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Rosenstein family
Sawyer Rosenstein with his father, Joel, and mother, Cheri, on a family vacation in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2011.
When Sawyer Rosenstein was 12, a punch from a bully changed his life forever, leaving him paralyzed, and at times, near death from the complications of his condition.
Now, six years after the assault, the New Jersey school board in the district where he was a student has agreed to a $4.2 million settlement.
“It feels really great to finally have just a sense of closure … that this really difficult part of my life is behind me,” Rosenstein, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in communication at Syracuse University, told msnbc.com. “I can actually focus on all of the successful things that I am doing now and all of the successful plans that I have for my future.”
The Rosenstein’s lawyer, Jeffrey Youngman, said the settlement was “absolutely unique.”
“I see stories virtually, if not daily, every other day on bullying and … it’s one of the first stories where there actually was a result that’s positive and truly helps the family,” he told msnbc.com, noting that the Ramsey Board of Education does not admit liability.
“But the facts surrounding this case are unbelievable, I mean they’re dramatic in that you have a child who actually was pro-active” about dealing with the bullying, he said.
Youngman was referring to emails written by Rosenstein to officials at Eric Smith Middle School – a guidance counselor, an assistant principal – about the harassment.
"I would like to let you know that the bullying has increased," he wrote to his guidance counselor three months before the assault that left him paralyzed, in an email that was reported by The Record. "I would like to figure out some coping mechanisms to deal with these situations, and I would just like to put this on file so if something happens again, we can show that there was past bullying situations."
On May 16, 2006, a bully punched Rosenstein so hard that he fell to his knees. Two days later, he screamed out at home.
“We picked him up and called an ambulance,” his father told the newspaper. "He hasn't walked since."
Rosenstein was paralyzed from the waist down due to a clot that had formed after the blow in a major artery above his abdomen. When the clot moved down to his spine, it burst, leaving him paralyzed. Complications resulting from his paralysis, such as scoliosis, led to 19 surgeries and a complete spinal fusion. He almost died several times, Youngman said.
Rosenstein said he turned the corner during one of those hard days thinking “why me” after one of the many surgeries in which he considered his options.
“For me, I saw it as a challenge to say, ‘Okay, in your face, society. I’m going to take this and I’m going to hand it right back at you. You give me lemons, I’m going to throw a lemon tree in your face,'” he said.
He missed a year of school but still graduated on time and made the honor roll every semester, Youngman said.
“The way that he carries himself is just amazing, he's an inspiration,” he said.
In 2009, the Rosensteins filed their lawsuit against the school board, various administrators, other individuals and the boy who punched Sawyer; the settlement was agreed to at the end of March. Part of the family’s case included claims that school officials knew or should have known that Sawyer’s attacker had violent tendencies, Youngman said, citing prior punching incidents with others. The family settled with that student two years ago. The terms are confidential.
“What the school was doing was just indicative of what the schools do in these instances: they just have policies and don’t know how to enforce them,” Youngman said. “You can have a written policy all you want, but if it is not put into effect and it's not enforced effectively, you’ve got a policy in name only.”
In a statement, the Ramsey Board of Education said that after three years of depositions and pre-trial discovery, its insurance carriers agreed to the settlement.
“There has been no admission by the Board or by any of its employees of a violation of any law or duty owed to the Plaintiffs,” the statement said.
The board denied allegations that it or its employees had “failed or compromised its responsibility to develop and to implement effective policies and procedures to protect the safety and rights” of the school community, the statement continued, noting that the district "prides itself for the role which it has played in recognizing and developing an awareness of the dangers of bullying, intimidation and harassment in the school setting."
Cheri Rosenstein
Rosenstein at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum where he met the crew of the final space shuttle mission, STS-135.
Sawyer Rosenstein only recently shared his story publicly after much long discussion with his family, deciding to do so to raise awareness. Otherwise, he doesn’t like telling his story.
“I don’t want it to be ‘woe is me’ and sympathy. I want it to be more of a story of success, that even with all this, I was still able to prevail,” he said. “I want people to root me on in whatever I’m doing and help me through it.”
He encouraged anyone suffering from bullying to document it as he had, believing it was a key factor in making his case. Though he was constantly bullied and remembered how much he wanted it to stop, he wanted others to know that it does end.
Today, Rosenstein, who wants to be a news reporter, hosts and edits a podcast he helped to co-found called Talking Space. He said he attended the final space shuttle launch as the youngest ever accredited reporter at 17.
What he hopes that people will get out of his story is that they understand “this is an issue, this is something that needs to be taken care of, and this kid has taken something terrible and made something great out of it. I can do the same.”
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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Amorality reigns.Yay for America!
Bullying is a major problem in schools today. It needs to be taken more seriously. A "policy" is ineffectual if it is not enforced.
Should we bring back corporal punishment?
Isn't coproal punishment no better than what the bully does?
Maybe this is the solution. Hitting the board of ed in the pocketbook. Granted they will try to make up the dollar amount by raising school taxes but then it's up to the voters to block it.
Schools have a NO TOLERANCE policy on so many things, and some are stupid, why not have a NO TOLERANCE policy on bullying? Bullying is a HUGE problem, and should be dealt with SWIFTLY, and with SEVERE CONSEQUENCES. If anyone reports that they are being bullied, there should be an IMMEDIATE investigation, the parents need to be brought in, school counselors need to talk with all kids involved, teachers need to keep records, and there should be some IMMEDIATE consequences, while the investigation is going on. If it's proved that someone is lying, they too should be swiftly dealt with.
School should be a safe place for kids. It's a place that needs to teach more than the three "R's".
@Tom - Seems to me that corporal punishment had better results than the ineffectual policies in place today.
Spare the rod, spoil the child ...... maybe its time to take out that rod. Corporal punishment is not bullying, its just a very direct way of suffering the consequences of bad actions. Offcourse, corporal punishment would have to be within reason.....regulated somehow ....
@ Reni - I completely agree with your stance. The only problem is that you would have to distinguish between bullying and teasing. There's a line between bullying and just being an a$$. One makes you fear for your safety, while the other is just annoying.
I don't mean to put more pressure on teachers, since we all know that parents are responsible for rearing their children. But, teachers need more freedom in how they control kids' behavior in school and need to care a little more. In my grade school, you could sense the teachers didn't give a @!$%# if fights broke out, sometimes they just looked the other way. Not all teachers did this, but many did since it wasn't their kid being bullied and kicked around.
All the teachers at my school many year ago certainly didn't care if bullying went on. Suspend them immediately and the parents will take notice. The school isn't responsible for carrying out the discipline, but it IS responsible for making it known to parents and police if necessary.
Those of you advocating corporal punishment are using faulty logic. Just because "A" precedes "B"doesn't mean that "A" caused "B." Just because ridding schools of corporal punishment preceded extreme bullying and violence doesn't mean ridding schools of corporal punishment caused extreme bullying and violence. Many changes have occured in society, including and overall lack decline in the respect for others and the ability to empathize with others as well as a lack of a sense of personal responsibility. This isn't something the can really be attributed to schools. These are societal changes and values that children would learn at home. Parents think it is acceptable to park their kids in front of the TV, allow them to play violent video games unmonitored, and then make excuses for all of their negative behavior. Even all of these are causing the problem; they are just other possible explanations for it. Many families have parents who are not fully involved in their children's lives because both parents are having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, one parent (sometimes both) are not a part of the child's life causing further stress, etc. Tax policies and declining social services are causing making parents have to work many hours, high divorce rates without regard to the children (again lack of personal responsibility) leave them without role models and figures in their lives to guide them and teach them right from wrong. In short, there are probably MANY explanations for this phenomenon; bringing back corporal punishment would do nothing to solve it, since getting rid of it probably did nothing to cause it. The problem is in the homes, not in the schools and is symptom of bad parenting, not ineffectual discipline policies in schools.
It's sad that the schools have their hands tied by all these stupid liberal policies. That and the fact that parenting of kids seems to have gone out the window. Their kid never does anything wrong types. The educational system needs some tools to start handling hese out of control kids because mommy and daddy won't do it.
I was bullied my entire life. It is not just a big problem now, it always has been, we just hear about it more now because of all the social media. I had a bus driver wait while a much bigger kid punched me in the face and then let him jump on the bus and she took off laughing. This was on school property and an adult helped with the bullying. He got 2days in school suspension, and nothing happened to the bus driver. This was in 1987, so this is nothing new (and i have many more stories). I am glad Sawyer got his settlement, he seems like an amazing young man. His life has been changed forever but he isnt letting that stop him! Kudos!
Hitting someone (corporal punishment) for hitting or otherwise bullying another is a non-starter. Addressing the issue right away with parents, guardians, staff, the kids in question, and if necessary, law enforcement is the way to go. No one should have to fear going to school or walking down their own street home. No one should have to feel belittled and less than they are. But we also need to remember that one of the most important things to determine is why the bully is a bully in the first place.
Human nature is to want praise and to be liked and included. Abuse or neglect in the home can cause any normal kid to be agressive or act out; I'm not saying to be lenient (there have to be consequences, and these have to be consistently enforced) but at the same time adressesing the root cause of the bully's behavior is critical or you will have a repeat offender who doesn't learn anything about how to function in society without hurting other people.
Had to be one idiot to bring politics in, right Skiddy?
Parents need to start parenting and quit expecting the taxpayers i.e. school teachers to parent their rugrats.
I'm wondering two things,
1) Who became the next victim of the bully, after he paralyzed this kid?
2) Why, why, OMG WHY don't the parents yank their kid out of school (and put them in another) when the kid is being bullied & the school won't do anything to stop it? OMG! BE A PARENT!
@ Vince
I agree many things have lead to an increase in bullying, violence in society.
It's interesting though, how you go through an entire list of things that people do and then make excuses for, that lead to violence. Then you turn and make excuses how corporal punishment does have any bearing on preventing bullying (or perhaps crime).
It's all completely relevant.
Typical news story, nice that he got a settlement, but what did the bully get? I also would wonder how much of the settlement went to the Lawyer. Was the settlement adequate enough to cover the medical cost? This boy will have to suffer the consequences for life.
Too much of schooling today is more of a baby sitting service for parents who just want their brats out of their hair for the day. Teachers aren't allowed to exercise discipline as needed because some parent will take exception and sue the school. Kicking these offenders out of school and requiring the parents to pay for mandatory education might cause some of these parents to reflect on their parenting skills.
Why shouldn't the school board settle ? It isn't their money. Throwing the taxpayers' money at problems has increasingly become the America way, for at least half a century, and is one large reason that we are broke today.
The real problem is sitting beside the kid in the wheelchair - the parents - who, as soon as they were informed the kid was having problems being bullied, didn't teach him to fight. They let him remain a victim, with the result being the kid is wheelchair-bound for life. They, and the kid who punched him, are the responsible parties, not the taxpayers in that school district.
The theory, on full display here, is that society [ or school board, police, employer ] has an obligation, and is capable, to protect the individual from any and all unpleasantness. And when unpleasantness occurs, that someone, preferably with deep pockets, must pay..... of course the lawyer is gonna wax poetic, since he likely is raking in 33%, or more, on contingency fee.
Bullying, poor academic performance, wide-spread sexual molestation of kids by staff - just another day in our public school system.
Corporal punishment teaches kids that there is a direct consequence to their actions at school and if they get caught. Better to focus on teaching kids why bullying is wrong than to promote a culture of violence.
The article does not say that the parents knew about the bullying. Many children who are bullied do not tell their parents. Also, we do not know if this was financially possible.
In this case, the school was informed of the bullying and did nothing. I cannot see how they would not be responsible. It is sad that the tax payers will need to make up the difference, but if that is what it takes to get schools to take this seriously....
I hope other school districts see this and say, "If we are told about bullying, we need to do something." If not for the moral or legal obligation, out of fear that the same will happen to them financially. Perhaps it will save other kids from being paralyzed or worse from a bully.
Very well said Reni. If the school does nothing against the warnings that there is bullying going on then they are just as responsible for not taking action as the kid who is doing the bullying. Once notified of a problem it needs to be addressed with the kids, family and thoroughly investigated to make sure there is no deceit, if a kid is found to be a bully there needs to be a strict punishment. Parents need to teach their children how to deal with bullies, it seems this kid did all he could including leaving letters that incidents where still happening.
"the district "prides itself for the role which it has played in recognizing and developing an awareness of the dangers of bullying, intimidation and harassment in the school setting." " quoted from article
what is this a joke? pride? "We take pride in developing a lip service system that watched but didn't do a single thing until after a permanently disabling injury was caused" ?!?!? i would think that written documented complaints would be an excellent, nearly perfect, way to "recognize" and "develop an awareness" i guess they missed step 2 in the process, where you actually DO SOMETHING about it AFTER you "develop an awareness" but BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT!
Bullying was a major problem back when I was in school in the 70's. Half of the bullies ended up as druggie criminals or gun toting thugs, the other half were totally reformed and appologetic. The bullied got on with their lives, and the level of technical educational skill is nearly proportional to the level they were bullied. If violence is controlled I wonder if their is an ironic benefit to the process. Just an obtuse thought.
This case is one that oobviously went way too far, and the bully should be prosecuted in some way.
skiddy...all of these 'stupid liberal policies' were put into place by the likes of your grandparents so that THEIR children could get the educatuion that THEY believed ALL american children should have and deserve to have. i laugh at the likes of you that insult the work of our grandparents and parents to provide an education, jobs, homes, and health care to all united states citizens. these 'stupid liberal policies' were necessay to insure that children were not working and dying in sweat shops. or dying for lack of medicine or innoculations against disease. if you have ever witnessed a polio victim.... than you would surely understand some of these 'stupid liberal policies' are what makes this country great. i do not understand what is so horrible about caring for humankind and our survival. is that not what religion is supposed to teach. humanity? they were not stupid then and they are not stupid now.
@uchusky,
You have good points however, I have a huge problem believing that this kid would send emails to administraitors but wouldn't tell his parents.
As far as it not being financially possible, perhaps mom & dad could sell that house with the mountain view to pay for it. (I'm refering to the picture from the article.) I don't know where you live (sorry; not trying to sound like an attack) but where I come from, views like that costs BIG pesos.
If an adult had previously hurt another adult, it would have resulted in jail time. If a child punches another child, they should similarly removed from the situation. Not necessarily jail time, but at least punished for the behavior. The word "bully" doesn't adequately describe violent behavior... just because they are not adults doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
Well said, "Carmel!"
Now as for Bullies... They suck! Sooner or later, their mug will be on an episode of COPS!!
Woman Voter, that is typical lib diatribe. Bullies come from all walks of life and environments. Some bullies have great home lives but just enjoy the power they have over weaker kids.
Permanent expulsion from the school where the bully committed the assault is the only solution. No second chances and no wasting taxpayer money trying to determine root causes and treating the bully with therapy or whatever.
I've never understood why schools do not have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence of any sort?
If kids entering kindergarten all the way through high school understood that one punch, one slap, one kick or one shove resulted in expulsion...I seem to think we'd be a less violent society because we'd be raised to know that behaviour SIMPLY ISNT TOLERATED.
but, most people suggest the proper response to bullying is more violence (corporal punishment or beat the bully up and he'll leave you alone, even though he'll just go find someone smaller and weaker)
and there in lies the circular logic that keeps us constantly barking and chasing our tails.
we never want to solve or address problems, just smack bandaids over it.
Miss Deanna seems to think the kid being abused is the one who should have to suffer by switching schools, and thats what a good parent would do for their kid.
except, im not sure what logic leads her to believe other schools dont have bullys?
hello, new kids are the prime targets for bullying...
a good parent will force the school district to punish the bully and or remove him long before saying "come on kiddo, lets just run away from our problems"
teaching your kid to run, rather than stand up for whats right...is plague in and of itself.
MissDeanna: Perhaps you did not read the caption on the photo that states it was taken on a family vacation in Scottsdale. Thus the lovely view in the background.
Well, the school board admits no liability but I would guess paying out $4.2M is their way of saying they did have liability. Good for this kid!
Think the $ 4 Million speaks for itself. You might not be on record, but agreeing to a settlement that large certainly indicates you thought you though a jury might not agree with you.
And once again, the idiots make errors of judgement and the taxpayers pay for them. Ridding the school of a know bully would have saved taxpayers $4M and a kid would not be in a wheel chair.
There is no mention of what happened to the kid behind this fiasco, he surely did a little time, right ?
I don't know know where some of you get your ideas, but as a single parent of three(yes i was married), I can't see why it is always assumed that parents are not teaching their children better or spending quality time with them. How many of you knew right from wrong growing up, but did things away from your parents' sight?! (drugs, sex, going places you shouldn't have, making fun of someone, etc.) If you can truthfully answer 'I did none of these things or I did EVERYTHING my parents told me', then kudos to your parents. If you answer yes to any of these, then shut the hell up! You may have not gone as far as bullying, but you still were not perfect angels when allegedly taught better
@Jeanette,
No, I didn't read the caption until now.
New Jersey to AZ for a vacation. That would not be cheap, Now I really think they could afford to change schools.
Start public shaming of the bullys. Force them to stand outside the school wearing a pink tutu and a sandwich board. If at anytime they speak during it, add another week to the punishment. Better yet, have them wearing an adult diaper and sucking their thumb. They wanna act bad*ss, so make them look like a baby. Beats the hell out of a 3 day suspension as punishment.
Kids picking on each other is nothing new, just more media attention. Should tax payers and schools be responsible for every kids actions? When are parents going to take responsibility, and why do we hold the hands behind the backss of the schools and then expect them to do thier job. Everyone is so sue happy and the blame is usually misplaced as this story shows.
Yay they got their payday
A lot of sick Neanderthals in this world. Where were the 'zoo-keepers' though? And when are we going to see suitable punishment -- in the form of dismissals -- for school employees who, by ignoring these situations, allow them to continue without interference.
It's probably happening right now --- at this very moment -- somewhere in our great nation.
What happened to the bully that changed this family's life? Did he get 4.2 million years in prison? School Administrators and Teachers rights are a joke nowadays. i remember when a bully would get real discipline if that occurred in school. Now the bully has all the rights.....Bravo to this family who just had to wait the school litigators out.............6 years..........ugh ugh ugh.
ScottW-I certainly hope that the bully got some kind of punishment since he has ruined this child's life and almost killed him. Personally, I think he should have been charged for attempted murder and put in the general population of a prison to see how much he likes "being bullied".
And to Miss Deanna, who thinks that it's the parents fault for not taking their son and putting him in another school-how do you even know there was another school available? I grew up in a small midwestern town where there was only one school available for the children to go to. I suppose you think that since I was bullied, my parents should have sold their house and moved to another town instead of putting the blame where it lies: on the bully and on the school for failing to handle the problem in the appropriate manner, by suspending the bully the first time, and for kicking him out of school entirely if the problem continued. Let HIS parents sell their house and move, since their poor parenting made him the way he was in the first place.
What a brave young man, and very smart too I may add.
So they pay the $4 million but do not admit any fault. So what I take from this is none of the people he sought help from have been reprimanded. The tax payer gets hosed and the negligent employees walk away unscathed. They are so worried about losing the case they can't investigate and place blame. Now that it is settled they should look at it more objectively. A counselor and assistant principle should at least have this as a strike. To be clear, you can't stop all bullying but these two experts seem to have done little.
@ScottW714-- I was also wondering what happened to the bully. He was the entire reason this happened at all. The article mentioned that this kid almost died as a result of the injury he recieved from the bully, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the law define that as attempted murder? Had the bully been an adult he would be sitting in jail right now.
Miss Deanna
Why should they have to change schools? The public school should do its job. The solution to bullying is not have every child who is being bullied move schools-it is to take the steps needed to end bullying.
I probably would have moved my child to a different school anyway, but, again, we do not know if he told them. You said that he probably did since he sent a letter to school officials. That actually does not mean that he told his parents. Perhaps he liked the school, other than the bullying and didn't want to leave his friends, and was afraid his parents would move him. Perhaps he was embarrassed to tell them and wanted to handle it without their involvement.
However, even if the parents knew and could have afforded to change schools and perhaps should have made this choice, they should not be the ones shouldering the blame. The school was well aware of the problem and in the best position to take action to stop it. They did not. Blaming the victim or his family does little to prevent this from happening in the future. As I said before, every kid who is being bullied cannot just change schools. Change must happen from within the schools, and I hope that this settlement encourages that change.
Misplaced? The school knew. The victim told the school that the bullying was happening-and they did nothing. They had a responsiblity to take action to protect their student, and they did not.
What happened criminally or financially to the actual a**hole bully?
Suing the school for failure to act and provide a safe learning environment is one thing, but I didn't see the article address the specifics of the bully being taken to court and/or found guilty of assault and batter or attempted manslaughter, or other "disturbing the peace" or "threatening safety of others" laws already on the books.
Does a court case of a juvenile against another juvenile actually get put on the permanent record?
I'm pretty sure the kid, and his parents, would give every nickel back to have him whole again. I'm glad they received the settlement and hope this wakes up some school districts that there is ZERO tolerance for bullying.
@ Reni, the problem is the schools ALREADY HAVE A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY in place but it's only on paper. No one enforces it. The schools are scared of getting sued by the perpetrator or victim, the school district does not want to be dragged through the mud, the superintendent wants to keep his job simple. Everyone continues to ignore the problem and hopes it will go away while flaunting a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY in the student handbook.
@ Miss Deanna. So you see the victim and his family enjoying themselves years later and assume they are rolling in dough. Maybe they didn't have money then and do now. Maybe they thought changing schools doesn't solve any problems because bullies are everywhere. Maybe they thought the school would start intervening. Maybe somebody paid for their trip. Maybe the trip didn't cost that much. Traveling across country is really not that expensive by the way and certainly not as expensive as switiching to possibly a private school and paying the tuition if that was even an option. Changing schools would have also involved transportation issues and if both parents work, that becomes a challenge. Think before you just try to write for the sake of argument. I'm guessing you are either a bully or the parent of one by your twisted logic that blames the victim and his parent.
Miss Deanna, there is no other high school in that neighborhood. This boy went to the community high school. I know this as a fact because I worked at a business not far from that high school many years ago. By the way, although that picture was taken on vacation in Arizona, there is a mountain range not far from the community where this family lives, and it is a mostly middle class area.
As for "zero tolerance" policies, most schools do have that in their student handbooks. However, unless an adult actually sees the bullying, they have no recourse, or so the school administrators will say. Twenty years ago, my son was hit, on purpose, with a ball by a bully. The principal, who for some reason liked the bully and hated my son, twisted it around so that it appeared to be my son's fault for being where the bully was playing ball.
Sometimes getting the parents involved does not work. My daughter student taught in a school where there was documentation of a boy bullying a slower learning boy. The bully's parents had been in school a number of times because of this. However, the mother let slip, one time when her husband was not with her, that her husband encouraged the son to be a bully. What are teachers and administrators supposed to do then?
Miss Deanna,
Glad you read the caption! Who are you to judge how expensive their vacation was or should have been?!
My bigger question to you is why the parents should've moved their child to a new school? He's hadn't done anything wrong. The BULLY is the one who should be moved. In our school district, it costs $1500 per semester to attend one of the 8 other high schools in the county. Let the bully's parents cough up the dough.
As for teachers breaking up fights, we are told NOT to jump in, but to call for administration. A number of years ago, one of my fellow teachers had his back broken and his head stomped on after trying to intervene. It ended his career. A female co-worker is, 2 years later, still recovering from a serious hip injury after the kids, whose fight she was trying to break up, turned on her.
I, on the other hand, have never been in a fight in my life, but I'll jump in in a heartbeat to break up two or more students who are fighting. All 5'3" of me! I broke up one between 2 boys just a month or so ago, earning a round of applause from the students watching. The one I broke up 2 years ago ended up on YouTube under "Crazy Old Lady Breaks Up Fight" (I'm 50). lol Both times I was reprimanded and told I should've gotten a male teacher.
Miss Deanna, I would have to guess you failed reading in school. You comment on this families wealth due to a vacation picture. Can't you effing read, I guess you may also have failed geology or US history as if you studied you would know there are no mountains like that in NJ. If you had a heart you may even feel bad for the kid as $4.3 million (even if that was his cut) is nothing compared to what that kid has and is going to go through. 19 surgeries so far and a life full of infections, bowel, bladder, etc problems, and most likely another dozen or so surgeries or major procedures in the next decade. If you searched you may also notice that while Ramsry, NJ is not a poor borough it also is not a upscale one either. So you say instead of the school enforcing their policies that every parent of every bullied kid is supposed to move? You must have been one of those bullies, or your one of those mothers in the little clique who still have nothing better to do than gossip and act like a child, you know the ones. One of the ones on Topix always complaining about everything, like Janie with her new Audi or This people sitting on a pile of money with that "Moutain View".
Wow now this is awesome as it must be that I have a place in Maui as I have vacation pictures of me there. Freaking Idiot...Go ahead suspend me for a day. You should be ashamed of what you said and asumed about that family. Why don't you even try rolling a week in his shoes and make sure you insert and use a clean catheter for both ends as there is much crap flowing out of your mouth
Completely asinine.
Those who are being bullied don't have a choice. The person who earns the corporal punishment does. They can decide before they even strike :
"Do I want to deal with the ramifications of what I'm about to do?, because I know there are going to be some."
When a clear and concise policy is in force it affords the perpetrator the opportunity to avoid trouble altogether. They are the ones who make the call.
There's a huge difference between Initiating trouble and Responding to trouble - So no, it's not anywhere near the same thing.
(shaking head)
It would just be too much for parents to be accountable, wouldn't it?
I'm out of here.
Peace!
Yea Deanna, they just asked for it didn't they? How about holding the perpetrator and HIS parents accountable for raising a devil child! I cannot believe there are really people like you out there? Is YOUR child a bully? Sounds to me like this has hit way too close to home for your liking.
What happened to the bully????? Paralyzing someone deserves a lot more than a slap on the wrist!
my wife has taught since '76. she has had stories similar to this one every year. the response of the school district is a pat, canned standard one. their philosophy is this - ignore it, sweep it under the rug, never admit to knowing anything. think it is based on the image they want to project to the community. but, similar to the crime of passing on students all the way to hs diploma who cannot read, this one too is a response to the many state and federal mandates they live under. when the government entities who are constantly sending new, often contradictory rules, decide that quality trumps quantity (see how the local school districts are funded), we may then see better enforcement, effective punishments, and a proactive local district vs. a cowering, run-from-lawsuits-and-accountability system that we currently have. would this have been handled differently had the school had wider choices, lack of fear of legal response from the bullier and his family? we will never know.
If the kid would have grown some balls and kicked the @!$%# out of the bully, he'd still be walking. If you're being bullied, you're usually considered the weaker. Nothing has to be fair. If you can't beat his ass with your fists you use a rock and a bat and the element of surprise. You won't be bullied again if you curb stomp the guy within an inch of his life.
Bullying it has always been there. This is not something kids just magically learnt how to do. I was bullied as a kid and suffered medical issues from it and it is something that stays with you well into adulthood. As for the "zero tolerance policies" that almost all schools have they are useless. My daughter started public school just a month ago and I was sitting outside waiting for her and there was this little girl about 9 sitting on the swing crying while about five other little girls were taunting her, I approached the teacher and told her and her response was "we know it happens a lot we are waiting to see if she comes to us". I was stunned and didn't know how to respond to that. I approached the little girl because it just sickened me. The reason we are more aware now then when I was a kid is because more children are harming themselves because of the bullying and the bullies are getting meaner. I don't know that we will ever find a solution to end bullying but we sure need to try. I also have been seeing a lot about kids who are being bullied by adults which is just terrible.
Time to start paddling the lil' bad badstards asses again! It worked in my day, a hard board will make a softer ass today too! Otherwise, keep hearing more stories like this and stop complaining. Parents are not raising their litter anymore. Someone has to do it.
Or they'll be employed as cops.
“For me, I saw it as a challenge to say, ‘Okay, in your face, society. I’m going to take this and I’m going to hand it right back at you. You give me lemons, I’m going to throw a lemon tree in your face,” he said.
Mr. Rosenstein, you are an inspiration to us all (or at least should be). Thank you for the reminder to stay strong.
Or like in my old High School one of the bullies is now the principal and a few others are teachers and so the routine of cover ups and bullying continues.
Here on the vine so many complain about the Catholic church and by % there are way more pedophilic teachers. There clique just keeps covering it all up, you know school board, admins, super and all
Spare the rod........ spoil the child? That saying comes from a time when most were shepherds/farmers and used rods to GUIDE their animals towards places or away from danger. Do you actually believe they beat the animals they depended on for their wool, meat, milk, etc? Spare the rod means give your children guidance, NOT beat them into submission.
I blame the parents who make lame excuses and turn a blind eye to their children's aggressive behavior and I blame schools who too often will let behaviors slide, especially in the cases of athletes who they don't want to suspend or expel for fear of losing at sporting events. Students who bully other students need to be home schooled and/or compelled to go to therapy. Children who bully, do not outgrow the behavior, too many times, they go on to beat their spouses and their own children as adults.
It is time to correct this, not let it slide.... until the next student is injured or commits suicide!! Their blood is on all of our hands for not demanding change!
To equate corporal punishment with bullying is absurd and demonstrates the mental capacity of jackass brains. Corporal punishment is the exacting of pain as the form of punishment for some illegal action. Other forms of punishment don't work, especially with bullies. Bullies exact pain on their victims. They do it because they like to inflict pain and it makes them feel powerful when in fact they are not powerful. Only the law is powerful. I am physically sick of the idea that you can cure bullying without inflicting pain. This is the position of mental deviates who don't understand the depravity of human beings.
Miss Deanna, I'm shaking my head, too. Corporal punishment is just another method through which lazy, uninvolved parents push their responsbilities off onto teachers.
I was a military wife, often left alone with two boys -- BIG BOYS. We weren't trying to be their friends -- we were parents! They both grew up knowing that there would be severe consequences if I had to take time off from work and go to the school because they were misbehaving, or if their dad had to be called back from duty because they were acting stupid. We were involved every step of the way with these boys, because we knew that because of their size, they might be tempted to bully smaller kids or even join a gang.
I can tell you that both of these boys knew that neither of us had any fear of CPS, and would have gladly gone to jail for kicking their azzes if they got involved in any foolishness, or disrespected their teachers or other kids. It is not the responsibility of the schools and teachers (some of whom aren't fit to even teach let alone hit my children) to put their hands on children. They're there to teach -- and some of them can hardly manage to do that!
If a child is caught bullying -- kick him out! End of story. Send him/her home to their parents and make them do their job!
This country is full of lazy parents who don't want to put the work into raising children. It's hard work. So, if you're not willing to do what it takes (and it takes a lot), or are too self-absorbed and still want to hang out and party, do society a favor and get on birth control or use a condom until you're mature enough to properly raise kids.
Put the bullies in jail along with their parents, who do little to discourage such behavior. The Media & Entertainment contribute to this problem as well.
That has to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard, blondeness.
This is really tragic all around. Money can't make that kid EVER walk again, EVER! The lawyer gets a cut, the government gets a cut (taxes, right), the district (taxpayers) pay for it and who knows what happened to 'the bully'. Is it enough to pay for expenses? That many surgeries? I doubt they'd break even IF their insurance covered it. But again, forget the insurance, a kid WILL NEVER WALK AGAIN BECAUSE SOME F&*CKING IDIOT KID DECIDED HE HAD A BAD DAY AND WANTED TO HIT SOMEONE ELSE!!!!!
And the school KNEW about it! They F8)(38KING KNEW about it!!!!
IF that happened to my child I'm afraid I'd kill the bully's family with a bat while they watched.
I went to school and was bullied but I was smart. I knew no one would ever actually do anything about it. In fact, it seemed common belief that if you told anyone in authority then the bullying would usually get worse. That was simply understood. So you had three options:
1. Fight 'man to man' against someone obviously bigger and stronger with you. Never mind it isn't a fair fight and you could end up paralyzed like this kid. Just go for it, right? Damn the consequences.
2. Try to make things equal, which requires a weapon. If someone breaks into your home to paralyze you, weapons are OK. If they do the same at school you may end up in prison for using anything to leverage your disadvantage. The kids who shot up the place at Columbine probably knew this and that's probably why they acted out by shooting F8ing everyone.
3. Don't say anything and just try to survive hoping the d9ckwad doing the bullying someday meets some other bully who likes to kill people.
I opted for number 3 for fear I would stab the bully to death and go to jail.
Has the problem changed? Obviously not. This is America. We unanimously consent to turning our heads and letting the chips fall where they may, so why complain?
@ Ken Johnson
On both sides of the law.
First off corporal punishment does work, despite what the liberal pansies might claim. While it might not teach a bully respect for other people, it does teach them the concept of cause and effect. Since most bullies don't really want to be in class or in school at all, a suspension or expulsion isn't much of a punishment. If anything it rewards their anti social behavior. They won't care if they are thrown out of school, but being publicly humiliated by being spanked in front of the class takes away their power to intimidate. The second thing that needs to be done is a return to the policy of only the aggressor gets punished. With the current policies of both parties get suspended if there's a fight, the kids who are being bullied are punished for fighting back. I was bullied as a kid, at least until I cleaned house on a few bullies publicly. Bullies who are brought to tears, or dropped to the ground from a knee to the groin or punch to the solar plexus in front of their intended victims, lose their ability to bully. Today, the kid being bullied gets treated worse for fighting back than the kid who attacked him initially. My teachers told me that they couldn't do anything unless they saw the kids bullying me, but that they also wouldn't see anything if I beat the crap out of them. They were as good as their word as I was never punished for nearly hospitalizing a number of class bullies.
Now on the parenting front, one major problem is that the bureaucrats in the state child protective services divisions will happily take a child from someone who disciplines them, while handing them back repeatedly to true abusers. I saw it happen too many times to count. That includes crack heads having illegitimate children for the welfare money and food stamps. As far as I'm concerned, any woman who comes up positive for illegal drugs during pregnancy should have their parental rights terminated IMMEDIATELY and permanently. Another problem is that some "child psychologists" claim that all kinds of punishments are effective at an age when the child lacks the cognitive ability to understand any punishment that doesn't involve physical discomfort. 2-3 swats (not full power swings) on the bottom won't kill them, but the stinging will remind them to do what they're supposed to do. There is almost no way to really hurt a toddler wearing a diaper with a spanking, but you can get their attention.
As a father, my daughter was being bullied on the school bus. A terse letter to her school teacher got the usual liberal, "well the little monster has emotional problems" response. My response to that was to teach my daughter a simple, but painful wrist lock. The next time the little cretin tried to shove my daughter around, my daughter grabbed hold of her in the wrist lock and put the bully on her knees on the bus floor. End of bullying. This was 20 years ago. Nowadays, in order to protect the little ruffians, my daughter would've been charged with assault and the little trouble maker would've been given counseling (and probably a lollipop) to help her through the ordeal of having been humiliated.
Miss Deanna - If you read the caption beneath the picture, it states they were on vacation.
Miss Deanna is a troll... Don't feed the fat ugly trolls.
On Topic:
Schools need to enforce their "No Tolerance" policies. And when someone breaks the rule they get expelled and put into a national database. After you enforce it I have a feeling the incidents would be on the decrease rather than on a rise.
If you can admit that you have made a mistake or you have erred then you have a workable situation, you can improve and go in a positive direction!!! If you cannot admit fault or that you have any culpability to the situation you then have an unworkable situation and you will continue to be a part of the problem and not any of the solution!!
I just love it how ANY public sector /state/city/county/school etc can never under any circumstance admit that they have anything at all to do with a situation and that they have admitted no fault period with the agreement to settle a suit!!!! Try that as an individual!! If you get locked up in prison then one of the conditions of getting paroled is that you have to admit guilt of the crime in which you are incarcerated before they will ever consider you for parole!!! Why is ot not the same for the other side???
Nothing stops "bullying" as quickly as "corporal" punishment. I was in school with a big kid, who, for a while, bullied everyone. Finally, one of the teachers noticed. With his belt, He beat the hell out of that big mean boy. Next morning the Boy's Father and 2 of His grown brothers appeared at school with Him. They all went to that teacher and told Him they were going to beat the hell out of Him. Didn't work out that way though. That Teacher was joined by our Male Principal and the two of them beat the hell out of that Idiot and His 3 sons. Held them there at the school until the Sheriff's Deputies came and got them. That former bully came back to school, but was strangely changed into one of the most easy going kids in school. That was back in 1956. Faculty knows and can correct it if allowed.
Thank Goodness this kid sued, but what a horrible incident. While I agree that the school could also prevented it due to be aware of the "violent" nature of the student who punched this young man--also the schools (public) need to monitor the lesser forms of "harassment". For example; out here in WA State in West Seattle students where preventing other students from attending class by either "harassment". etc...what this young man experienced is one horrible extreme, but what many many students and employees are having to tolerate is lower "boundary, ethical??" standards in many public places. Why? " Beat-me Society" or human rights violations seem to pay off??
why was the school and it's administrators punished? they "should have known his attacker had violent tendencies." yeah, and hitler's family should have known he had messed up tendencies as well?... i'm not gonna call this justice at all. it sets a bad example for future cases... fine the bully and put him in jail for assault and other things, don't go after the school unless there is an actual reason to... glad you got the money, but i don't understand how you can feel good receiving the money from the wrong people. the bully was the sole source of the problem... sorry if anyone else feels otherwise, but i feel like this sets a bad example for the future when other parents will think they can sue the school for anything, even if the school had nothing to do with it.
They needed a better lawyer.
Moving Out, the government gets NONE, ZILCH, ZIP, NADA of that money. It is a settlement and therefore exempt from any and ALL taxes to that young man.
Miss Deanna,
Why should the wealth of this boy's parents, where they vacation and all the other things you're talking about, have ANY bearing whatsoever on the lawsuit?
Why should they pull their kid out of school? The bully should have been expelled. His behavior is unacceptable.
It seems like you are letting your resentment toward this family being financially well off cloud your perceptions.
Your remarks are totally irrational. I would guess there is proof of these e-mails the boy sent to administration. Why would you assume otherwise? Do you have children? Were you ever bullied? Are YOU a bully?
Your lack of empathy is disturbing. I haven't seen so many backward comments in quite some time. I saw above someone's comment was collapsed because of a political reference (about liberals), I cannot understand how your remarks are remaining on the board.
Is money all you think about?
Miss Deanna and others who say this young mans parents should have changed schools ,home school etc..
The bully(s) are the ones that need to go to a different school, be home schooled, be sent to the job core, or juvie. Not the victim of a crime! It doesn't matter how little or how much the VICTIMS parents make. Let the bullies parents face the considerable costs of paying tutors, private schools, moving to put their child elsewhere etc..
George and others saying the bullied kids need to fight back. For one if your considerably smaller all your gonna get is injured or killed. Back in the 70's we settled our differences one-on-one with fists. Today fights are settled by packs or with guns, knives, etc.. The majority of the time if you tell your bullied child to fight back they are the ones that will be aresseted, suspended from school, hurt, or even killed. You think the bullied victim is the one that should get the criminal record?? Todays cops throw the book at the kids rather than settle it with out arrests, with the common sense of taking a teachable moment and using it anymore.Let the bully go to jail, get the rcord, be forced to pay fines or to do extensive community service. and if the school administrators FAIL like in this article they should face suspension from their jobs, fines or assisting with the victims medical expenses alone with the bullies parents.
I think my favorite part about this story is this kid's attitude. It is a shame that bullying is so prevelant in today's society, but when you look at the pictures it is obvious that he hasn't let this control or ruin his life, he is smiling and looks so happy in every one. What an inspiration to those who complain about the most tedious of things and what you can over come if you just try.
This probably won't be popular with a lot of you but, children have a inate sense to mirror their parents. If there is violence in the home there will be the assumed OK for it to be mimiced outside the home. If parents give children responsible and intelligent discipline before the age of 3 to 5, then its basicly not necessary further. The identity is already created and the personality is solidly ingrained. Without the necessary parenting during those years, you get an aggressive and out of control teen, who basicly is looking for attention the same way he got it at home, volently. If you want an easy life for yourself and your children, be a responsible parent when they're forming and get yourself out of the bottle and your nose out of the bag and what follows is notes from the teachers about thanks not negatives. Violence begets violence. The same goes for intelligence....
just another greedy example of blame first, get paid mentality. of course they would sue the people who have the money to pay, the US taxpayer!!!!!!!!!!! suing a public school is suing the american tax-payer. this kid most likely had a pre-existing medical condition that made him more susceptible to blood clotting, its fairly easy to develop if you are inactive for long periods of time or sit in one spot for long periods of time, ask any extreme gamer about the risk of blood clotting.
"bullying" will not go away, it has been with us from the beginning and its is primate in nature. we are animals, we have basic instincts and traits that our young exhibit more often than elders. the schools are not the police, they cannot act like the police nor can they predict behavior as they are not physiologists. "bullying" is not any worse now than in the past and there is no need for major change to prevent it, matter of fact they have done more to foster this type of behavior more than anything.
the only way to handle a "bully" is to stand up for yourself and tell an adult afterward or have a friend go while you stand your ground. running away or bowing down does nothing but encourage the "bully" to get you later. the type of actions they are trying to teach nowadays are wrong and only lead to more violence from either side, i had my share of "bullies" and i fought them every time till they stopped.
what happens if you back down to a tiger or bear or any wild predator? you get ate. what makes you think a human predator is any different then our lower cousins, no difference and until we have a better understanding of our animal nature we will never get to understand our human nature.
Ms. Deanna-
It's sometimes not possible to just change schools, even with a good reason. Sometimes the school is rural, and there are no alternatives. In most places, parents are required to follow a "feeder school" pattern. Sometimes, it's a transportation thing. We just went through this with the Pittsburgh Public Schools, so I've learned a lot recently.
Also, I was bullied relentlessly, starting in middle school. It was so bad, that I (weakly) attempted suicide at THIRTEEN years old. This was back in the early 90s. It took forever for my parents to get a school change enacted- in the meantime, I'd cower in my closet in the mornings, praying I would not have to go to school that day. I finally did change schools, and although the bullying at the new school was not bed enough to send me into the closets in the morning, it was still there.
Parents and educators need to do something. I think there's little prevention beyond good parenting and supervision during the school day- there will always be bullies, no matter what. Perhaps the best we can do is enact stricter punishment on those who are caught bullying? I can say that just a slap on the wrist is not enough.
It's so sad for me to see kids going through this nowadays. The bullying can be so much more pervasive and present due to social networking and other factors. I really wish there was something I could do to make it stop, because my heart aches for bullied kids.
I think in many cases the parents are failing to teach their kids to not be bullies. Frequently we see that the parents of bullies are bullies themselves and children learn what they see. It has to stop. Our children should not have to be in fear at school. I let my children know at an early age that I would not tolerate them being bullies. We role played, we talked about it. I was proud of my children when they stepped in to stop other kids from being bullied and I made sure they knew how proud I was of their being good people..
My son was injured by a much larger boy who got my son in a head lock and then lifted him off the ground by his neck. My son immediately felt pain in his neck and I had to take him to emergency and the resulting x-rays showed he had separation between two of his vertebrae. The doctor said it was so lucky that it hadn't done more damage- that it could have left him paralyzed with another fraction of separation. He had to wear a neck brace for a long time and it had an effect on his participation in sports. And now, 20 years later he is having severe pain and stiffness from the same area injured all those years ago.
We were fortunate that not only was it not worse but that the parents of the larger boy took responsibility for their son and made sure he understood the consequences of his actions. He was required to not only come with his parents and apologize but to also work to pay for the medical costs associated with the emergency visit.. I think he learned his lesson. If other parents took as much responsibility as this boy's parents, we could stop a majority of the bullying before injuries like this young man in the article. It is the responsibility of all the adults involved- at the school and especially in the home.
Miss Deanna,
If you got an education, you'd learn. Your logic has gaping holes and insincere thought for others. The kid was paralyzed, he deserves a vacation and NO, they don't need to sell a home to change schools... Think about it.. You're being bullied so YOU need to sell your home and move. A major life changing event because somebody's kid can't bite his tongue, keep his hands to himself and shut his trap!
Try some night courses in "Social Responsibility" to learn exactly who and what the problem is in society these days. A good study would be the investment bankers that melted down our economy over the last few years.. The Investment Bankers all think one thing: "All for me, none for you". That only works for one person in society, themselves. Everybody else loses because the Investment Banker decides his Greed is more important than anybody else in the world. It leads to what you're talking about.... Improper logic, a lack of feeling for anybody else around you and a sociopathic desire to please yourself regardless of the effect on others in society. The bully doesn't care about anybody but himself. It's the parenting that is at fault and it's probably ignorant and uneducated parents.
In the next four years you'll see the investment bankers going to jail one by one... The responsible party will be identified and society will require justice FOR ALL.
I grew up in the time that corporal punishment (paddling) was used quite a bit. Back in those days, the 1970's we did not have school children running around killing each other. There was at least some discipline in the classroom. I did not recieve that many paddlings but most of the ones I did get I deserved. Today children are fighting teachers and principals. Being outright disrespectful. They have no sense of what respect is. They are not learning it from home. It the students do not have respect for their teachers and elders they are certainly not going to have respect for other students. Bring back the paddle to the middle and high schools and I would almost guarantee that the country would see an improvement in the students behavior and attitudes. These children must be disciplined somewhere along the line.
I don't know where many of you older folks went to school in the days of corporal punishment. Mine was a public junior high school in southern Ohio. Lots of beefed up farmer's sons and ornery preacher's kids to bully the rest of us. The large male vice-principal had the honor of discipline while wielding a huge wooden paddle with holes drilled in it. Ole Butt Buster held the most prominent display in his office for all to see.
The most notorious and feared bullies paid the bulk of visits to his office. They proudly wore the number of experiences with Ole Butt Buster like a badge of honor. I truly suspect the vice principal enjoyed the experience as well. Corporal punishment was a joke that only reinforced their wicked behavior.
I spent the last 3 months of 6th grade in pure terror at the hands of an adult sized 15 yr. old 7th grade bully that promised to continue his torture in the new year. My entire summer vacation was ruined by constant worry of returning to school in the fall. Shame prevented me from informing my family. Any word to school officials was a no-brainer. i had seen it too many times in the past with other victims. A tattle tale would become terrorized by all of the bullies instead of the single bully that had chosen him.
The first week of the following school year saw me in bed pretending to be sick. My mother became very suspicious. I would return to school on Monday or be taken to the doctor. A revelation came to me that week-end. Being beaten to death could not be worse than the last 6 months of raw terror.
Monday morning. I walked as tall as my 54" scrawny frame could carry me through the front door of school. 5 minutes later, I spied my abuser. I immediately walked straight to him and punched him with all my might in the nose. The surprise caught him off guard, so I tripped him to prevent him from catching me as I hurried to class. 15 minutes into class, the ominous intercom came to life telling my teacher to send me directly to the vice-principal's office.
I explained everything to the vice-principal. He said that regardless of past experiences, I would receive six whacks. I'll swear he said this with a crooked smile on his face. I silently stood from my chair and walked out his door to go home. My parents seemed relieved to hear my tale that explained my strange behavior for so long. I told them that I would not be returning to school to be punished for finally defending myself. They took it from there.
The strangest thing happened a few days later. My bully and a few of his cohorts in terror tried to befriend me. I had been taught that birds of the same feather flock together. I politely and graciously declined.
I would not recommend my tactics of yesteryear to school children of today. Things are completely different. Follow the first example of this poor kid. Then put your pride aside and tell everybody that will listen of your daily terror, especially your parents and teachers. There is absolutely no shame in seeking help to confront a fierce bully. You are not being a narc.
Parents and school officials have an obligation to watch for sudden behavior changes of a kid being terrorized. Your kid may succumb to fear and shame to hide his or her abuse. That is a bully's greatest hold on his victim. You are the last hope for many helpless children that may face serious harm from his aggressor or resort to suicide to end his pain.
Miss Deanna (post #1.16) I agree with you on asking why in hell the parents weren't more proactive!
The article say's that the kid was 12 when it started. Why didn't the parents either take him out of school or take care of it before their kid was paralyzed? I have kids, and when they were in school I took care of problems like this for them. The fault should be placed on the bully for the assault but where were the parents? The school may not have been able to have prevented this even while enforcing a zero tolerance policy on bullying because they can't be every place at all times. If Hunter had been bullied by the same person then they could have expelled the bully, but how could they prevent this if there had been more than one bully? They can't, even with the best policy and adherence to it. I can see why the school claims they were not in the wrong...but this article gives to little detail to say for sure.
I know how the parents could have absolutely prevented it though...and that is to have taken Sawyer out of the school. They should have. If this were my kid, I would feel responsible as well. Hopefully the bully was charged and prosecuted. If someone say's that hindsight is 20/20 and how would the parents know the assault would occur, then how would the school?
As always, not near enough detail in an MSN article to be able to know whether to agree or not.
For all we know this kid could have been a little sh*t, and had deserved to be punched that day. I've never seen someone get hit in the face for nothing before.
@Ms. Deanna
My advice? Best not speak ever again on the internet. You failed the moment you let your brain control your fingers.
@Miss Deanna
Is a phucking trolling idiot...the sh!t coming out of her 'mouth' comes staright from her brain.....like they say - sh!t rolls downhill right out of her 'mouth'
Now that that's over....with respect to the POS so-called 'bully'....send him on over to me, perhaps he would like to try and bully me, then I'll be forced to 'teach' him some manners and to keep his hands off other people. Man I'd love to get my hands on him for a few days....life would be sweet, just not for him
Miss Deanna---I think removing the victim from the school would only feed the bully's ego & encourage him to bigger & badder things: "Hey, I'm such a badass I scared this kid clear outta this school!" And what does it say to other kids w/ mean streaks in them that may have been just cruelly teasing kids but aspired to Badass Status themselves? How about a running Badass competition, who can be the meanest to the most people this month? Taking the victim out of the school doesn't really solve anything, & I don't think it would do any favors to the victim's mental/emotional state. What're the other kids going to think about him? Is this just going to make him look like "mommy & daddy's little boy" & lead to more social problems for him?
What an inspiration this boy is! Rather than pull away and cease to exist, he rose above his traumatic past and is and will always be successful in life. The bully...I'm sure he will move on to torment others as he lives out his miserable life.
Bullies typically have low self-esteem and/or a bad home life. Perhaps he comes from a wealthy household with parents who have no time for him. Either way, his parents have failed him. As parents, it is our responsiblity to constantly guide and discipline our children. My kids are 14, 16, and 17, and I am involved in every aspect of their lives. I monitor their facebooks, emails, text messages, etc... I know when someone is bothering them and I would know if they ever harassed someone. I've taught them better. They actually come to me for guidance when they feel a friend is headed down the wrong path. Yes, my kids do get into trouble as typical teens do. The difference is that there are consequesnces for their actions and they know it. I follow through with a punishment that fits the crime. Sadly, many parents I know fail to follow through. Empty threats mean absolutely nothing and kids figure this out at an early age!
Some people blame video games and movies for violence in kids. The truth is that parents are to blame. When bullying happens at school, the school is to blame as well as the parents. Schools should be proactive rather than turning a blind eye until something horrible happens. I hear a lot of cases where the child who is being bullied is punished for fighting back. Really? Is that what we want to teach our kids...to just lie down and take it? My kids have never been in a physical fight and I do not condone it. However, I will back up my child 100% anytime he/she stands up for hiself/herself.
This case certainly sets precedent. Perhaps if schools are worried about getting slapped with a multi-million judgement, they will take a more active roll in preventing bullying and a child's voice will be heard.
It remains to be seen if he actually get the money. Just because he won in court it doesn't mean much these days. Now try and collect. I hope he does.
Lawyers will get about half. So sad that the school district had to pay. That's $4.2 million taken from other students. That's taxpayer money paying for one tragic event caused by a dumb, unloved kid. I'm sorry for this boy who was bullied and now lives a lower quality of life, but really, why would you go after the school district for money? Why hold taxpayers accountable? That's kind of sickening, no offense.
The insurance company paid.
Since it was the school system that settled and not the actual person that did the bullying it is likely that it will be paid minus of course the lawyer's 33%.
kim, I find it amazing that you could even ask such a ridiculous question. All I can say is try reading the article from the beginning through to the end. If you can manage to do that little thing, ask you self the same dumb question regarding the school district.
I hope he gets EVERY SINGLE PENNY.
@kimposibl - Are you kidding me? You go after the school because, in this particular case, the student was asking for help from the school and documented that he was being bullied. School officials *knew* this was going on. Clearly the school did little to stop the bully, and the student paid a very high price for that inaction.
You tell me...if your own kid suffered through this what would you do? Just shrug your shoulders and say, "oh well"?
Tara, I guess you missed reading the paragraph that stated that the bully's family settled two years ago.
@DotCom, some people's stupidity just amazes me, most that post only read the headline but then to put themselves out there for god and everyone who can read an entire article...
Such a shame it had to come to this. The school is supposed to set up a safe environment for the kids! Since this young man actually had the smarts to write letters to the school to make his complaints official, the plaintiff was able to show how the schools efforts were hugely inadequate at best or completely nonexistent! I would love to hear more about what ramifications the actual bully had to suffer as well. Perhaps this is the lesson school districts needed to be more pro-active in stopping physical bullying in the future. Bullied children and their parents need to make complaints in writing rather than just with a visit to the principal! Keep records! Sometimes you have to sue to get changes made in managements.
kimposibl...This young man, as a little boy, did what he was probably told to do his whole life: Tell a grownup. He did, they did nothing, the bullying continued and he now suffers everyday for it. Had this school district had a REAL anti-bullying policy in place, the bully would have been suspended every time there was an incident, the parents of this miscreant would have been brought to school for a counseling session every time there was an incident, a report would go to each of his teachers, warning them what type of thug was in their midst...any number of things could have been done if the school took its responsibility to guard the welfare of its students seriously.
Meanwhile the bully is living it up. I'm sure he's the star athlete of his college football team and every week he gets a new girlfriend by cheating on the one he had previously.
read the article....they settled. He'll get what the lawyers dont.
Kim - look at it this way... he wrote a letter a few months before it happened... ASKING for help. In the letter it also states that he wants it to be on record that there were issues with him being bullied previously.
19 surgeries. spinal fusion. scoliosis. Pretty sure he'll never walk again.
I'm sure the surgeries cost a whole lot.
Regardless if the school district accepts the blame for it, they knew about it. And they failed to do anything about it.
I was bullied as well. It really sucks in school when mostly everybody hates you. How it ended was that I had stuck up for a "friend" who had a very big mouth and no way to back it up. The guy who the loudmouth picked on was a smart kid who had height and weight over him.... and i used the incredibly cliche "why dont you pick on someone your own size" as the guy weighed more than i did, but i was taller.
So next thing you know i was going to be in my first fight within 2 days. I told my parents, and they knew i was picked on a lot and that i couldnt get out of this or else it would be worse. At the start of the fight, one friend i had went to get the vice principal, cause he thought i'd lose. (everyone thought i'd lose)
Turns out... i had a lot of anger, and wound up taking it out on his face. For my remaining two years in jr. high, people left me alone. I gained some respect. I still think the whole thing is stupid and so "after school special"
My point is... i was lucky. Lucky neither of us had anything other than a busted bloodied lip, and broken pride (we were actually friendly, both before and after) Not to mention the Vice Principal scared the crap out of the other people who instigated the fight.
Sawyer wasnt so lucky. I wish him every success in life.
The insurance company pays. However, they will probably raise premiums, and might even not renew policy. Either way it affect administrators at the school. I hope he gets every cent and soaked the bully's parents as well. They have to be held accountable for their little sociopath.
Since it was settled out of court, they will pay him.
The key part of this story is the documentation. And, the documentation has to be something that is not in the hands of the school. The school will "disappear" all documentation in the case of an injury (probably before). Meetings with a principal are going to be written down by the principal (do you really think that s/he will put down anything that will make the school liable?).
Yes, the email messages were key. Everyone needs to be CC'd on the matter, and everyone should take to doing this. Each incident should be written up and emailed. The student should be able to document, and have a document that is recognized in court, of his/her own version. Once students who are bullied start to document the bullying, and parents have access to documents which will be recognized in court, then something can be done.
Schools figured out long ago that if no one speaks to the press and they keep all their own documentation private, that no one can do anything. Theoretically, one has a right to the documentation kept by the school and by teachers--but try to get it. I did once, and the principal knew full well that if I got a copy, I could sue. I never did get the documentation--and my daughter was treated badly from then on. Someone needs, also, to enforce the law that says that one should be able to get documentation--one should not have to hire a lawyer just to get schools to comply with the law. A certain number of cases in which they refuse, and the principal should be immediately fired.
It's the documentation that's key--and that's something we can all work on.
the larger issue i see here is that 4.2 million dollars is a loss. Im sure it wont go very far with all the medical expenses he will have to pay for the rest of his life, and thats not cheap. 4.2 million goes very fast unless invested properly. if not it could be gone in less than ten years and all for medical. i think he should have gotten 10 million or more.
Beana - i agree...
I think the other thing that can be done by those of us who either have, or may have children one day (i'm in the second camp) is to teach our children not to be monsters.
@Archeim, I agree, but look at the posts on this board and then come and tell me what these people are teaching their kids!
Blame everybody but the parents. I've lived in other countries where they still have corporal punishment, but not a hand is laid on that kid until the parents are present! Double whammy! Guess, what? It didn't happen often because the kids knew what was expected of them and the consequences if they disobeyed. Everyone was involved -- the teachers, the administrators, and most of all, the parents
To George 369262 I know how to fight and had manyfights growing up mostly because I was willing to stick up for what i thought was right . Just because you think this young man's parents should have taught him to fight does not mean he would have stood a chance against this bully in a scrap. Although I can fight , I could not go toe to toe with a Mike tyson or Muhhamed Ali. Just a the plain truth a smaller man has less of a chance against a bigger more powerful one . I stood up for a kid being bullied back in the 70's at school and no other kid would do anything , but I did . Later another boy came up to me and said he was glad I had stood up for the other kid . I had 2 sisters , I was more of a straight arrow but both of them became drug addicts and also loved to get stone drunk, but we were brought up in the same house with the same parents , and with strict rules . I know my sister's worried my parents sick, and my parents tried everything to control them , butdid no good. i grew up during a different time then now , but there were bullies then and I guess will always be. Someone has to stand up and not turntheir head . If as an adult I am assaulted on the street then the police become involved , why not with children , If someone is assaulted then the police should take matters into their own hands , if the schools can't or wont do anything to stem the bullying . I will tell you one thing I have never liked a bully , and given a chance I am more then willing to teach any bully a lesson they won't soon forget . Kids need to learn as soon as possible that if they cause another harm in someway , that they will have to pay .Just wish I knew this bully , I am sure I could teach him a lesson he would not soon forget
Why not go after the bully with this law suit? Oh, that's right , very shallow pockets compared to the tax payer funded school district. $4.3M looks like some classes will have to go to pay it off. So instead of holding the responsible party liable, they opt for suing the school district. Typical. I say send the bully to juvenile detention until he is an adult and hold the parents financially liable for their monster. Oh, I know, that's not fair to the parents, after all, the clearly are not involved in the kids life. I feel for this kid, his life will be quite different than had it not happened, no question. But, they went after the money rather than deal with holding the kid responsible for his actions. Future rapist or murderer that kid, and his parents will swear "He was such a sweet boy, he's been framed". Please, Parental delusion is a dangerous thing.
I had a kid bully me in junior high, right up until I had enough and broke his jaw with a roll of nickels in my fist. Yes, he was older and bigger than me, and I broke two finger in the process, but, it stopped his crap instantly. And his three toadies weren't real eager to get the same. It's amazing how quickly a bully isn't after 8 weeks of eating through a straw because his jaw was wired shut. But, this was a million years ago, when common sense was just that and kids would get the butts whipped for even minor acts like this. I can't imagine my fathers reaction would have been had I paralyzed another kid. He probably would have handed me over to the cops himself. Of course, we were taught better back then. Parents actually knew what their kids were up to and took stepped to curtail any such activity. What a novel concept.
Sawyer, you are an incredible young man. Your parents must be so proud of you. It's obvious that you will have a successful life because you will meet any challenge head on.
My best wishes for you and your family.
Nicodemus -
read the article again (assuming you even read it once). They did take action against the bully's family, and settled 2 years ago.
The boy's wonderful lawyer will get his 40% from the settlement, then Uncle Sam will tax the money the remaining money that the kid gets as "Un-earned Income" or approx. 35 to 40% on the amount over $250k, which will leave ole Rosenstein feeling like he just got the crapola beat out of him by his very own Lawyer and the Lawyers in Congress.
It's a happy ending story for the Lawyers only, the boy remains paralyzed, his physical limitations are real, and will remain real for the rest of his life. That settlement isn't near enough to pay for what he's lost and will continue to lose as a result. Only the Lawyers won, that's it, end of story.
There's a reason that more than 95% of all the lawyers in the WORLD are right here in America. If you want CHANGE, vote'em out this November, and every subsequent election year that follows... every last 1 of them, get'em out..... especially Obama. Start voting-in people with real world experience, successful businessmen and women only please.... flush the lawyers down the toilet to where the belong, on a big pile of shyt.
If a candidate has never been successful with his/her own abilitys in the real world, why in the hell would you want them to write the laws that you and I have to live by and abide. That shyt happens in 3rd world countries and banana republics. Time for CHANGE, no more political cronyism, anything is better than Obama, absolutely anything.
Allison, the way I read it, the family did settle but that was a prior incident "citing prior punching incidents with others. The family settled with that student two years ago". It does mention, though, that they filed a lawsuit against others, including the boy.
And Kat, I agree. What are we teaching our kids when we talk the way we do, not just here but on any site where there is heated debate. How wrong is it for us to criticize the bully and then call others we don't even know derogatory names. Our children catch on to this attitude.
As a side note, does anyone know what actually happened to this bully? I certainly hope he spends a good amount of time in prison, and then when he gets out I hope he spends many years paying Sawyer for the injury he caused.
Why didn't they mention what happened to the POS that hit him.
Hey Dufus - you post STARTED out good until you bought Obama into this. First off - What does OBAMA have to do with this case??
SECOND - ALL of the BULLYING, FEARMONGERING, LIES, HATE and INTIMIDATION is coming from the RIGHT!!
Bullying in fact -will only get WORSE if we elect a REPUG - just look at the comments Ted Nugent made the other day!!
I hope that a key part of the settlement with the parents of the thug that crippled this young man was a criminal court plea bargain that included hard time for the bully. Evidently he had a track record that was ignored by the school district which made them liable.
But there is actually only one bad guy in this story. If he did not face serious personal consequences as a result of his criminal assault of young Mr. Rosenstein, society and the legal system probably will have to deal with him again in the future. So I hope that Sawyer's parents pressed criminal charges and saw that the bully received appropriate jail time for his crimes against their son.
Today's kids being harassed by bullies should form alliances with other tech savvy kids to use their camera phones to record the bullies in action and to press criminal charges once the digital evidence gives law enforcement probable cause.
School administrators that have accepted it for years as "rites of passage" are learning that bullying is not nor ever was "innocent fun" just because the perpetrators were usually the cool popular kids from good families. They were in denial and now are facing real life in this age of instant media.
Standing up to bullies should be a community effort in a perfect world. If a beginner bully is shamed with words in front of his peers, there's a good chance he'll find another way to attract attention. If USA is the land of freedom and liberty, our kids should be free from wedgies, noogies and character assassination just because they are smart, small or not popular.
Good luck to Sawyer in pursuit of his studies at Syracuse and life in general.
The best way to handle a bully is when they first start bust them just as hard as you can square in the nose. Then while their eyes are watering and the searing pain is going through them beat their bully ass. It only takes one time and that one won't bother you anymore. People need to learn their children to defend themselves because the schools aren't going to do anything. That is the only thing these bully cowards understand. They pick people they think won't defend themselves or fight back.
Sawyer you are a great inspiration,indeed! Bulling is a criminal act and the school is responsible for the security of their students. You will do amazing things in life and use well that money...the World is with you! Blessings!
My son who was shy and enrolled in a new school was bullied. After 3 Months of this Bully doing the unbelievable things to my son. (humiliating him in front of other students in the hall) The last time this bully stuck a pencil into my son's cheek and told him today was the day he was getting his butt kicked. Other choice of words were used. My son threw his backpack down and faced him. Yes, he was wrong and took the first punch. But, he couldn't take it anymore and the Bully twice his size never got a punch in. Long process, court and my son got put on probation. Which for me and him was fine. He didn't know anyone, never been in trouble, and never went out in the evening. ( he was givin a curfew) The bully continued his behavior and my son gradutated and is successful. A caring young man at that time, I can't count how many times he said sorry for all the trouble he put me through. My son was always taught don't throw the first punch and if you can walk away. He couldn't just walk away, but he was able to after doing what he did. These kids need to stop. Sawyer you are an inspiration. I wish you the best, and after reading this story. I'm so thankful my son was able to walk away and continue on with walkin leaving the past behind him. Bless you...
Duphas, Since this settlement is most likely compensatory (to cover his bodily injury) and not punitive, it will NOT be taxable income. Only punitive settlements are taxed.....
You can argue back and forth on the semantics of a settlement agreement until Molly the cow comes home. However, in the world of "the bottom line says it all" agreeing to and paying out a settlement of 4.2 million dollars is an admission of guilt in and of itself.
Tara -
"The family settled with that student [the puncher] two years ago. The terms are confidential."
The schoold board's denials sound pretty limp against the evidence.
$4.2 million dollars. From the school. School's that educate people he's gonna take $4.2 million dollars from them and call it closure. Really. Most schools systems are going broke in this country, but he's OK with taking $4.2 million dollars from them because one stupid bully made a stupid decision, the schools and taxpayers are punished. Then people stand back and wonder... Why is our country going broke? We are the wealthiest nation in the world!!(I heard some liberal say that on TV two nights ago, trying to argue that we should start giving more money to poor people). We we're wealthy, but now we're going down the crapper. Why, wasted money. Plain and simple, wasted money.
It's tragic for him and I hope there is some left for him after all the legal fees are charged to him. Here again is the same pattern the attacked have to dig and fight out in the public, risking all and the guilty slink around in the dark and are protected from public at every turn, can't be revealed who it is or what kind of punishment if any was imposed on them. This publicity would be a much bigger deterrent for bullies all over then all these secret settlements ever will.
Another deterrent is to expose the bully. His name is KENNETH MAJOR Jr. 20 years old from Ramsey, NJ. I found this out in the NJ Law Journal article about this case. Read it if you have the time. Also found out that KENNETH MAJOR Jr was arrested on March 22, 2012 for posession with intent to distribute narcotics. This was in the Bergen Record on March 23, and can be found on Mahwah patch .com.
In case anyone is wonder about who the bully is. I found an article that had his name. It's Kenneth Major. Here's a link to that article if anyone wants to read it
I think it is totally wrong of you to post his name here! I went to school with this boy, and he was no bully. In fact, he was one of the nicest kids I have ever met. What the media fails to recognize is that Sawyer verbally provoked this boy by saying totally disrespectful things (that I will not mention because people like you don't deserve to know). Also, the punch did not cause a blood clot to form - it was already there. Do not presume to know everything about this case because the fact is, you didn't grow up in Ramsey while this was happening.
I advise you to remove your comment. You are ruining a boys life by posting his name on an internet cite. I don't see any reason why the world must know his name when it could ruin his life. The article kindly did not mention his name. Show some class and leave the kid alone.
school mate You are right, it probably isn't a good idea to post the kid's name...but how is it that you know that the evidence and medical diagnosis are incorrect? 99.9% of people who get blood clots at his age are a result of injuries.
I agree school mate.
janellect. Please post data proving your comment about the 99%.
And in the end.If Sawyer was the one making bullying comments, then he has no right to cry about it when he gets punched. It sucks that he is paralyzed, but perhaps he should have kept his mouth shut.
The lawyer is right, its one thing to have a BULLY policy written down but enforcing is another story. I know of a case right now the school is doing nothing to the bully but continues to harass the kids that are being bullied. So the kids feel as if they have no where to turn. The bully is a well known family in the town and no one wants to piss them off. So the kids continue to be hurt and bullied while nothing is done. Teachers and Principal dont want to hear it, the cops just say its kids being kids. Look at the case above, this, when someone finally gets involved, after someone either dies or seriously injured.
cmach, you sure are gullible. Please don't hurt yourself and under no circumstances answer an email claiming to be from the family of Gaddafi wanting to transfer funds.
Hey patrick? @!$%# off.
Spinal stroke:
It does not commonly occur spontaneously in young people. I would hope that the insurance company made sure he did not have a blood clot before he was injured... it seems highly unlikely they would payout if that were true. Even if he had a pre-existing condition that made blood clots more likely, it still resulted from the trauma.
All you people who are bashing the kid for not knowing how to fight please read the article again! The bully punched him in the back. It's hard to fight back when you are attacked from behind by a coward who won't face you. The pain that must have run through his body after being punched hard enough to cause that type of injury had to be undescribable.
I don't believe the crap about the verbal abuse by the victim or a previous medical condition. That's just a Mama who won't face the truth.
It's wrong to fight. PERIOD! But, sometimes, you get an idiot that just doesn't know when to stop, so, the one being bullied will have to take matters into his/her own hands if they can. I hope all schools will actually look at bullying for what it is and help stop it. It's a problem within the mind of the person doing the bullying. They need some sort of mental help (or a cage) earlier rather than later.
Went through this situation with my own son. Physical and mental scars because of it. The bullier ended up bullying and beating his eventual wife and kids. Is in jail for drugs, battery, theft, etc. My son is an adult now, but still carries the mental scars from being bullied for years with him to this day. The bullier and his wife no longer have custody of their children because of the problems caused by his bullying. Those poor babies were eventually adopted by another family but were old enough to remember what had happened. Hopefully their new family will raise them right.
It is a sad ending for everyone, even the bully. What a waste. . .
Whatever. The kid punched him in the stomach. Not in the back. And Sawyer was the big mouth here.
cmach, I thought i shut you up. "Sawyer was the big mouth" I would like to see you prove that. That crap never happened but you believe anything and then you perpetuate it, wise up man. Just because someone claims something in a blog you believe it? It would be laughable if it wasn't such a pathetic indictment on the internet.
patrick. If you want to shut me up you are welcome to come here and try. You WILL find your big mouth should have stayed shut!
So not only do you believe everything you read by unsubstantiated sources, you also talk with bravado over the internet. Wow, two big no no's.
Meh. Guess I will actually put someone on ignore. What an ass.
The student that punched him should have been caned in front of the entire school class. That'll stop it!
Yup, old school techniques! Make an example of this bully.
Yes, after he paralyses someone. I don't see how that fixes anything for anyone.
I guess if we had more guns they can just self-defend their way out of bullying.
Do you really want a stranger caning your kid regardless of what he/she did?
If the school authorities aren't going to handle the situation, I would be fine with the kid if he had popped the bully in the head with 9mm round. The bully would be stopped, and the victim wouldn't have been paralyzed.
I would then still have sued the school district for forcing that action to be taken because they are such craven cowards they would not stand up to a bully and discipline him
do you really want a stranger caning your child regardless of what he/she did???
how about we look at the facts of how far children can go yes at times even though you love your child tremendously above and beyond it can come to the fact that you can do whatever and still not get it across to your child but someone else can be it through vocal or physical stimulation
stick your finger in fire it burns and if you continue to do it well??????? one less in the gene pool
In addition to the money the young man won, I think the bully should have to give him half of his paycheck for the rest of his life.
No, it won''t.
I went to school in England in the 60s, and public caning was the policy for several offenses, one of them being beating up someone from the lower forms. This did not deter the guilty and gave them a bit of hero status among their camp followers.
RTypo....dang skippy I do. Whup his tail and then send him home to me for another round of whup a**. It may be what saves that child's life one day...one day you may pick on the wrong one and not live to talk about your conquest...so...yes, kick his a** and I will do it again just to drive the point home.
I remember when I was in school, if I got in trouble for an offense that required corporal punishment (swats). I was in for another round when I got home. And rightly so. The school system where I attended had very few major discipline problems. I agree with SweetAZ. Deter the bad behavior when they are young, and you can save them and others a lifetime of heartache.
gordonw12 - the mentality you espouse here is part of what is wrong with this country. This idea that children can't be held accountable to anyone but their parents is bullsh!t. If your kid is acting like a little piece of sh!t in the supermarket and you aren't disciplining him, you'd better believe that I will. And that is a fact.
Scabby, you sound like a bully yourself. Go ahead and take the disciplining of someone else's kid into your own hands and see what happens. I imagine others (not just the parents) will decide they don't like you "acting like a piece of sh!t" and may decide to do their own disciplining. I know a lot of guys that talk big like you are doing, but in reality they would back down if their wife just gives them that look. That kind of talk doesn't help anything.
I don't know where many of you older folks went to school in the days of corporal punishment. Mine was a public junior high school in southern Ohio. Lots of beefed up farmer's sons and ornery preacher's kids to bully the rest of us. The large male vice-principal had the honor of discipline while wielding a huge wooden paddle with holes drilled in it. Ole Butt Buster held the most prominent display in his office for all to see.
The most notorious and feared bullies paid the bulk of visits to his office. They proudly wore the number of experiences with Ole Butt Buster like a badge of honor. I truly suspect the vice principal enjoyed the experience as well. Corporal punishment was a joke that only reinforced their wicked behavior.
I spent the last 3 months of 6th grade in pure terror at the hands of an adult sized 15 yr. old 7th grade bully that promised to continue his torture in the new year. My entire summer vacation was ruined by constant worry of returning to school in the fall. Shame prevented me from informing my family. Any word to school officials was a no-brainer. i had seen it too many times in the past with other victims. A tattle tale would become terrorized by all of the bullies instead of the single bully that had chosen him.
The first week of the following school year saw me in bed pretending to be sick. My mother became very suspicious. I would return to school on Monday or be taken to the doctor. A revelation came to me that week-end. Being beaten to death could not be worse than the last 6 months of raw terror.
Monday morning. I walked as tall as my 54" scrawny frame could carry me through the front door of school. 5 minutes later, I spied my abuser. I immediately walked straight to him and punched him with all my might in the nose. The surprise caught him off guard, so I tripped him to prevent him from catching me as I hurried to class. 15 minutes into class, the ominous intercom came to life telling my teacher to send me directly to the vice-principal's office.
I explained everything to the vice-principal. He said that regardless of past experiences, I would receive six whacks. I'll swear he said this with a crooked smile on his face. I silently stood from my chair and walked out his door to go home. My parents seemed relieved to hear my tale that explained my strange behavior for so long. I told them that I would not be returning to school to be punished for finally defending myself. They took it from there.
The strangest thing happened a few days later. My bully and a few of his cohorts in terror tried to befriend me. I had been taught that birds of the same feather flock together. I politely and graciously declined.
I would not recommend my tactics of yesteryear to school children of today. Things are completely different. Follow the first example of this poor kid. Then put your pride aside and tell everybody that will listen of your daily terror, especially your parents and teachers. There is absolutely no shame in seeking help to confront a fierce bully. You are not being a narc.
Parents and school officials have an obligation to watch for sudden behavior changes of a kid being terrorized. Your kid may succumb to fear and shame to hide his or her abuse. That is a bully's greatest hold on his victim. You are the last hope for many helpless children that may face serious harm from his aggressor or resort to suicide to end his pain.
Mine was a public junior high school in southern Ohio. Lots of beefed up farmer's sons and ornery preacher's kids to bully the rest of us. The large male vice-principal had the honor of discipline while wielding a huge wooden paddle with holes drilled in it. Ole Butt Buster held the most prominent display in his office for all to see. Sounds just like Northmont Jr High(Clayton,Ohio).....The paddle was wicked and was a big deterrent for bad children and some good children that couldn't take no more bullying .
I have worked in school security for three years and have some first hand knowledge of what goes on and why. For example, many administrators are reluctant to enforce "zero tolerance" policies. They are limited by law as to how many days they can suspend a student. Habitual offenders are often let off easy because of these laws. Expulsion or placement in an ALC is a difficult option because of the "rights" of problem students. First they must compile sufficient evidence to convene an S-team. (support mechanisms of low level intervention) After a minimum of 3 months of s-team meetings and evaluations, they can then move to i-team. (more aggressive Intervention) Followed by many more months of observation and modification. Then there must be more months of process before a problem student can be "staffed out": without fear of loosing a lawsuit. (And there most likely will be a suit to stop the action) And as far as "staffing out" a student for a zero tolerance violation, FORGET THAT TOO! These events have to be reported and that just looks bad, so unless there is a VERY PUBLIC violation, they usually get swept under a rug! Hit people in the wallet! That will get some attention - BTW The school's insurance company paid the settlement! Not the taxpayers - And the family of the bully also got hit in the wallet with an undisclosed settlement as well. And I would be surprised of the administration and the guidance counselor also get hit. (They have liability insurance that covers them too)
Gordon -
Not regarless of what your child did, but because of it.
Want to stop bullying overnight? Prosecute and sentence children for violent acts against other children the same as you would prosecute adults who did the same thing to other adults. Sent the punks to juvenile detention centers and let them experience being stalked and attacked by bigger, older kids. If they are bigger than the other juveniles, make them do time in an adult prison. That will end bullying immediately.
you people are so gullible. nothing happened to the "bully". i went to school with him my entire life. this entire story is a lie. sawyer started the entire situation by cracking a wise joke about the "bully's" deceased mother. the "bully" then punched him in his side. yes, very tragic that it lead to paralysis, but it was a freak accident. personally, if someone insulted my deceased mother, the kid would be dead. end of story. the "bully" is one of the nicest, sweetest, most friendly human beings i have ever met, while sawyer would run over kids feet in the hallways with his wheelchair thinking that everybody owed him something since he was paralyzed. this is the simple case of only getting one side of the story. come to sawyer's home town and we'll tell you the real story. and the real story is that sawyer got himself into the situation, and he started the fight. he deserved the punch he got from the "bully". nobody deserves paralysis, but i assure that wasnt the "bully's" intention. it was a freak accident and nothing more. sawyer, thanks for ruining the life of a kind hearted young man who has lost both his parents. you being a jerk about an accident that you started really is pathetic. you never make fun of someone's deceased parents. you deserved the punch and you know it, now come out to the public and tell everyone the truth, not this horse**** story about how he was a bully. TELL THE TRUTH OR LET THE MEDIA COME TO SAWYER'S HOMETOWN AND WE WILL. the so called "bully" doesnt deserve this @!$%#.
Maybe more schools will take bullying more seriously.
Why should they, it is not their money going out.
Did you not read the article T Melora? It says that the New Jersey School District paid the settlement. Good thing you don't live in that district, eh?
In a statement, the Ramsey Board of Education said that after three years of depositions and pre-trial discovery, its insurance carriers agreed to the settlement.
I think what Melora probably meant is that the "school board's" personal money is not going out. It is the (insurance) money of the school district.
kimposibl:
Reading comprehension must be difficult for you. If you read the article and comprehended what it said you would know why T Melora said what he/she said. I'll help you out a little:
"In a statement, the Ramsey Board of Education said that after three years of depositions and pre-trial discovery, its insurance carriers agreed to the settlement."
Bullying won't be taken seriously because of two reasons: Fear of lawsuit if parents think they were too strict on student discipline and many don't care since it's not their kid getting his butt kicked.
@kim, I was surprised to see your Post #4.2 after having read your Post #2.1 with the last 3 questions.
Thanks
I"m all for this too, but what same justice will kids get who commit suicide? No one has spoken up for them. They only get a quick headline or two, but who will pony up dough?
Do people not read the full article before commenting? WTH?
No, Jeanette, many people do not read full articles (plural because this occurs too frequently with other articles) before commenting. Otherwise, they would have picked up the multiple typos in the article, as well as understand what it said.
Typos aside, they would have a better understanding of life if they took the time out and read an entire article or god forbid---and entire book before posting crazy comments!
If they can't read an entire article what does this say about their children and school?
I glad some people knew what I was meaning to say. Why would things change in a system when other people money (insurance included ) are paying for law suites. And like some already noted that tax money pays for insurances that pays these law suites. When people are liable for their own actions and have to pay out their own pocket you watch and see how fast things will change. But I don't think that will ever happen because insurances will always be there. I was wondering why the parents of the bully wasn't sued instead. But that won't happen either because that would make parents responsible for their kids behavior.
I took my grand daughters to a funeral this morning. The cause of the death was bullying. There should be laws tough enough on bullying to protect our children when we can't be there, as parents and grandparents, to do so.
T Melora - the insurance company may be paying for it but their rates are sure to go up and they could potentially be dropped. Even better, insurance carriers may start requiring school districts to have and enforce anti-bullying policies. This is all good.
Bravo for this young man and his family, for not taking a victim stance and appealing for justice and retribution with dignity and honor!
Not that I necessarily disagree, but I think this is the first time I've seen someone specifically associate the words "not taking a victim stance" with the act of suing a school district for $4 million over the actions of a student.
Ash...let me see if I understand your statement. You equate suing the school district with taking a "victim stance"??? Really? It is called accountability and has nothing whatsoever to do with this young man's stance on life. He is positive, smart and has not given up on life....that my dear is NOT a victim.
Ash - that is such a ridiculous thing to say. He did his part to make sure the school authorities had what they needed to resolve the situation. They should have done something about it. If he was acting like a victim, he would be pointing the finger at them and blaming them for his circumstance in life. He has dealt with it graciously, survived, and moved on with his life. They have been held accountable and will hopefully handle things differently next time so that another student doesn't have to experience anything like what he has experienced. He's an amazing kid.
Glad the young man won his civil suit case. But problem is the poor tax payers of his school district are the ones who will be paying for this...they the tax payers are the school district and had nothing to do with this.. school district has insurance of course..but then that goes up ten fold now to have..AMERICA!
The suit should of been against the kid who punched him also..hope they will get that next trial.
Ahhh..they settle a law suit against the puncher/ bully two years ago..missed reading it at end of article.
Mike227 you're absolutely right, and I think most of the people here skipped over that fact, or maybe they just don't know how to read? Taxpayers are forced to suffer and so will the other children when teachers start getting laid off and supplies run low. So sad....
Mike - the school district's rates will not go up 10 percent. That's not how it works. However - agree with you on the suit being against the violent thug punk who punched him. I certainly hope AT LEAST assault charges were filed against the (why?) unnamed p rick who hit this young man. Creep. Dick less.
Perhaps the fact that the tax payers have to pay, as everyone is lamenting, will force them to make changes to the their district's board of education, that allowed this school to have policy that they did not enforce. If the taxpayers don't want to pay, then hold the tax paid leaders of the school district responsible and have them replaced.
Yankee..I never said the school district rates would go up 10..I meant the school districts insurance policy will go up ten fold..cost more now to insure that school district.
kimposibl the INSURANCE company settled..NOT the taxpayers..there will be no laid off teachers or low running supplies or suffering taxpayers because of this ruling..
@ thfan..in a way correct..but now it cost more for insurance..and that money could of went to other school means..like a new computer class or something.
Insurance for a school district cost a lot..and if any major claims against the insurance company..they will indeed raise their rates!
Mike227 you're absolutely right, and I think most of the people here skipped over that fact, or maybe they just don't know how to read? Taxpayers are forced to suffer and so will the other children when teachers start getting laid off and supplies run low. So sad....
Um, Kim? What's sad here is the fact that you apparently did read this article but still didn't get it that the taxpayers do not have to pay the settlement. Go back and re-read.
@ thfan..in a way correct..but now it cost more for insurance..and that money could of went to other school means..like a new computer class or something.
Not by as much as you think, Mike. The point is, the school failed to act on its policy and this boy was hurt beyond repair. He deserves the money.
guys if the school settled through insurance coverage, their premiums will go up significantly especially since they were at fault, this will raise taypayer contributions to the schools. I say no more free school for people, everyone should pay in some form based on income, with a minimum payment for everyone, afterall they can use their welfare money to pay for school for their kids, or they can have their kids taken away from them, good choice i say.
also those that use private schools don't have to pay that particular fee, as it is now, people whose kids go to private school are paying for kids whose parents don't pay taxes to go to school for free, that is not in any way fair.
"I say no more free school for people, everyone should pay in some form based on income, with a minimum payment for everyone, afterall they can use their welfare money to pay for school for their kids, or they can have their kids taken away from them, good choice i say."
Yeah....totally agree. Like if, I dunno, everyone was to pay a portion of their income as a sort of...let's call it "income tax"....and that "tax" money would go to support education. And maybe we could also require people to pay a portion of what they buy and sell....golly, let's call that a "sales tax"...and a portion of that money would go to schools, too. Hell of an idea. Why didn't we think of it sooner?
I been paying school taxes since I was 24 years old and now I'm 66. I never had children or any live with me.
Its the law, you have to pay it or move some place where you don't.
And where I live..the school taxes is 68% of my taxes, but I like it here so I pay.
Kat yes teachers may be laid off but where we they when the bullying went on, the teachers are on hte front line and see the bullying that goes on more than the administration maybe the teachers need to step up a little more.
Actually they need to stop taking my taxes for your children and start taxing parents for each child that they have. Learn how to use a condom or alternative protection even if it's "against your religion", it's called being responsible.
Kim: For cryin out loud...go somewhere quiet and read the article slowly.
Jeannette-maybe Kim was bullied in class for being stupid and never learned how to read (as her multiple posts have proven).
@Moparfan:
Good grief, another freakin' Randian Libertard moron..."Why should my taxes got towards something I neither use nor support?"
Because other peoples taxes go to pay for things you do use and/or support but they don't. What do you want...lots of little check boxes on the 1040 form (or the state and local equivalents) indicating how you want your taxes distributed?
why does this guy have to pay 40 years of taxes for schools he never used. not fair i say, i say u pay based on what you use!u have 5 kids that go to school u pay "taxes" for that, u have no kids but make 500K per year u pay no school related taxes. everything should be accounted for. BS otherwise. cause there are people who pay like what 1k per year in taxes but have 5 kids using all kinds of public education while they are people paying $200K in taxes and not sending any kids to public school. stop giving people more than they deserve america! figure it out, the rest of the world, ie china etc doesn't do that. that's why they do so well, they make people pay for what they use.
This young man whose life was forever changed by the actions of a Bully laid out the answer to stopping this crap and you all missed it. DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT. Report to the top and it all runs down hill. You report the incidents and keep a log. Yep, denial is much harder when you leave a paper trail. The School Board is still denying responsibility but lawyers know if this case went to court they would be found liable and it would cost so much more. As a Foster Parent I saw a lot of bullying done to my boys who were many of them born victims. They knew me by name at the District Office and it all stopped.
Tell and keep telling.
Curry dude-You own your home you pay taxes. Those taxes go to services such as fire and police community development and yea, schools. Same if you rent it just goes through the landlord. Unless you can find a place to squat your going to be paying for schools as well as all the other services you do use. Can you imagine how impossible it would be to add/subtract each persons tax rates based on what they use/ don't use??? Ain't gonna ever happen so folks better get over it and pay your property taxes.
because this prick couldnt defend himself the tax payers are out all that money. learn to fight. I got bullied as a child and it made me a stronger person. besides what happend to the bully? did he get jail time?
Anybody that thinks that these school officials walked away unscathed haven't thought this incident through. School board members are elected officials that answer to the electorate. Individual school officials are employees that answer to the school board. A case of this magnitude with the glaring national press and huge monetary settlement surely sent heads rolling. If not, you can only blame the weak-kneed electorate in this district that allowed such a travesty.
The disavowal of all officials to negligence (or complicity) in this matter, as a condition to the settlement, was to protect individual officials and school board members from further liability. I would like to think that I would have refused such an offer and gone to court to hold all responsible parties accountable.
I haven't walked a mile in this family's shoes. I can't imagine the horror of watching my son endure such excruciating pain after the enormous emotional toll he experienced while trying his best to avoid this very tragedy. His wishes to put all of this behind him would probably be my guiding light. I feel certain his parents were led by that same light.
May God bless this very brave young man and his family for the rest of their lives. I believe that we can rest assured that the horrible guilt carried on the shoulders of those most responsible will be carried throughout the rest of their lives.
The only good that come from such an injustice is to rally all of us to demand policies (and strict enforcement of such policies) to prevent or curtail re-occurrences of such a travesty.
I am so sickened by what happened to this young man that I can only hope that those most responsible suffer from horrible guilt every waking moment of their miserable lives.
But somehow I doubt it.
Many school districts do nothing about bullying. Yet if you strike a bully, they will throw the book at you.
Heaven knows how many times I got suspended for punching bullies throughout my life, mostly because I "laid hands on them when I should've told the principal." Sorry, but I'm not going to be a freaking wimp and tell when I can take matters into my own hands - especially when many school districts turn a blind eye to bullying. One time I told the principal right to his face "Well you're not going to do anything to him anyway, what am I supposed to do?" He just got this dumbfounded look on his face, and called my parents for mouthing off to him. And when my parents backed me up, he got mad, and stormed out of the office.
In our school district it is the same thing. My son is in the 10th grade and he has been bullied since the 2nd grade for the perception that he is gay. Since he was very small, I taught him to stand up for himself therefore he gets in trouble on a weekly basis. If someone calls him a "faggot", he will confront them. He has never hit anyone but his words get him in trouble. The school sees him as the problem, I guess it would be better if he coward-ed down to the kids harassing him. I have told the vice principal several times that since nothing is being done to protect my son, he has to protect himself. He won't be a victim and he won't let the school rules make him a victim.
Why do we have such a bad society? It just gets worse and worse. We've seen the progression, I don't know over how many years now, people believe they should just do whatever the hell they want to do and not suffer an reprecussions. I just hear Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' when I see another story that makes me lose faith in mankind.
h25---- loosing fatih in mankind!!! because we dont help each other like we are meant to. its all about money and our leadership in this country is based on money not intellegence kindness or making sure we all have good lives and have fun in this life. its all baout money not baout people. when the day comes when we stop judging each other, when we forgive each other and when we learn to nuture each other as a form of wealth we move forward in time as human beings, but thats not the case we are still in primative times, we still have guns on the planet, we still argue over power. some people wouldnt know what to do if they had to live a natural life. we can live here in paradise, but we cant because there is always someone who has to have more adn has to control others. i have a feeling with eight billion in the world itwont be long until we experience a major change. we have trillions to spend on a war for oil but we cant give our citizens of this country good health care that is available to all. our leadership is to blame money hungry politicians who want to protect their special intrest way of life and they are dmaned sure they will foster that for there offspring. they dont realy care about normal people to them its ourown fault we are not rich and powerful. we are looked down upon. we are incidential to their psotions and they ahve to deal with us, so they leave us the crumbs while our own presidents wife spends millions on a vacation for her and her frineds. the day we outlaw money is the day we finally find freedom. the day we love each other adn teach ourselves to care for one another regardless is the day we walk into a new age of mankind. right now we are still just cave men with fancy stuff.
so much hate, greed...our society is so F&^%ed up. You can see it everywhere...hell, read this blog and the responses some make to others that miss a point in an article. Society in need of a good cleansing.
I hear you. Although, I think it can be traced back to when family ceased to be important (I don't mean the nuclear family--actually, that's what I'm railing against. Mom, dad, and baby became more important than mom and dad's place in the extended family network). The whole of society needs to become intergenerational again, and families need to help one another. With the rate of dysfunction in this society even with its tiny core 'family', that might become harder and harder to do.
Families with grandparents, aunts and uncles function a hell of a lot better than two untethered people, whoever they are, playing house and bringing children into the world. The parents are overburdened, the children are left to their own devices...and the 'every man for himself' mentality we all seem to have ruins everything.
Maybe then we can build on a sense of community, and turn this mockery of a society around.
If you were familiar with history, you'd know that society has improved. There was a time when life was cheap and violence commonplace.
Unfortunately, TnDan, most people are not familiar with history.
Glad he is being compensated but it will never make up for the fact that he can't walk or get laid.
Did it say he can never have sex again too..just because you can't walk doesn't stop sex.
I don't walk when having sex..might try it someday.
He may not walk but he sure is cute!
Mike277 you win the idiot comment of the day award.
Jeanette-767450 - Let's hope the potential "signifigant others/fun to go out with for nows" that young Mr. Rosenstein meets in the future see past the chair and don't have eyes with dollar signs for pupils. The ugly fact remains, however, that bullying in the schools has to go on until it's bordering on homcide, causes permanent physical injury, or (as happened at the end of February at the annex of Hell I attended) the victims suicide just to escape the torment before someone in an "official position/position of authority" who's been saying, "We will not tolerate bullying." actually acts on their words.
Bullying in schools will never end as long as the school district keep on the blinders on and ear plugs in and yelling as loud as possible that bullying doesn't exist: it only exists in the imagination of the person being bullied.
Exactly correct and most schools would rather keep the blinder's on so MAKE THEM LIABLE for ignoring the problems and MAYBE, things will begin to turn around....so sad for EVERY AND ANY person who is ever bullied.
Hmmmm. Perhaps they should locate the bully and have him put to death. What he did was incredibly evil. The branches of the human tree that carry those kind of traits and mentality need to be pruned forever. We will all be better off in the end for it.
Did the thug who assaulted this young man get arrested? He should be in prison.
More like he should be beaten, expelled, and put in prison. that little dumb-ass ruined that kids ability to walk which I say is equivalent to taking an aspect of his life. People do not know what its like when your handicap like that. Even if he won 10 million and is the most positive guy on earth. All of it is going to medical expenses. Plus everyday he gets up and pushes his chair outside he is going to look at other people and envy them. Trust me that kind of thing is not easy to get over.Especially if your were not born that way and you had the ability beforehand. Not trying to be a downer here but that idiot should have suffered a lot more.
The article states that the kid sent an email to his guidance counselor (and principal) regarding the increase in bullying. Presumably, he notified school officials verbally prior, and the email was a follow-up to inform officials of an increase in bullying. The article does not state what, if anything, was done in response. If nothing was done, this lawsuit is completely justified. There is no single remedy to curb bullying, but doing nothing is certainly not the answer. The school had the opportunity and the responsibility to intervene, but apparently nothing was done.
I agree with Tom. Not only cane the bully, but every student gets a turn! On a realisitic note tho... I think kids should take some form of martial art when they are young. Not just for the self defense aspect, but it also teaches you respect, compassion and responsibility. And you find out real quick that there is ALWAYS someone tougher than you.
Yeah, and then the bullies will be ten times deadlier.
What is the bully's name? What happened to him?
Whoever the piece of sh!t is, his identity has been well protected. Typical.
He was a kid, so the media can't publish his/her name. Hopefully that other child was able to also learn something from this and go on to be a productive adult.
yeah, the bully learned that everyone else except him had to pay for his ignorant actions!
No info in the article on the bully, but imo he should have been severely punished in some way.
ameribaby his family settled two years ago, the article said that the terms were confidential. It would seem that the bully and his family paid in someway.
What happened to Sawyer is terrible and everyone can see that. No one should wish this upon anyone which is why it makes me sick to see commenters slandering this "bully". Media is full of it. I went to school with both of these boys and saw them everyday and I would not even recognize this story if it had not been for Sawyer's name. All I can say is from a personal experience is that Sawyer was not known in school the way he is in the papers. This "bully" had a mother who passed when he was young. Sawyer cracked a mom joke. Hilarious, right? Not so much. Sawyer provoked the "bully" and Sawyer got hit in the stomach. It was wrong to hit him but seriously? For any of you people that think he meant to paralyze the kid you are seriously disturbed. The "bully" was just unlucky that it was that hit, which could have easily been any other, is the one that paralyzed him. So yes, what happened to Sawyer is tragic but don't any of you dare slander the boy involved because he is a good kid. His mother and his father, who also passed when he was in high school, would be proud of him just like everyone who knows him is. Feel bad for Sawyer, but don't ever tear down the "bully". Don't ever feel high and mighty to pass judgement on him. All your hatred for this bully, only builds his supporters because look who the bullies are now. You're just a bunch of hypocrites.
See here is the problem, the fact that he actually did get punched is true and it is also true that the punch released the clot causing his paralysis. The one major problem is everyone thinks he was bullied, and nobody is trying to find the out the "bully"'s side of the story. Nobody just punches somebody for no reason, so the question is, what did he say to set kenny off? If you knew anything about the actual story, you wouldn't be so one sided about this story. See i went to school with sawyer and graduated a year after he did. I have also played sports with kenny since we were 10.The fact of the matter is, sawyer truly deserved the punch. I am in no way shape or form saying sawyer deserved to get paralyzed, but what he said to kenny is so unbelievably atrocious and unbearably uncalled for, that if i was in kenny's position at that moment, i would've done a lot worse than a simple punch to his side. You all have no idea what happened, just b.s. stories by the media, so if you want to find out the whole truth, come to ramsey, talk to kenny, or talk to students who went to school with them and remember the accident like it was yesterday. Why don't you all find out the full story about what happened and not just sawyer's side. You are all trying to take down a bully and by doing that, you are being bullies yourselves, so stop. Get kenny's side and find out why he punched him. Get both sides and get all the info, then choose who you think was right and wrong. both of kenny's parents past and he was provoked to punch kenny because sawyer made an outrageous comment about his recently passed mother. All i know is if someone said anything about my mother, id kill him. So PLEASE get the media to find out kenny's side and understand why the whole incident happened in the first place. Thank you for reading and please convince the media to find out kenny's side too instead of assuming, because you all know what happens when you assume. Thank you for reading.
yes!! time to make the public schools take responsibilty for your child while in their care!!! bullying is not just kids at school the teachers are often the bullies and when you grow up and think that adults are beyond that we find that it crosses over into adult hood. how many of you have been bullied at work? people are just mean and nasty and our capitalist society encourages bullies just by the very nature of it. my neighbors bullied my daughter intoa sexual relationship and bulied her into never tlaking to her mother again. thats just how people are. protect yourself and your family from most americans out there our society is full of bullies. people who think they are authority over you including law enforcement. its just a legalised form of bullying. that kid who hurt him should have to work the rest of his life to pay for this poor childs injuries. too bad we are forced to send our children to public schools, thank god for internet based cyber school, no physical contact with my child. great solution to lower or elimnate real estae tax as well. definitely admistrators need to be held accountable while they are collecting tax payers money. sad to hear that his life was destoyed because he was forced to attend public school, no one has s right to tell you how to educate your child, nothing else is socialised inthis country why is public education? i mean it seems our leaders could give a rats ass about making sure everyone has the best health care available but dont ry to protect your child from public school youll be persecuted. it tiem to stop the "welfare systme" for teachers and make education a personal decision for your family. you cant count on the people who work in public education to protect your children they could care less. teaching and public schools" guaranteed employment guaranteed paycheck" but no guarantee for your childs safety.
"...nothing else is socialised inthis country..."
Which country is that? Also, are you teh one teaching your child punctuation and keyboarding? Usually on blogs I don't point that out, but in context its pretty comical.
Yes, society does have a right to tell you how your child will be educated and set minimum standards for that education. Society has the right to tell you a whole lot of things. Otherwise society as a whole has to bear the consequences. That said, no child should be physically fearful of other students or staff. His life was certainly affected, by bullies, not public school.
So your daughter didn't like your bullying and ran away? Good for her.
Pauitchchic, I had to answer in part to your rants. Let me get this right you are blaming capitalism for your daughter running wild and cutting all ties with her family,I think that lays at your feet!!!!!!! The problem in this country is that no one wants to say you have gone too far, back off, you have crossed the line LIBERALISM at work. especially the school systems, teachers unions at its best. Teachers molesting students but can't intervene when a child is being tomented!!!!
my daughter didnt run away; they gave her drugs alchohl and cigarettes, her personality changed and they put pressure on her to walk away from her family. they were stalking her since she was 13, what we went through to t ry to reach out to her. . we had a great relationship before these people bullied their way into our lives and took her because they liked her so much, my daughter and i were a great team and i miss her very much. the men on the property over there are perverts they run an escort service, they are known users of prostitutes. the property has been raided by the feds in the past for underage prostitution. you dont know what you are talking about.you dontknow what happened and i find you r comments to be rude and uncaring like most americans. you are the bully for saying those things to me, you have proved my point. we were poor adn they have material things to offer her. it wasnt my fault i worked every opportunity i had to provide for her in light of the fact that her own father did nothing to contribute to her life. he died using drugs that were given to him by is mother, who is a published author, considered a good citizen by american standards. its a tough road to walk alone, i loved my daughter very much she attacked me in my home, she became irrational. i was ready to provide a college education for her a dream she wanted up until she met these people. for you to write something so nasty and so unkind tells me your one of the mainstream americans with no heart. i had horrible experiences with teachers from being molested to verbally abused. teachers liked to pick on me because i am different i was humilated for asking about a math question, she bullied me in front ofthe class teasing me about how i looked iwas humilated but i had no alternative i was forced to retun to that prison everyday until iwas old enough to sign myself out. a girl in my class was bullied somuch by a group of girls who came from the best american families in my school. their parents were the business owners and the politicans of our communtiy. those girls bullied that girl into shooting herself. i miss her she was my friend. those were my educational experiences. im not a bully but i will stand up for myself and i wont let people like you bring me down, people like my neighbors, people like my daughter who should know better. i gave my daughter endless ballet, endless violin, endless sports , educated her outside of normal school, fought to have her in the gifted class. i sacrificed my needs to send her on educational trips across the globe including places most dignataries will never see, so she would become a person of knowledge of other cultures,including a meeting with the dali lama. the filthy men got after her and used her as soon as she turned eighteen, i came home one day and she was gone. the old man came and got her he had been eyeing her up for along time. by the time i found out what they were doing it was too late too f ar gone, they were getting her at night while i was sleeping, taking her for beer and drugs, they worked around my schedule. she became violent with me, nasty with me and it was devastating to me. i have photos of the bruises she gave me. i hope god forgives you for what you said to me, if you know so much then why didnt you know the truth?
"arsenic" perfect name you gave yourself; you are toxic!!
The Bully that did this should publicly have his hands and feet cut off. America needs to go to an eye for an eye standard when dealing with vicious animals.
I think we do everything we can to NOT emulate barbaric societies like those in the middle-east, which is probably good for all of us.
Yes, cutting the hands and feet off a CHILD should totally be how bullying is dealt with in our society. I'm not saying that it should ever occur, but what kind of adult things this should be how a child is disciplined?
That's kind of creepy thinking.
Better yet - this bully should have a needle stuck in his arm - but I'm sure the REPUBLICANS will twist this around and somehow BLAME the victim like they ALWAYS do!!!
HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I went to school with both those boys, i was in their grade, i was there when this happened, and i know the whole story. This bully did not have it easy from the start. His mom had died many years back and he had moved into his dads new wives home. Sawyer cracks a your mom joke in the locker room one day, the bully lashes out because this especially hits a hard spot. I am not condoning the fact that he punched him, that should not have happened and is wrong, but you must admit that coming from an angry unsettled kid to begin with they wont react well to that. What happened to sawyer at the time was a travesty and we have watched him persevere. He has adjusted to his new way of life and has not let it slow him down at all. But where is our bully come sophomore year? His dad dies as well. Both parents gone. He has had enough pain in his life, you people should not be wishing any worse to happen to him. He has suffered so much through a loss of a mother, dealing with the backlash of his "attack" on sawyer, then losing his father?
His actions were wrong then and bullying is a travesty, but you CANNOT wish anything worse upon this kid if you ever want him to learn from his actions.
If that is indeed the case, it is tragic for all involved.
If that is true, it is tragic. Naomi. You say you were there when this happened. Are you male? You said this happened in the locker room.
Naomi--when people can hide behind a screen name, it's a lot easier to say stuff like that. You put the knife in the guy's hand, somehow I doubt he'd follow through.
But it sounds like you're saying this bully (I know his name too but won't say it here) should be excused, or at least understood, for what he did because he didn't have a mom to run home to? Boo--friggin' hoo. You know how many 'your mama' slanders I heard growing up? And where is this kid now? Last I heard he was busted for running drugs. So apparently he hasn't learned from his actions. He's probably still repeating the mantra, "It wasn't my fault."
I won't wish any more evil on the guy; I don't even wish it on the a$$h0le$ who made my life hell. Honestly, I hope they've learned a little about respect by now. But don't expect me or anyone else whose life was made hell by a bully, to wish this kid prosperity and success. It might be mean and vindictive, but believe me, when you've been a victim of bullying for a long time, sometimes it's nice to see the bullies fall.
That's right H25 and Teloncrow. Another related article on msnbc:
"WAUPACA, Wis. - A Waupaca High School student is expected to make an appearance in court later Thursday on accusations of bringing a loaded handgun to school.
Waupaca Police Chief Tim Goke says the 16-year-old girl showed the gun to a friend, who later told an adult and police got involved.
Investigators say the girl told them she brought the gun to school to scare students who were harassing her, but didn't intend to shoot anyone.
Goke says the gun was loaded when officers recovered it."
Some bullies parents, if you can call them parents, could potentially be hearing "Amazing Grace" at their bully kids' funeral.
The bullies never commit suicide. Only their victims do. I found my father's .38 revolver when I was about 14 and decided not to use it on the bullies or myself. Damned if I was going to let those vermin shed crocodile tears at my funeral, and for sure they weren't worth a bullet or the trouble I would have gotten into. As it was, after years of going to school for me (which I didn't know about at the time), my mother finally got through to some teachers and administrators and a gym teacher came down like a ton of bricks on the head persecutor one day, to my complete astonishment, and the BS stopped. I agree with everyone who maintains that the bully is still plesed with himself because he crippled someone, no matter how much the scum that spawned him shelled out.
Bullying is a major problem plaguing students all across our nation. If you disagree, I will kick your teeth down your throat.
Love thy neighbor......or else......!
School bullies often are allowed to get away with it if they are cheerleaders, football players, etc, or if they are spoiled little rich kids whose parents have clout in the community. School administrators are often more concerned about keeping the sports machine and the money mill going than they are for the safety of the students.
What happened to the Bully?
Why doesn't somebody go find him and beat the hell out of him?
because he, too was a child.
Maybe ever school will get sued now if they let a boy or girl bully others and if so maybe they will put the bullies on the road home where they ought to be.
Any amount of $$ will pale in comparisson with what was done to this kid and the a$$hole kid that caused it is still bullying others.
Im glad Im not his dad, I'd be in jail by now.
When something like this hits the national stage it's best to wait a few years, so you're less inclined to be a suspect. Also gives you time to think with a level head and plan.
The appropriate settlement amount is actually $4.2M plus dad gets one free shot at the bully's face.
if i were his dad i would sever the bullies spine with a hammer and chissel. An eye for an eye is how i see it
There's no amount of money that can change the outcome. That said, at least his medical needs will be covered, but how officials did not admit fault is beyond me.
What's wrong with this picture: I go out and hit someone, I go to jail. Kids are beat up daily and nothing happens to the bully who did it. Do we have a double standard for our kids!! Well, do we? BS on this, that bully need to go to jail for assault!!! What is the problem here?
All we need to do is to apply our laws to schools evenly and thus any kid who is struck turns the bully in to the police. End of story. While I think law suits are BS and mainly make lawyers rich, unfortunately this is the only thing that will get people's attention. Stupid!!!
I agree Rural Washington.. This child did not deserve what happened in any way. Who is supposed to pay medical bills and expenses. These bullies could use some bullying themselves.
The punishment should be to surgically paralyze the bully, let him see the world from a wheelchair also.
No, that is obviously wrong. What should be done in ALL cases like this and others is that the person causing the disability should become an "indentured" (love that word) servant to the injured party for the rest of that person's life. That means the person causing the injury will take any and all care of the injured party including cleaning that person's home. cleaning and bathing them (same sex of course) and doing everything the injured party needs to fully enjoy the rest of their life. Their only goal will be to insure that the injured party has the opportunity to enjoy their life to the fullest extent possible.
Yes, there is a double standard for bullies in schools, Adminstrators do little or nothing about it. It was going on when I was in elementary school in the 60's and it goes on today. When my oldest(30) was bullied in Jr. High I put him in karate classes just so he knew he could handle himself against bullies if it came down to it. Fortunately he stopped his bully before he really learned much in karate but it did take jacking the "punk" who was harrasing him in school up against his locker and tellingthe kid if you don't leave me alone we willl have a go. They ended up friends. Same with a group the bullied me in High School, didn't have to fight but took the antenae of my car i nthe school parking lot where they followed me every day and said I'd use it and they could come and try and take it. The group of seven freshman went to the principal and "told" on me. When he heard that I had been verbally harrassed by these girls daily for months he understood why I had enough and snapped. Nothing happened to me but the principal gave then what for. For the rest of my Senior year every time they saw me they said hi, how you doing etc.. Some times standing up works. But these days you have to worry if bullies are carrying guns, knives, boxcutters etc..
Sorry, but this poor kid was not bullied, he was ASSAULTED! These "bullies" should be arrested immediately after the action and their butts should be put in jail for a while. That should be all the school needs to do. The rest is up to the PARENTS who are allowing (teaching) their children to assault people! They should also be fined AND they should be financially responsible for their kids rotten behavior.
Hes on his way there, bottom left.
why hasnt the bully been put away? nomater how theey settled amongst themselves the state should be able to step in and press charges
Bullying can include assault. Maybe schools will get rid of their "Ignore it and it'll magically disappear" policy and do something now that this happened. (probably not though. That would require common sense and being reasonable.)
The unfortunate reality is, many academics are bullies. The ones who aren't don't know how to identify or handle conflict. The result is, schools are free-for-alls, where survival of the fittest rules, kids aren't taught anything about self defense, there's a pecking order which goes unchallenged. This horse isn't dead yet. Plenty of room for a good flogging.