Fosston Bullying Allegation Video Goes Viral

[fightingsioux4life]

I saw this on the 5pm WDAZ newscast and it made my blood boil.

http://www.valleynew...clipId=10139102

This third grade girl's brother has to describe what the bullying at school is like for his big sister as she cries her eyes out.

"This guy on the playground said your gonna die by suicide and they called me a son of a *** and a mother ***," says the girl's little brother.

I am not sure what is worse, the bullying or the a$$-covering act of the Superintendent, whom I think might have attended the Robert Kelley School of Crisis Management:

But Mark Nohner, the Fosston Superintendent says this just landed on his radar. Despite these parents claim that they've been trying to get something done about the bullying since December.

"I found out about the situation a couple of days ago and I think it could have been resolved without going to Facebook," says Nohner.

No Mr. Nohner, it could not be resolved "without going to Facebook" because you, the principal of the elementary school and the bus driver didn't do your freaking jobs. But if you want to start actually earning your salary, you can start by FIRING the Principal AND the Bus Driver in question. If you don't fix this, you will be looking at a lawsuit. And I can't think of a school district more deserving of a legal smackdown.

If anyone wants to give Mr. Nohner your 2 cents, here is the contact info:

Superintendent Mark Nohner

218-435-6036

mnohner@fosston.k12.mn.us

End Rant.

[Sioux-cia]

Painful to watch this little girl's pain.

[Blackheart]

I have kids this age...this is unbelievable...compete bs...wtf is the school district going to do?

[darell1976]

Bullying is getting worse and worse. Why are these top officials (superintent, principal) scared to do something about it. Then they wonder why people shoot up schools. Most of the kids doing it were bullied so much they just can't take it. My daughter will start kindergarten next year and I hope her, along with her brothers don't have to go through this.

[The Sicatoka]

As in every situation, the truth is somewhere between the stories the two sides are giving.

And as much as I hear about "bullying" lately I believe it's become the cause celebre for the media.

[Bison Dan]

I think the phrase "All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men to do nothing" applies. You have to wonder why in some school districts you never hear a word about bullying and in others it's a problem....

[fightingsioux4life]

As in every situation, the truth is somewhere between the stories the two sides are giving.

And as much as I hear about "bullying" lately I believe it's become the cause celebre for the media.

So you think the little girl and her little brother are making this stuff up? This is classic CYA, it's not our problem, it's the victim's fault crap from people in charge that should know better, but don't.

[darell1976]

So you think the little girl and her little brother are making this stuff up? This is classic CYA, it's not our problem, it's the victim's fault crap from people in charge that should know better, but don't.

I think he is getting at, we hear from the girl and her family but not from the "bully" and bully's parents. There are 2 sides of every story, but its hard (not impossible) to think the girl is making this up.

[fightingsioux4life]

I think he is getting at, we hear from the girl and her family but not from the "bully" and bully's parents. There are 2 sides of every story, but its hard (not impossible) to think the girl is making this up.

And what is the other side? "I felt like doing it", "She should just 'choose' not to be bothered by it"? Generally, little girls don't come home every other day from school crying their eyes out unless something happened. This indifferent attitude towards bullying is why the State of Minnesota passed the law they passed this year.

[Taz Boy]

As in every situation, the truth is somewhere between the stories the two sides are giving.

And as much as I hear about "bullying" lately I believe it's become the cause celebre for the media.

My vote is with the kids in the video. The bus ride is a cauldron of filth; the words and phrases kids learn and use on the bus are shocking and degrading. Not all bus drivers are members of Mensa either. It's a tough world for our youngsters.

The embedded link is a nice touch. Patronizing the hoi polloi unpracticed in the parlance of the supercilious elitist.

taz

[darell1976]

And what is the other side? "I felt like doing it", "She should just 'choose' not to be bothered by it"? Generally, little girls don't come home every other day from school crying their eyes out unless something happened. This indifferent attitude towards bullying is why the State of Minnesota passed the law they passed this year.

I was just trying to think of what Sic was getting at. I am sure 99.9999% of the time it is the bully's fault but there is always that .0000001% the media and/or the victims are wrong. As a parent I feel for the victim but also as a parent I wouldn't want someone at my kid's school calling my kids a bully when its not their fault. I think they should interview the "bully" and find out their side.

[fightingsioux4life]

I was just trying to think of what Sic was getting at. I am sure 99.9999% of the time it is the bully's fault but there is always that .0000001% the media and/or the victims are wrong. As a parent I feel for the victim but also as a parent I wouldn't want someone at my kid's school calling my kids a bully when its not their fault. I think they should interview the "bully" and find out their side.

That's the point, the suits are trying to cover it up, so this likely hasn't happened. Or if it has happened, they probably just gave the kid a slap on the wrist and nothing else was done. And it probably would have been swept under the rug if it wasn't for this mom doing what needed to be done. Hats off to her.

[The Sicatoka]

The other side to which I refer: Do we know the district has done nothing? Are they constrained as to what they can say publicly due to FERPA? (I won't link to FERPA so it won't be perceived as condescending*.) What is the other side? All we've heard is from a couple of kids and a mom with a Facebook account.

As far a bullying, as a kid I was an easy target: poor household, heavier than I should've been, smartest (geeky) kid in class. I suffered my fair share of bullying. I had my fair share of bad days (like it appears this girl did). I get it.

But I'm in no rush to judgment until I hear both sides.

*There have been "pre madonnas" on this site so I linked cause celebre for clarity.

[fightingsioux4life]

The other side to which I refer: Do we know the district has done nothing? Are they constrained as to what they can say publicly due to FERPA? (I won't link to FERPA so it won't be perceived as condescending*.) What is the other side? All we've heard is from a couple of kids and a mom with a Facebook account.

As far a bullying, as a kid I was an easy target: poor household, heavier than I should've been, smartest (geeky) kid in class. I suffered my fair share of bullying. I had my fair share of bad days (like it appears this girl did). I get it.

But I'm in no rush to judgment until I hear both sides.

*There have been "pre madonnas" on this site so I linked cause celebre for clarity.

I will come on here and take this back if this ends up being something else. But I have heard this narrative play out with other parents in other school districts when they ask school administration to nip bullying in the bud and all they seem to get is static. And please don't use the "FERPA" defense; if they would have dealt with this firmly and fairly and imposed serious consequences on this garbage, this never would have gone viral and we wouldn't be talking about it.

Bullying is NOT a "rite of passage" and it is not "a normal part of growing up". I guess I am just sick and tired of bullying victims being ignored and/or blamed for what happens to them. I will now step back and wait to see what happens.

[petey23]

Life is tough enough for kids in dealing with their insecurities and wanting to be liked and have friends(not too much to ask) without having to deal with some jackasses kid(painting with a broad brush here, but far more often than not the bullies parent(s) are either absent, neglectful or abuse their kids or encourage their behavior through their own behavior which is mimicked). In a simple world the parents of the kids being bullied would talk to the bullies parents and that would end it. Seeing that video of the girl pissed me off and if it was my kid I would probably get myself in trouble because I would go to the bullies parents and let them know that this is the 1 time we are going to discuss this verbally.....but I realize that it not an option for everyone.

I think what Sicatoka is getting at is that the word or actual act of bullying is unfortunately moving quickly in the direction of "The boy who cried wolf" and the "your a racist" in society today in that is overused to the point where it is cheapened and is rapidly losing meaning and effect. If someone disagrees with you and they are a different skin color than you that doesn't mean they are a racist and if someone gets their way and you don't get your way....you didn't get bullied, you just lost that particular argument.

[Redneksioux]

If this was truly reported to the school in the past it's really too bad it had to come to putting the bullied girl and her brother online and on the news to get it noticed. Making their situation viral can't be good for the bullied kids at all.

[scpa0305]

Ok, I have one child and another on the way. I am also younger so I still remember how kids act at school. I am most likely in the minority here but what was that parent thinking posting that to FB? I guarantee the teasing only gets worse....that's how kids are. I truly do not believe teasing is worse today than it was when I was younger....most of you have been removed from school for awhile. Kids have to learn how to deal with bullies...it's part of life and believe me, it does not go away when you are older. I believe there is a reason why some people (kids and adults) get picked on and others don't. You have to have thick skin, you have to know how to handle these situations. It's part of life.

I do feel bad for this girl though, her parents on the other hand I question how they are going about this. Sorry if my post offends anyone.

[Redneksioux]

Ok, I have one child and another on the way. I am also younger so I still remember how kids act at school. I am most likely in the minority here but what was that parent thinking posting that to FB? I guarantee the teasing only gets worse....that's how kids are. I truly do not believe teasing is worse today than it was when I was younger....most of you have been removed from school for awhile. Kids have to learn how to deal with bullies...it's part of life and believe me, it does not go away when you are older. I believe there is a reason why some people (kids and adults) get picked on and others don't. You have to have thick skin, you have to know how to handle these situations. It's part of life.

I do feel bad for this girl though, her parents on the other hand I question how they are going about this. Sorry if my post offends anyone.

I think you are spot on.

[fightingsioux4life]

Ok, I have one child and another on the way. I am also younger so I still remember how kids act at school. I am most likely in the minority here but what was that parent thinking posting that to FB? I guarantee the teasing only gets worse....that's how kids are. I truly do not believe teasing is worse today than it was when I was younger....most of you have been removed from school for awhile. Kids have to learn how to deal with bullies...it's part of life and believe me, it does not go away when you are older. I believe there is a reason why some people (kids and adults) get picked on and others don't. You have to have thick skin, you have to know how to handle these situations. It's part of life.

I do feel bad for this girl though, her parents on the other hand I question how they are going about this. Sorry if my post offends anyone.

Her mom tried it the "official" way and she got the "official" brush-off. She waited for 6 months for these administrators to do their freaking jobs and they didn't do it. And I don't care why they didn't do anything about it, it's a massive EPIC FAIL and needs to be fixed. This brave mom had no choice but to put this online; she wasn't getting anywhere being nice and sweet about it.

As for this notion that "bullies are part of life, you have to have a thick skin", that is blame the victim scpa0305 and I am sorry, but that is offensive. Women get blamed for being raped all the time and this is not much different. Do you really think the onus should be on this 8-year-old girl to "choose" to have a thick skin and "choose" to deal with it herself? This is why bullying is such a big problem; we blame the victim and the offenders can just do whatever they want to whomever they want whenever they want. If anything, it's the BULLIES that need to learn a lesson about life: If you act this way in the "real world", you will either a) lose your job, b) get into legal trouble or c) both. Why is bullying acceptable in school, but not in "real life"? It makes no sense and it sends mixed signals to our kids.

[scpa0305]

Her mom tried it the "official" way and she got the "official" brush-off. She waited for 6 months for these administrators to do their freaking jobs and they didn't do it. And I don't care why they didn't do anything about it, it's a massive EPIC FAIL and needs to be fixed. This brave mom had no choice but to put this online; she wasn't getting anywhere being nice and sweet about it.

As for this notion that "bullies are part of life, you have to have a thick skin", that is blame the victim scpa0305 and I am sorry, but that is offensive. Women get blamed for being raped all the time and this is not much different. Do you really think the onus should be on this 8-year-old girl to "choose" to have a thick skin and "choose" to deal with it herself? This is why bullying is such a big problem; we blame the victim and the offenders can just do whatever they want to whomever they want whenever they want. If anything, it's the BULLIES that need to learn a lesson about life: If you act this way in the "real world", you will either a) lose your job, b) get into legal trouble or c) both. Why is bullying acceptable in school, but not in "real life"? It makes no sense and it sends mixed signals to our kids.

At 8....yes, maybe even earlier. I honestly think how one is able to handle these situations is part of survival mode. Also, I have been picked on before...more than once and I was able to handle it. It's how you carry yourself. Some people get picked on others don't. The people who get picked on seem to have that problem for most of their life...at least from what I've seen. Her parents need to teach her how you handle these situations. If I would have ran crying home from school, my pops would have sat me down and taught me how to handle the situation. I should rephrase that, my father DID teach me how to handle these situations before they even occured. Again, I am no expert on what it feels like to be bullied, but I have seen many kids/adults bullied before and it seems to follow them. You have to stick up for yourself at some point in time.

As to the second point....bullying doesn't ever go away.

[Siouxman]

At 8....yes, maybe even earlier. I honestly think how one is able to handle these situations is part of survival mode. Also, I have been picked on before...more than once and I was able to handle it. It's how you carry yourself. Some people get picked on others don't. The people who get picked on seem to have that problem for most of their life...at least from what I've seen. Her parents need to teach her how you handle these situations. If I would have ran crying home from school, my pops would have sat me down and taught me how to handle the situation. I should rephrase that, my father DID teach me how to handle these situations before they even occured. Again, I am no expert on what it feels like to be bullied, but I have seen many kids/adults bullied before and it seems to follow them. You have to stick up for yourself at some point in time.

As to the second point....bullying doesn't ever go away.

I don't know your situation and I don't know all of the facts in this situation. But your words are telling. You say you were picked on, more than once. It appears this girl was picked on day after day after day. Some of it was physical. Intentionally causing physical injury with a pencil is assault. This is different than occasionally being picked on. And the fact that the bus driver and the school did nothing makes it even worse. These are people that kids are taught to look up to. When these role models fail in their responsibilities, it is a tremendous blow and feeling of helplessness. You feel all alone. As a former bus driver, I am disappointed in the behavior of this bus driver.

[scpa0305]

I don't know your situation and I don't know all of the facts in this situation. But your words are telling. You say you were picked on, more than once. It appears this girl was picked on day after day after day. Some of it was physical. Intentionally causing physical injury with a pencil is assault. This is different than occasionally being picked on. And the fact that the bus driver and the school did nothing makes it even worse. These are people that kids are taught to look up to. When these role models fail in their responsibilities, it is a tremendous blow and feeling of helplessness. You feel all alone. As a former bus driver, I am disappointed in the behavior of this bus driver.

I was never a kid who got teased a lot, but I got some ribbing from buddies/teammates, etc. When I was in grade school I would get into fights every so often with other youngsters who I didn't get along with. I guess it's about sticking up for yourself. I think this girl needed some motivation on how to stick up for herself, there is a reason why she is being bullied while other are not. Bullies suck, but there will always be bullies. Her parents will not always be around for her so someone must teach her how to live in this world. I am not trying to give any life lessons but it is apparent to me that this girl needs some help, not for her parents to post her crying all over the internet. Bullies feed off that stuff. The teasing may go away but she will always be "that girl" in Fosston. This just creates more attention.

[The Sicatoka]

I think what Sicatoka is getting at is that the word or actual act of bullying is unfortunately moving quickly in the direction of ... "your a racist" in society today in that is overused ...

Yup.

I am most likely in the minority here but what was that parent thinking posting that to FB? I guarantee the teasing only gets worse....

Yup.

As to the second point....bullying doesn't ever go away.

And contrary to what some in St. Paul think, it can't be legislated away.

Intentionally causing physical injury with a pencil is assault. This is different than occasionally being picked on.

Yup. So let's not downplay it and call it bullying. Call it what it is and file the assault charge. If the assault can be proven, it'll get dealt with by the criminal justice system. Problem. Solved.

[scpa0305]

Yup.

Yup.

And contrary to what some in St. Paul think, it can't be legislated away.

Yup. So let's not downplay it and call it bullying. Call it what it is and file the assault charge. If the assault can be proven, it'll get dealt with by the criminal justice system. Problem. Solved.

Agree 100%.

[petey23]

Corporal punishment in this area went away in that late 80's. There was certainly bullying in school when I was growing up but kids are much more brazen now because many parents these days refuse to believe that their kids could ever do anything wrong. I do remember kids used to respect authority figures whether it be a teacher, administrator, lunch room attendant, or bus driver and knew that if they bullied or made fun of another kid there was a very good chance they were going to get smacked in the back of the head or yanked out of their seat by their collar or ear......now if that happened the little shits parents would sue. Plus where I grew up(Linton and Bismarck) I guess there must have been enough "good" kids to police this activity.

Quick story

Back in high school myself and a buddy(he was our heavyweight wrestler) were walking down the hall to the lunch room and 3 kids were harassing a kid who was in special education classes at our school and they had dumped his books and were mocking him. We walked up and confronted them and we each grabbed 1 kid and slammed them against the lockers and told the other kid to pick up his books. This happened right outside the teachers lounge and made enough noise when we slammed them against the lockers that a couple teachers came running out into the hall, assessed the situation and walked back in the room and closed the door behind them.

Now days those teachers would probably get fired or suspended.