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Call in the expats

I'm not the one going back to school but somehow, I feel like I could do with another week or two of the holidays. And I do still remember the feeling of dragging oneself back to school...

Although it is nice to have the house to myself again for a few hours a day...

Well, the bullies are all back in school as well. I thought the 95% victim rate was rather astounding. It means that our children very likely are/have been victims/perpetrators.

Now, here is where we need expat help so why aren't we getting any? Or are we? I read in the newspaper report that there is no anti-bullying programme in our schools. On the other hand, there are many such programmes/resources in other countries, such as this and this. Isn't it time to get help? Are we waiting for some tragedy to happen before springing into action? Like how everyone knew about the pseudo massage shops in HDB estates but the slew of rules to clamp down on them came out only after the lady was murdered.


Anyhow, I have just found out that van Basten's team fought their way out of the running. So much for supporting them.

Never mind, Wimbledon starts today!
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Comments

Anonymous said…
i didn't read much about how they derive 95% victim rate, but i would suppose that's with a very broad definition of "bully" to get that percentage. children/teenagers tend to say things without much thinking. it's impossible to totally stop that kind of things cos even adults do it at workplace. of course i support preventive measures by schools, but i personally think it's also important to teach choldren/teenagers to handle such things if the so-called "bullying" is not too intense, as this is just a part of life skills they need when they are older.
dee
1:42 pm
Anonymous said…
Hi Dee
Yup, I think the 95% includes the whole range from, say, getting your school bag kicked to getting yourself kicked and beaten up.

I would advocate anti-bullying programmes because they teach children coping skills (the life skills you mentioned), put in place preventive measures (e.g. I heard that one of our schools installed cameras on the school buses as school bus bullying is 'common') and can help identify problems which bullies might have (e.g. self-esteem problems, home problems, etc).
10:12 am
Lam Chun See said…
I agree with Dee. Their definition is too wide. Even verbal teasing comes in that category. In that case, even in church my son got bullied.

I think a bit of 'bullying'; esp. if it is the non-physical type may even be good for our over-protected kids. Helps to prepare them for the real world.
11:15 pm
Anonymous said…
Hi Mr Lam
Perhaps the study should be more in-depth, then -- look at the different types/intensity of bullying and how to deal with them differently.

One problem is that every child/person has a different threshold. E.g. getting called names may mean nothing to one kid but may make another hate going to school. Much like how some people are unfazed by 'bullying' at the workplace while others might get depressed, etc.
9:20 am
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