Letter to the editor: Children have a right to get help from bullying

I have been watching the bullying concerns expressed by Margo Haut and watching the Jamestown Public School Board’s reaction to it. I was totally surprised by the article in The Sun, announcing Haut’s position had been terminated. Who better to rattle a few cages about bullying than a social worker?

Unbelievable!

In the 11 years since I retired from education the incidence of suicide has been staggering. Bullying is an insidious, silent disease and we need to help young people deal with it. Not only are kids subjected to it in school but with the increased use of cell phones, Facebook and Twitter, it follows them home.

There is an elephant in the room here that the board is refusing to see. Evading the issue will not make it go away. “He said” “she said” is not a game in which anyone should be involved; precious time is passing while grownups are bickering. Sound familiar? Sort of like everyone is accusing Congress of doing now.

I don’t find it the least bit amusing to avoid this human rights issue. I have never had a conversation with Haut. My guess is that she desperately wants action on this matter and nobody is listening. I don’t know the specifics of the case. But it seems to me the board is losing sight of the real issue here. I put myself in the position of the parent who must deal with the sadness of a victimized child. Obviously no one on the board has had to deal with issues of bullying personally. How sad that these issues are taken seriously only after a life has been lost.

The problem of bullying is serious and kids have a right to be helped.

Virginia Dockter

Bismarck

Tags: opinion, letters, bullying