Parents to sue school over bullying

[LeMarchand]

Just heard that the parents of a teenager who committed suicide - alledgedly over bullying - are to sue her school.

Now I understand that they want someone to blame for their daughter's tragic death, but do wonder if they are suing the right people, surely they should be suing the bullies?

Just what the were the school supposed to do, anyway? They're not allowed to punish the bullies with anything more than a mild telling off, and it's not that easy to get thugs expelled.

Am I missing something?

[netibiza]

I do think that schools are responsible for any bullying that occurs when the children are at school.  When it happened to my child I pointed out that as she was underage, she was their responsibility whilst at school, inasmuch as I expected them to protect her, as I had left her in their care.  I mean they wouldn't allow her to poke an electric socket would they?  It is also their responsibily to try to stop the little beggars from escaping during class.

[LeMarchand]

How are the teachers supposed to stop the bullying? They can't watch 100% of the children 100% of the time, and even if they could their hands are pretty much tied over what they can do. A "telling off" isn't going to discourage the sort of little bar stewards doing the bullying, and if their parents have told them that bullying is OK, the teachers can't even say that the parents are wrong.

[Oneeyedvic]

netibiza - do you really think that a teacher or other employee of the school should watch your daughter every minute of the day just in case she decides to poke an electrical socket?

Maybe they should strip search all students as they enter (as they are their responsibility) to make sure they don't have anything they shouldn't, be it drugs, knives, screwdrivers etc.

And possibly install CCTV everywhere so that there would be no hiding place for bullies to attack. And a team of people to constantly watch every tv screen with the pictures.

And take full parental responsibility as parents don't seem to be able to teach anything themsselves, be it swimming, how to deal with bullies, how to use contraceptives etc.

 

 

Sadly, although I hate the concept of Big Brother, I do find myself looking around at society and thinking......well maybe some parents are so bIoody useless, big brother would be the best bet.

[Emily Ball]

For parents and children concerned about bullying go to :- http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com

there's a link which you can download which tells you everything you need to know about what to do if it's happening to your child.

[Chillum]

Firstly, I despise the "compensation culture". But, none of us know the history of the case. Had these people been in the situation where their child had been being bullied, and this had been made known to the authorities, then I think the parents would have a sound case. If it was happening without any knowledge of the school, then, obviously, their responsibilty is diminished, but not altogether dismissed.
If it could be proven, I would charge the bullies with manslaughter.

[netibiza]

I was also a teacher and yes I took bullying very seriously, but luckily over here in Spain we had more power.  Yes schools should watch the children.  That's why we have playground monitors.  We also had to look out for knives etc. and word soon got round as to who was carrying them. Of course the teachers have to pass on the knowledge to parents who should then do their part.

[ludwig]

The school has a duty of care to the children who attend. If they fail in that duty then they should be accountable for it.

Agreed their hands are often tied by stupid bleeding heart type rules (don't tell the bullies off because it might upset them) but it will take action like this to get those rules re-examined, and the problem taken seriously by the authorities concerned. As with alot of things, it comes down to money, and if it takes a huge compensation payout to focus the attention of the authorities concerned, fair enough.

[Romeo]

Totally agree, LeMarchand. They should be taking the bully to court, not the school, who are powerless to do anything concrete about bullying.

[newtron]

If the parents were to sue anybody, they would have to prove that their kid would not have committed suicide if he would not have been bullied.  Even if this was true, how could they prove that?  Personally, I think that for someone to commit suicide, they probably have more problems than just being bullied.  But who knows, maybe the bullying was the straw that broke the camel's back.  I definitely don't think they should sue the school though.

[acw]

Romeo and Chillum in particular - I heartily agree! 

The compensation culture does a LOT to damage our already over-stretched public services. 

Bullies are nasty nasty people but for schools it is very tough.  Many could handle it better than my old school.  However, suing them will make matters WORSE for future pupils.  With less resources, the result could be less teachers, meaning less people to try to combat bullying.

Schools are "in loco parentis" but kids can be VERY cruel and, just like parents, they can't protect the kids from everything and everyone 24/7.

If the parents donate the money to an anti-bullying charity, or set one up in their daughter's name, I will have a lot more respect for their campaign.  This way their daughter's memory can be used to make positive change.  If they use the money for a holiday.home improvements/a new car - that is just sick and wrong.  Sorry, but that's my view (carefully preceded by an IF).