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8 Comments
Posted on Monday, February 08, 2010 at 06:43 AM
Phoebe Prince, bullied schoolgirl, did not die in vain
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Phoebe Prince did not die in vain.
The reaction to her suicide after suffering unrelenting bullying means that such cases will be taken much more seriously in the future.
The 15-year-old native of Ireland, who had recently moved to the U.S., was bullied to death in her South Hadley, Massachusetts, school by a group of "mean girls" who taunted her to the point where she took her own life.
The reaction in Massachusetts, where outraged parents have demanded action, will likely result in a state law and much greater effort to ensure that bullying is given the focus it deserves.
All across the United States, schools can learn from what went wrong for Phoebe Prince and what caused her horrible death.
Speaking as a parent of a young girl, I believe the Phoebe Prince story has made me concentrate more on ensuring that such issues as bullying in school are given the proper prominence in her school.
Put simply for parents out there: It is never too soon to speak to kids these days about bullying and other activities, which now take on a whole new sinister twist with cyber-bullying via texting, social sites such as Facebook and e-mail.
Phoebe's case is especially sad. She had just recently moved from Ireland and her main crime seemed to be that she dated a popular high school football player.
Since she died the outpouring has been incredible, and a deep mark has been left in her local community.
The word needs to go out from there that bullying will not be tolerated and that teachers must intervene when they suspect it is happening. Clearly, there was a deep problem in South Hadley even before Phoebe.
Her death may help ensure that such bullying and such tragic consequences never happen again.
Most recent comments - See all comments
Posted by herself11 on Feb 16, 2010, 01:02 PM EST
Mary Dobish you are absolutely right !! The parents should have raised there children better then this . children who bully others haven't been raised to have a conscience, these parents need to hold there children responsible for this and stop defending what they have done.If we all raised our children to be kind to empathise with others , to see things from the other persons viewpoint none of this would happen !!
Posted by KathyCallahan on Feb 08, 2010, 05:15 PM EST
I will share her horrific and terribly sad story and legacy to the very best of my ability when I give workshops on bullying and how to prevent it; and or talk to children and teenagers who are victimized by bullies and also the bullies themselves -who are dishing it out
Posted by marydobish on Feb 08, 2010, 03:59 PM EST
Parents of bullies are usually bullies themselves and believe that their children do no wrong. How do I know this? I have been a teacher for years and am now a middle school counselor. I have yet to encounter parents of a bully who take responsibility for their poor parenting and the kind of children they rear. According to them, it is ALWAYS the fault of the other child or the teachers. Ridiculous!
Posted by figtirish on Feb 08, 2010, 12:42 PM EST
stopping bullying begins at home,Parents need to find out what text messages facebook and email their kids receive and send until they leave high school
Posted by signwoman on Feb 08, 2010, 11:59 AM EST
Bullying in schools has hurt many children's self esteem and caused damage that they live with all of their life in some cases. There is so much peer pressure as it is and then to have to deal with bullying too is very difficult. Families can help by talking with their kids, but the schools need to get involved and punish those who bully!!
Posted by nytreader on Feb 08, 2010, 11:27 AM EST
Bullying goes on every day in these schools and no one gives a dam! The problem is most of these teachers and principals got into teaching because they didn't know how to do anything else. They are incapable of figuring out what to do in situations like this. They can barely educate our children.
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