To fine or blame the teacher is not realistic. To blame parents is not realistic either as When you hang with certain groups, the peer pressure is there and some want so badly to be part of, they will do things that would let them be part of no matter what. Most people that have children DO NOT CONDONE that type of behaviors and when done away from them and they find out a majority will step up and put a halt on it, Having children and seeing it up close makes one open their eyes. As to sigma maybe that is something he has done or maybe as to most of his posts it needs to stay swept under the carpet and not dealt with Until it hits home. That is just an thought not meant to say you actually DO IT*******!!!!!

Sigma40 the extreme bullying has to end to bully and belittle someone IS NOT NORMAL behavior. Until you have experienced through your child or have been a target of bullying you will never know that feeling. I can say this through both aspects I have posted and being a child and having it happen is something I do not wish on anyone.... It is something you carry through your life and most that have felt this do not continue to go on and bully others. As they know that feeling I would stand up for the ones picked on as by being a target I became angry and fought back after years of it and those that bullied me soon learned I was not playing, I did not like being that person But it was my only defense at the time. I shared that with my children and told them to show heart for the *underdogs and they did I am proud that my children stood with those being bullied and making friends with them and then in turn those that were bullies and friends of my kids became friends with the kids they picked on.

A lot of cops are bullies and I dont think they know it.

During many years of real-life experience I've seen "bullies" every where. I've met them as fellow line workers at GM, as fellow construction workers, bosses, teachers, principals, superintendents, contractors, politicians, policemen and fellow students. Realistically, how can one avoid them? If we filed a report on all of them how would this advance society? I suspect that people like Hitler, Stalin, Caesar (Julius) and Genghis Khan would have ignored all the complainers. All of the paperwork in the world would not have changed the reality. It is not easy to stand up for oneself but I wonder if kids don't already know that. Perhaps, we should pass this issue on to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a decision.

Maybe they need to define bullying? If it goes beyond teasing and verbal abuse .... there is already a whole book of laws in place that covers this. If I even attempted to bully anyone at my adult age I could be charged with a whole bunch of different things. Why would this be different for students? Sounds like we are reinventing the wheel here or taking something we aready have laws for and renaming it so basically any wrong move a kid makes the state can make money off of. That is all it is really about, money. If there wasnt dollar signs in it somewhere it never would be trending like the big hype it is.

Momof3, just call the cops.

Then again, the other option is to "hire" a bigger boy to beat up the boy beating on your daughter. ;) Alot of times the bully getting their arse kicked is the only way to put a stop to it. Usually better if the victim is the one who does it.

Talking to the parents most the time doesnt help. Its either "My baby isnt that way" since the parents have no clue what their kids do or the parents are proud their spawn became bullies.

The one who pushed me around in school parents were the later. School talked with them with many times, they were "proud of it" saying "boys will be boys". Never mind he was over 6' and I was around 5'3" and 130. Funny how fast THEY started screaming at the school when their son got his clocked cleaned by his victim. Cowboy boot to the nads is sure an equalizer isnt it? Then the other boot to the side of the head for the knockout when he doubled over on his knees. No one bullied me around again in school. And the kicker is I didnt even get in trouble by the principal. He did.

As for fining the teachers for not reporting it, best to just fine the parent(s) and detention for the bully.

there should be a law, against WALKER, for bullying the people of Wisconsin!

Of course there is MOMof3 attacking the public schools because her dauughter got bullied, what a ridiculous swipe. Are you telling me that no abuse happens at private schools? Pay for your kid to get in and when it happens then what will you do? Will it be the teachers fault again? If your child gets physically hurt its YOUR job to get into the school building and raise holy heck until you get satisfaction. Pulling your daughter and putting her into a private school teaches her what? I think its just an opportunity to take a shot at the JSD. I can tell you for a FACT that kids get sus[ended from school in the "awful" JSD for less than your daughter endured. So maybe advocate for your child until you get action. Leave the private school crap out of it. Kids bully there just as much.

This is a good idea, how it would be enforce is what I am curious about. Most teachers report and deal with bullies appropriately. Schools have very large anti-bullying objectives that they use as a big part of the curriculum.

In the end if your kid gets bullied find the parents and address them directly. Lazy parents are the reason kids bully. Kids arent born that way. Wanna bet that kids that bull are the ones watching fake wrestling and playing call of duty in 1st grade?

Gotta love the tough guys in the room, ignorance doesnt begin to describe them and their ignorance. Survival of the fittest in elementary school teaches kids about the private sector? Could you make a more ignorant comment? Some conservatives just cannot help themselves. Sigma you obviously got beat up through school and are bitter, its easy to see. Sorry the teacers didn't report it. Teaching kids to be "tough guys" is no way to advance a society. Teaching kids to be good people and love one another is not some kind of hippie convention, its leading future generations to a better tomorrow. Lets be better people not ignorant tough guys.

The problem may not be a lack of reporting as much as it is a lack of consistent and severe consequences. Zero tolerance has been traded for a lower expulsion rate it seems.

What's next, teachers having to serve sandwiches at Board meetings?

First of all, I don't understand why folks respond to Sigma. He is obviously pulling your chains. He could not possibly be serious! And secondly, in that there is, in many cases, such a fine line between what constitutes bullying and what does not, this law would open a giant litigious can of worms.

Sigma40 has basically stated in so many words that he was a victim of intimidation and violence, and dealt with this by becoming a perpetrator. As a perpetrator, of course he is going to minimize the harm of this behavior. It's sad to see.

and from this article i don't think anybody else knows what bullying is. It's not the same to everyone. It's says bullying can be physical, it can be, but just because an altercation is physical, doesn't mean it's bullying either. It says it can spreading rumors, but spreading rumors doesn't automatically mean bullying either, or social exclusion, sometimes kids just don't like each other, or cyber bullying, which is really no different than writing a name on a bathroom wall. The only people that see it are those that go to the bathroom to look and only a few know who they're talking about anyway. And once you get a few years older, you realize just how pathetic those people are. Well most do, but as I'm an adult, I see more and more adults acting like they're 12.
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Good luck nailing down a definition on what is bullying. Good luck getting this bill passed. It's another feel good, do nothing proposal. Parents do their job and unless a kid is in immediate physical danger there isn't anything happening that can't be fixed by parents later. That is of course assuming their are caring parent that are actually involved with their children. I think most are on FB or their cellphones or stuck in front of a tv to actually realize they have children anymore. Mostly because they never grew up themselves.

Sigma, it is OBVIOUS you have no clue what bullying is. When laws are passed or the media discusses incidents of bullying, you simply do not understand what they are referring to.
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It is like this... to be blunt, snapping a girls bra is not rape. Teasing is not bullying.
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You need to research what is happening to the victims before you continue your ignorant rants.

mom_of_3 - So there is a law preventing you from talking to another students parents? I would have done it anyway. Its either you breach some stupid law and likely solve a problem, or let it go and have your daughter beat up. Not a difficult decision I would think.
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why_think - Todays society unless you live in a box is survival of the fittest. Whether it be your job, school, anything you need to be mentally compitent to deal with stuff. If you cant deal with being mentally bullied.... wait till you get a real job and the stress kills you then.... How many jobs out there deliver the same stress mentally a bully would? We going to ban all these jobs to now?

Are these same teachers required to report their own Union reps when they were trying to bully the legislature about Act 10?

Wouldn't it be so much easier to make a portrait poster of the bully and their parents/guardian and post it on the school hallways for display to notify everybody to see like they're criminals? Bet you would love that Sigma?

mom_of_3 - I surely hope you reported this to the police and never mind if the administration got upset. My daughter was bullied in 2nd grade and as she was my first I had to pick my way through how hard do I push...all I decided was that you push hard first thing or it doesn't get mananged. I hope your daughter is well and safe now.

I think that the bullies should be reported. I have a daughter who was bullied for more than a semester last year and nothing was done about it. I even told the school if they could not get this under control I will take matters into my own hands and do it myself. I told them I would wait afterschool with my daughter and have her point the kid and his parents out and I would have a talk with them myself. I was told that is against the law and that I would not be allowed to do it. About a week later the boy beat my daughter with a jump rope. She came home with bruises all over her arms and back. I called the school and they said they had no idea that happened! I asked my daughter if she reported it and she said that she did and the only thing that happened was the boy got his card filpped! In other words nothing happened instead of havong a green day the boy had a yellow day, there were no consequences at all! I think in cases like these the cops need to get involved and the parents need to be held accountable. I have since pulled all my kids from public schools. I would much rather pay the high price of a private tutor than have them failed by the horrible district that we have.

I went through a lot of bullying too--because of my weight. For every one like me that managed to get through it, there were three or four who didn't to varying degrees. I don't buy the argument that bullying somehow builds character.

When I was in eighth grade I was bullied by my social studies teacher. I have a friend who was bullied by his gym teacher. It is not just the kids who are bullies.

JoyM - I remember being bullied when I was little. All the people that bullied me , I thank them. Without the lessons in life learned if an extreme situation arrised today I would be a scared and worthless afraid of my own shadow. I was guilty of picking on people too when I was a kid... its a cycle, I dont know of any kids that wernt picked on at one time for something. Its how you learn to live life. This was the 80's though.
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milton17 - My opinion of bullying is calling someone names or knocking their books out of their hands, maybe a minor fight, pushing... stupid kids stuff. Nothing too physically harming.
If you start getting into breaking bones, weapons, .... thats beyond bullying and into breaking the law. We already have laws in place for all this stuff.
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If you want to talk about mental bullying, the mental issues created by bullying. No, these are issues everyone has about themselves and usually due to the parents covering it up makes it worse. Like an overly obese kid. If the parents raise them and dont inform them of their real appearance, shelter them, its a complete shock when they enter school and people make fun of them. The sudden shock is overwhelming. Its not the bullys fault... I blame the parents of the kid being bullied for not preparing them for the real world.

Furthermore - what is the consequence for the "crime" of bullying? Fine the teachers but not the perpetrators? Yeah- makes sense......

With all this reporting who will have time to teach?

Bullying is such buzzword. It based on individual perception. There are extreme cases that make the news. They are news exactly because of their infrequency. That which is normal and routine is not news.

At what point does a clique become a set of bullies? Is it based on the performer's actions--when the clique excludes someone for the 8th time? Or is it based on the reaction of the recipient? How is a teacher supposed to know?

Teachers and staff who don't report bullying should be immediately FIRED!

Didn't Republicans want less government in our lives? Or do they only want laws to target teachers?

Legislation to force teachers to report bullies??? What has happened to our society when we have to legislate helping those in need? The victim cannot report the bully because we all know what happens when he does. Bullying starts at home people, next time you want to smack some sense into your kid think about what you are doing to him/her.

Almost every school around has a zero tolerance policy on "bullying", but hey let's again ignore the problem PARENTS!!!!!!!!, and find a way to take a swipe at the teachers who are expected more and more to raise our kids, but have their hands tied at every turn.
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all this is going to do is cost school districts more money when BS fines are handed out and the union, rightfully so, protects the employees.
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Bullying is not a teacher problem, and until I see them watching doors and taking bets on bullies on the playground, i'm not going to get behind anything that makes them more responsible than the damn parents.

Sigma, your ignorance returns every time the subject of bullying comes up. You have no clue what bullying really is and what the victims endure.
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I wonder how pathetic a life must be to cause someone to call the victims of bullying, CHILDREN, wimps each time the subject is brought up on the gazette.
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Daniel Parmertor
Russell King Jr
Demetrius Hewlin
Phoebe Prince
Tyler Long
Ryan Halligan
Michael Brewer
Josie Lou Ratley
Seth Walsh
Asher Brown
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Tell these young victims and their families that they were "wimps". This is just a small recent sample.

Soon they will pass so many laws one will not be able to say I do not like you with out a smile

If the statute reflects the definition of bullying in the article, I could live with that. Sigma, I think you are a bit out of touch with this. Besides, this law wouldn't "mark" the kids; it is designed to ensure that the staff take appropriate action, and puts the legal burden on them.

Sigma is always pro-bullying and spews this garbage every time it's discussed. Normal childish behavior? Pushing and shoving kids, stealing or destroying their belongings, and brutally merciless teasing and degrading of others is NOT NORMAL. It's cruel and done by the same people who will eventually drown kittens, beat dogs, and then their own wives and children. It is a parent's job to teach their children how to treat others, and since parents entrust their children to teachers and administrators as the authoritative adults during the school day, it is therefore part of the teachers' and administrators' jobs to ensure that victims are not victimized and bullies are stopped in that environment. Sigma would say that kids need to learn to stand up for themselves. How can this be expected when the victims are usually younger, smaller and naturally weaker, and possibly have some type of disabilities, while the bullies are usually older, bigger, and physically more mature and therefore stronger? How many little kids did you victimize when you were "just a kid who couldn't know better," Sigma? Do you really believe you were doing them a favor and teaching them all about how hard life is?

What are the perameters of this? cause your definition of bullying can be very different than mine!

So now normal childish behavior is now going to mark kids for life?
Bullying is part of growing up. Without it everyone will turn into wimps and not know how to stand up for themselves...its a natural animal instinct to establish dominance. Unless you are old enough to know, which kids are not, how can you prevent normal human behavior? The whole anti-bullying campaign is a joke.

I'm not sure this is a bad idea, if the law is written well. This is such an issue that I'd rather err on the side of over-reporting, as opposed to under-reporting.

some good intentions can lead the dumbest ideas