Tuesday, October 5, 2010

How Many Times Must It Happen

Currently reading - Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni P. L. Kelner

A week ago, DH stomped down the stairs and into the kitchen where I was working on edits.  He bluntly stated that GK was never going to return to Cy-Fair.  His actual words were a lot more colorful than even my R-rated diatribes.  And I was shocked by the level of anger until he showed me the news article.

What set off DH was the suicide of Asher Brown, a thirteen-year-old CHILD.  A CHILD who blew out his brains because of the constant torment he suffered at the hands of bullies at Hamilton Middle School.  Hamilton is part of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, commonly referred to as Cy-Fair in the Houston Metro area.

We pulled GK out of Lee Elementary a year and a half ago because of similar problems.  The administration did little or nothing to stop the bullying, with the sole exception being Mr. Kenneth Henry.  One bus driver even tried to call the police to have GK arrested for DEFENDING HIMSELF on the bus.  Her reasoning--she was afraid of GK.

She was afraid of an eight-year-old, but not of the eleven-year-old beating my son?

And this is after a Cy-Fair counselor accused me of child abuse.  So I know the bullying tactics are used by certain administration personnel as well as by the students.

And now the same back-talking double-speak is being aimed at a family devestated by the loss of THEIR CHILD.

My heart goes out to Asher Brown's family.  They will have to live through the pain of losing their son for the rest of their lives.

I have to live with the weird guilt that it could have just as easily been my son.

6 comments:

  1. Suzan,

    This is so sad. I think this is becoming a crisis in all schools and something should be done.

    CC

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  2. Don't feel guilty--feel proud for having done the right thing for pulling your child out of that school.

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  3. @Christi - Unfortunately, it has to start with the adults acting like adults. It'll be a hard-ass road for things to change, but it's happening, albeit slowly.

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  4. @Toni - Thanks. DH constantly tells me the same thing. Sometimes I think the guilt gene merged with the maternal gene a few million years ago.

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  5. How horrible. :( There seems to be an epidemic of bullying- and harrassment-related suicides among teenagers recently. You'd think school staff would have gotten a clue about this stuff being serious way before now. If I had a kid, I'd probably be home-schooling. :(

    Angie

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  6. @Angie - Yeah, the bullying is bad. And it's getting worse. In Cy-Fair's case, the problem with the staff is all political. Most of the teachers care more about bonuses and promotions than they care about the kids. Those teachers who try to make a stand are bullied by their co-workers on level equal to what the kids are doing to their peers.

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