I was cleaning my room when I saw the cover of an old MAD Magazine lying there. The cover read: "35 Reasons School Sucks" That's like saying "35 Things Elton John has done to seem gay" It's just not enough! Anyway it got me to thinking of my least favorite thing about school, and I hit it. The "Zero-Tolerance Policy" "Zero-Tolerance" Meaning "Don't try to avoid a trip to the hospital, because that would mean you would still have to come here"
If you don't understand what I'm saying, let me deliberate: This "Policy" states that if you are involved in a fight, you will get in as much trouble as the offending party. Now, a) "Involved" can even mean "beat to a bloody, near-fatal pulp to the point where you hack up your own digestive tract" and b) The victim always gets in more trouble than the a-hole who collapsed your skull.
Example: One time, me and my friends were horsing around outside, when these little bastards walk up and beat the sh*t out of me. I tried to ask what I did, to no avail. They then proceded to bash my head against a tree and kick me in the back of the ankle. "Help!" I screamed, in PLAIN VIEW OF THE "MONITOR"!!!!!!!! They continued to spit on me, so I sprang up and tore the littler of the demons glasses off. Now I don't know if you know this, but this can be considered a "bad move"
After they ran off, the bell rang. Of course, I couldn't hear it, on account of all the blood blocking my ear canal. My friends ran back over to me and tried to help me up. By "my friends" I think it goes without saying that they were not the "friends" who ran off earlier.
When I got inside, I tried to tell my teacher, the bitch, what had occured. She sat and smiled pretending not to notice. So I ran over to the guy who tried to kill me and kicked him in the shin. His lackeys grabbed me and took turns whacking me in the balls.
Finally, I went to the principal (Fun fact!: He was also Principal and part time janitor at the high school next door!) and told him what happened. He didn't believe me because I have a "record" (many kids threw rocks at my head) So he called them in this was there excuse: "Well, those other kids were beating him up, and they were doing it wrong, so we were showing them how to do it."
Score: bullies:0 Principal:0 Me:1/2
That's right: they got 2 hours detention each! WOOHOO! Obviously, though, I got one hour, meaning three days. Let me explain: If you come in to detention 5 minutes late, and you do not play any sports, you have to spend an extra half an hour there, because you can't serve only five minutes in detention. Too simple you see. You have to serve at 30 minute intervals. SO... I finished that over the period of a week, and those bully jerks DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL! Never saw 'em again.
So in closing, screw public education, screw bullies, etc. And if I ever catch you coughing up blood, your expelled!
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3 comments:
You forgot about the 1 1/2 days of ISS you got for this too.
The principal wasn't a janitor; he was interim principal at the other elementary school in addition to trying to be principal at his building. It took him TWO WEEKS to get around to talking with the bullies. You, however, IMMEDIATELY served your ISS and detention!
I noticed that the principal didn't think it was amusing when your biggest bully attacked HIM. The kid was hauled off in handcuffs by the police. He still wouldn't acknowledge that you were being bullied, even after HE was attacked.
This might not be the best influence for a good kid. Delinquency would be a waste of a beautiful mind and a stout heart. I will offer a contribution, however, should you ever decide to walk the dark side of the force.
Zero Tolerance double victimizes the innocent, you are right. Since your punishment will not be affected by the outcome of a scuffle, it is best to win. Bullies often will not be deterred by anything short of grass in their hair and blood in their mouth. A teacher or principal will not burn the rims of the eyes of a bully with tears of pain and defeat.
Of course, if you start fights, you will be in more incidents, and hence, more trouble. You don't want to do that. But if it is all the same to the teachers, you might as well be the one to finish what has been started by another.
Home schooling is the answer. Both public and private schools were living nightmares for me. Getting out of the school systems was the only thing that saved me.
There came a point when my fighting, and winning, threatened my own decent character. Only older delinquents were interested in my friendship, and they steered me toward a one way path with an unhappy ending point.
Leaving the puzzling insanity is the only option. The gifted are disabled in a normal classroom. We don't know what is going on, or why. We can't steer clear of trouble because we have enemies. Tourette's doesn't help that. (Although the lightening reflexes characteristic of Tourette's can be handy in a fight.) The rules and social structure are only comprehensible to those of normal intelligence.
Imagine: for every IQ point you are above 100, there is someone with an IQ point below 100. So a person at 115 is as abnormal in the class as a person with an IQ of 85. The farther out you go in intelligence, you are as different as a person of equal, but lower intelligence.
A person with an IQ of 125 lives in the same land as a normal (IQ 100) person in a world of people with IQ's of 75. A normal person would find it difficult to live under the formal and unwritten laws of a group of mentally challenged people. They would find the stupidity frightening and incomprehensible.
The same is true of us. We can't be expected to ever make sense of the realm of the normal. It does get better, though.
You will learn how to live among them, and even benefit from them. Afterall, a dry cleaner of normal intelligence knows something you don't. You can respectfully learn from them.
Each person was created by God. The way they are made, including intelligence, is exactly what the divine intended. You should always respect that, and not look down on those who were given gifts other than intelligence.
I am so sorry about this.
Bullying is a serious offense and for the life of me, I can't figure out why adults ignore it. It is unforgiveable, inexcusable, etc., etc. and when I think about this I get FURIOUS.
Our State had a bill up to stop bullying (what, in Wyoming, cowboy country, are you kidding?) and of course it was defeated. In some cases the teachers are involved in the bullying as bullys too. Adult bullies create baby bullies which grow into teen bullies. Thus, explaining why the bill was defeated.
Short of striking back and hurting the other individual enough to leave you alone, and there are pros and cons - seems like there are always bigger bullies cruising for battle - so that might not be the best option.
Truly, if I had it to do over I would have pulled my son out of public school so fast, so fast! If there was not an acceptable private school or if they are too expensive, then of course home school is the answer. (Some States have vouchers for homeschool.) There is even a program out there, ABEKA from Pensacola Christian in Pensacola, Florida, the student can take classes by video.
Parents don't give up fighting the school system even after pulling your child out for their protection. Some states have advocates. I had to go out of state for an advocate. By the time the school would finally meet with me to work something out my self esteem crushed son quit school. (Later passed a GED with little effort.)
Also some states have a dual enrollment program where you can move a highschool student to college and the student can get college credit at the same time they get high school credit. College folks, most of them, are a bit more "normal" than high school folk! Or, there are special schools in some areas for kids who don't "fit the track" -
Highschoolers are like chickens, they find another with a spot or the least difference or vulnerability and they will peck them to death.
Grrrrrrrrrr.
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