While few kids “love” getting up each morning to skidattle their way to school, most do enjoy the time that they get to spend with their friends each day. Sadly, however, this bonding time with friends each day doesn’t happen to every kid. In fact, as many of us know from our own school experiences, some kids’ school days are filled with tears and torment. This is exactly what one girl, who shared her story with the world, wants everyone to know.
In a disturbing video that was recently released, viewers can see a young girl attempting to get away from a group of three females. At the end of the clip, the girl trying to escape is grabbed by the hair by one of the three and punched in the head numerous times. Not long after the attack began, a school employee intervened and stopped the beating. However, according to the mother of the victim, it should have never gotten to this point. Now, her daughter, rightfully, fears for her safety and refuses to return to school. The question then remains, did the school do enough to prevent this from happening?
There may not be a simple answer to this question. Nevertheless, we can look at the timeline and plan-of-action the school took to avoid this from occurring. Two weeks prior to the time of the attack, the victim was tormented by the group of three girls. The bullies were allegedly verbally abusive and intimidated the victim regularly. The victim alerted her mother about the problem right away. The school’s initial solution was to allow the victim to leave school early to simply avoid any potential negative situation. As seen in the video, this solution, as well as others, was very ineffective.
The girl who physically assaulted the victim was suspended from school for 10 days following the attack. For their part in the incident, the other two girls were given one and three-day suspensions. Not nearly enough time, believes the victim’s mother. However, the school remains couched on the effectiveness of their safety plan for their girl and that she should have spoken to one of the staff at the school if she was continuing to have problems.
Issues like this continue to haunt Philadelphia schools, as well as others throughout the world. Are you familiar with your school’s safety procedures for bullying? Do you think that the punishment guidelines are appropriate?