My son, who is now in high school, has had one fight during his school years.  To be honest, it was more of an altercation than a fight. While I did not tell him at the time, I was actually proud of him.

He was in fourth grade and his class had just returned from a field trip. My son and some of his friends sat down outside to wait for the school bus. Apparently it must have been a great place to hang out because soon some older kids told my son and his friends to leave in a rather threatening tone. While my son’s friends were willing to leave, my son was not. He told the older students that, and to emphasize his point, he added a wisecrack. The other student was not taking no for an answer, plus he did not enjoy my son’s sense of humor, so he decided to attack my son from behind. My son fought back enough to escape as his friends went for help.

The reason I was proud of my son was that he did not back down from a bully. One of my fears as a parent was that one of my children would be one of those seemingly random kids who would be bullied or picked on. I remembered as a student myself the kids, who for some reason, were picked on by others. Even at a young age I was not sure what made them a target. I was relieved that my son stood up for himself at a young age. I told him I was happy with how he handled the situation although the wise remark was probably not a good idea. (My wife insists that he inherited the smart-aleck gene from my side of the family.)

My son’s incident was not a chronic bullying problem, but there is no denying that bullying in some form or another is an issue in our schools and now, with the Internet and social media, it can even reach a student in the safety of his or her own home. As in my son’s case, bullying happens outside of the eyes of the adults.  Many students don’t share details of their private life even with (or especially with) their parents. (more…)

I’m not sure about you, but I have to admit I like it when the Legislature is out of session.   That’s one of the reasons why I like the summer.  No one inTrentonis thinking, or worse acting, on how they can help public education inNew Jersey.  I know that I should not be so cynical, but it is great to be able to open up the newspaper in the morning or open your computer and not see any issues that demands you act within 24 hours. 

It gives us in education a chance to catch our breath and relax, but like a young teen’s summer romance or anyone’s summer vacation, it flies by very quickly and before you know it, the summer is over and you are back to the normal grind.  Even my kids who can relax with the best of them have summer readings and must keep one eye on when school starts.  So while many of you are into your summer beach book or just sitting in the sun soaking up the rays, you cannot completely relax.  There are issues that we all will have to deal with at least for the remainder of 2011. (more…)