Early December of 2021, a Mom told me of her teenage son, who was brutally beaten by one of his schoolmates. We will call this young man, Sam. Four boys followed Sam into the school bathroom. One boy beat him so badly that Sam fell to the floor. While on the floor, his attacker stomped on his head three times. During the course of this assault, one of the other boys videoed while the other two boys watched the door to make sure no one else entered. The boys then posted this brutal event on Facebook, making this brutal, violent event public for everyone to see.
This is only one of many bullying situations that have come to my attention in the Cecil County Public Schools. I have to say it is the worst. As a horseback riding instructor, many of my students attend Cecil County Public Schools. In my interactions with them, I have also heard stories about constant harassment on the school buses. One of my students who attend North East Middle School had her face slammed down into the ground. The children who are bullying other students may be suspended; however, a ten day suspension right before Christmas Break sounds like an extended vacation to me rather than a punishment.
While I understand children who bully others have some type of emotional or trauma based issue which needs to be addressed, as a member of the Board of Education, I will take a tough stand on bullying. I will do everything I can to make sure they get the help they need but at the same time I will also make sure that they get the discipline they need. Mediation between the two groups is not enough. If you were in Sam’s place, would you really want to face the bully that severely beat you, messed up your teeth and slammed you into the ground then jumped on your head. It is ridiculous to think that a child would want to sit across the table from his perpetrator. Instead, Sam is the one who had to leave his home school which he had attended since kindergarten, while nothing has changed in the bully’s life. In fact, the bully has been heard to brag about how he was able to force Sam from the school.
While serving the families of Cecil County as a Board of Education member, I will also stand up for parents’ rights. Parents have been blessed with raising their children. It is the school’s job to teach the students academics such as; reading, writing, arithmetic, history and the Constitution of the United States. Values and morals regarding religion and politics should come from home, not the classroom. Art, music and sports are also very important but the focus of the school system curriculum should be on the core subjects.
The teachers need to show the children how much they care about each and everyone of them. Children can learn so much from the actions of an adult.