School is where the bullies found me, and where they beat me up,
except for one time when I got beat up on the street — while walking
home from school, by a kid who was also walking home from school. To me,
then, schools mean bullying as much or more than schools mean education.

I’m not sure what teachers and school staff • can do • should do • are supposed to do • about
bullying, but whatever it is they didn’t do it when I was a kid.A couple of times teachers told me to talk to a counselor about being
bulled, which made no sense to me then or now. Counseling isn’t what I
needed, but an adult who gave a damn would’ve been nice. I did talk to the
school counselor about it once, after being pushed around by a kid three years older and twice my size. The counselor told me to stand up for myself
more. Well, golly, that was mighty helpful, thanks.I
wasn’t the only victim of the bullies, and other kids had it worse than me, but the only thing any teacher ever did for the bullied
kids was yell…

Hey, Robert! Stop punching that kid in the face. Stop! I mean
it!Robert, seriously, if you don’t stop punching that kid in the face, I
might have to send you to the vice principal’s office …

C’mon, Robert, please stop …  itsdougholland.com ← PREVIOUS          NEXT →