happen.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Whenever I tried to tell, the result was ALWAYS "ignore it." ALWAYS. I posted in the other thread I got fed up and threw a chair at a girl who called me crazy.

 

[Mathilda]

What measures?

Here's what my kids' schools are doing about bullying:
http://www.kivakoulu.fi/content/view/56/171/

In short, there a lessons for everybody about not bullying, a strong responsibility on the onlookers to take the victims side and structured ways of dealing with any bullying that does come to the teacher's attention.

I'd say that's a worthwhile read for anyone involved in education.

 

[Bill3000]

this is disgusting

 

[downtown]

The lawsuit is crap though. How can a school prevent suicides?

Every teacher at Mentor should have been trained in suicide prevention...warning signs for depressed or bullied students, who to talk to, etc. Half of the point of school guidance departments is to treat cases like this. Especially after having 2 suicides, the school should have looked at strengthening their anti-bullying policies.

Obviously, a school can't 100% prevent suicides. Schools can provide a discipline framework to limit bullying IN SCHOOL (which it sounds like they weren't able to do very well), and provide the right social services to kids in need.

Here's what my kids' schools are doing about bullying:
http://www.kivakoulu.fi/content/view/56/171/

In short, there a lessons for everybody about not bullying, a strong responsibility on the onlookers to take the victims side and structured ways of dealing with any bullying that does come to the teacher's attention.

I'd say that's a worthwhile read for anyone involved in education.

Yeah, it's a good read. I'm skeptical of the value of most videos, but incorporating role playing workshops throughout all grade levels (not just high school) is smart policy.

US Policy makers are often quick to praise Finland's ed system for everything, from bullying responses to academic performance...but we're loath to actually try doing what you do.

 

[bestrfcplayer]

This is why schools should pay more attation to their students.

 

[Trajan12]

Suzana Vidovic found her sister's body hanging over the front lawn. The family watched, she said, as the girls who had tormented Sladjana for months walked up to the casket — and laughed.

"They were laughing at the way she looked," Suzana says, crying. "Even though she died."

Forget the question of how to deal with the average case of bullying. People who've dropped to this level of sociopathy should be separated from civil society as much as possible. You could bring their parents into it, you could bring faculty into it, you could have bystanders call them on it, but none of that would correct the root issue: that they have absolutely no empathetic function or it is severely impaired. The only responsibility we have is to protect society from such people.

 

[bestrfcplayer]

Suzana Vidovic found her sister's body hanging over the front lawn. The family watched, she said, as the girls who had tormented Sladjana for months walked up to the casket — and laughed.

"They were laughing at the way she looked," Suzana says, crying. "Even though she died."

That's just sick.

 

[W|M]

, Why didn't the school take measures earlier, there had already been 4 suicides...

 

[choxorn]

I would usually not tell my parents of any bullying I got either,

I think the majority of kids don't talk to their families about bullying, or anything that happens at school, really.

Suzana Vidovic found her sister's body hanging over the front lawn. The family watched, she said, as the girls who had tormented Sladjana for months walked up to the casket — and laughed.

"They were laughing at the way she looked," Suzana says, crying. "Even though she died."

What the hell is wrong with these people?

 

[Traitorfish]

I know, its jerks!! Somebody should legally be allowed to punch them in the face.

I think it should be delegated to some sort of face-punching machine. Personally, I'm not at all sure that, if I started, I'd ever be able to stop.

 

[luiz]

What sort of person laughs at a kid's corpse in a caskett? I think we're talking about psycopaths, not school bullies. What happened to stealing the small kid's snack?

This story is depressing and disgusting.

 

[Disgustipated]

it is. It almost causes me to lose faith in humanity. I still believe those kids deserve death. But I'll settle for the face punching machine. It's a good idea. It eliminates the moral problem of being the person punching that person in the face.

So put these kids that made fun of the poor girl in front of the face punching machine for about 12 hours.

 

[gangleri2001]

Suzana Vidovic found her sister's body hanging over the front lawn. The family watched, she said, as the girls who had tormented Sladjana for months walked up to the casket — and laughed.

"They were laughing at the way she looked," Suzana says, crying. "Even though she died."

This is what these girls deserve:

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Well when the parents or pastors are decrying homosexuality as being immoral or unnatural, who is really surprised that their kids then persecute gays in their own lives? As far as I know, "gay" is still a general pejorative for anything unusual or wrong.

The parents have to change to expect the children to. That goes for anything from tolerance to work ethic.

 

[Miles Teg]

I'm on the record as being horrified by the kids at this high school, but seriously, when did talking about killing high school girls, even really awful ones, become cool?