In defense of the bullies

A bi-partisan alliance in the Indiana State Senate is proposing legislation to curb bullying and violence in Indiana public schools. The front page article in Monday's Herald-Times outlined the bill which "creates a statutory definition of bullying, sets up an outreach and training program for educators, issues guidelines that call for schools to include a ban on bullying in their policies and requires schools to have 'safe school committees' as a part of their school improvement efforts." It appears that the Indiana General Assembly believes it can prevent bullying through legislation and is proposing to spend $8.3 million over the next two years to do so. \nTo combat bullies, apparently one must first identify bullying behavior. According to the HT article, among the first indications of bullying are "disrespectful looks or words." \nSuch ambiguity provides opportunity for over-zealous teachers and administrators to persecute kids for being young and immature -- a defining characteristic of children. Nearly every child I have ever met has made a face or an inappropriate comment to a peer. Such behavior is so common and the guidelines, as stated, are so vague that our schools could end up teaching children how to behave instead of giving them the academic education America's children desperately need. \nHave we come to the point in our society that our state legislature feels it can (or more importantly, should) tell our children how to behave? Are parents willing to cede their most precious responsibility -- that of raising their own children -- to government? Sure, school bullies exist, and they are a nuisance. But short of mind control, there isn't much anyone can do about them, let alone a body of middle-aged adults who make a profession of bully tactics and poor etiquette. Politicians have no business trying to teach Indiana's children proper manners, and they should be ashamed for attempting to do so.\nSuppose, for a moment, schools could eliminate bullies. To protect the feelings of other students, they would also have to neutralize know-it-alls, snobby rich kids, popular kids and cocky jocks because these children have the capacity to intimidate other students in some form or another.\nClass clowns, especially, would need to be silenced, as they make funny faces and tell jokes that may offend someone or hurt their feelings. What would we be left with? A room of emotionally retarded children stripped of their individuality. \nDealing with diverse personalities is vital to developing social skills needed to survive in the "real world." We cannot shelter children forever from the less attractive side of human behavior. We should not aspire to provide an emotionally sanitized school environment, free from the prospect of hurt.\nI do understand the true dangers and reality of school violence. In my time in public schools, I witnessed countless acts of violence by schoolmates against fellow students and even educators. The problem was not identifying the offenders, but the lack of disciplinary resources, the inability to isolate problem children from the general school population, and the rapid rate of neighborhood and social decay well outside the parameters of school control. Attempts at bully prevention cannot counteract the impact of violent and drug-ridden communities on the children which those communities produce. Safe schools are essential, but the bully bill is not the way to make our schools safer. A safe school in a violent neighborhood is a contradiction of terms.\nThere is no policy or committee required to understand certain behavior is just wrong. Educators shouldn't be put in the position to monitor trivialities like "disrespectful looks." The schools do not need over $4 million per year to create redundant guidelines for identifying disruptive behavior. That money should go to more pressing educational needs, such as textbooks or paying qualified teachers the salaries they deserve.