Bullying in schools has become an epidemic across the country, even here in Wisconsin. In May 2010, a former high school student from Brookfield, Wisconsin wrote a letter to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel advocating for bullying laws and telling her own story of being bullied. She wrote:
“I know firsthand what it's like to be abused and ignored by students and school administrators. I even know how it feels to think that the only way to be taken seriously by bullies and school staff is to end your life. … Throughout middle school and high school, I was bullied non-stop. People would smash into me in the halls, shout crude comments at me, threaten me, spread false rumors about me, harass me online…Every time I went to [the administrators] about a bullying incident, they'd tell me the same thing, "We'll talk to them about what they're doing and make sure they stop." ...My mom would come to school and talk to the counselors about what was happening. They assured her that my situation wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be…”
Later that month, Governor Doyle signed a bill requiring schools to crack down on peer-to-peer bullying. But the law cannot stop kids from bullying and does not ensure that victims will be protected and offenders punished.
In May of 2011, a 15-year old boy from Waupun walked into the bathroom of his high school, covered himself in gasoline, and tried to light himself on fire. The student claimed he was a victim of bullying and was “trying to make a statement.” The superintendent of the boy’s school told news sources that kids in his school may have “occasionally” bullied this student but that the school didn’t have any “direct evidence that that's the case. We have some indications that there may have been some bullying involved” and that the claims we under investigation.
That our children would have to endure any form of bullying, from the smallest action to the most severe, is every parent’s worst nightmare. And as evidenced by these stories, the effects of bullying can be traumatic on children—even deadly. How can you, as a parent, protect your child and ensure they are getting a quality education? The answer is with Wisconsin Virtual Learning.
At WVL, students go to school completely online. They interact with their teachers and peers in real time, but they are known to the rest of the school by their thoughts, their ideas, and who they are as a person. There is no worry about people not liking how they look or how they act, what kind of clothes they wear or how good they are at sports. There is no bullying at Wisconsin Virtual Learning. The focus is on quality education for every student, and the WVL student body understands that and thrives in this type of environment.
To learn more about Wisconsin Virtual Learning or to enroll for the upcoming school year, visit our website, www.wisconsinvl.net.
And if your child has been a victim of being bullied or you would like more information on bullying prevention, please consider using one of these online resources:
- Stop Bullying | www.stopbullying.gov
- Kids Against Bullying | www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.com
- Stop Bullying Now | www.stobbullyingnow.com
- Bullying Prevention Resource Guide | http://bullyingprevention.org
- National Crime Prevention council | www.ncpc.org
- PACER Center | www.pacer.org
- Kidshealth.org article on Helping kids deal with bullies
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