I don't want to fear everything about sending my kids off to school, but I'm starting to get panicky, particularly when I see a video of a girl getting beaten by another student on the back of a school bus and, instead of stopping it, another kid is filming it. This all started in Pasco County, Florida, when Chase Cristia, a 16-year-old 10th grader at Mitchell High School, tried to diffuse an incident in the lunchroom when her friend was being picked on. She was threatened by another student who told her to "wait until later on the bus." Cristia reported the threat to her assistant principal but took the bus home as usual because they seemed to think nothing would happen.
Someone knew this was going to happen. Because not only did a girl march to the back of the bus to beat Cristia up, the attacker was filmed walking back there before the incident even started.
The kid filming seemed to be in on it, and the girl who did the repeated punching over the head didn't stop until a student stood up to her 16 seconds later. But by then, the damage was done and a young girl was visibly hurt and shaken by being attacked by a student she didn't even know.
If you're wondering what went on with the bus driver, it does seem he or she didn't have time to pull over before the beating was done. Though there was some issue with how fast it was reported. Who knows what the driver saw because it did happen fast and at the opposite end of the bus.
Then the incident was posted on Facebook and shared all over. To add to the pain of being assaulted, Cristia is now being teased by classmates because most everyone has seen the video, what happened, and sadly some kids think it's funny. But because of this, the two students involved, both in the 10th grade as well, were suspended. The Cristia family is pressing charges and filing a restraining order.
Kids can be mean. Kids can be cruel to each other. Kids do make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. I'm truly hoping that's the case here because Chase revealed that she did get an apology letter from the girl who attacked her. It read: "I'm sorry. I am so sorry, Chase." ABC News also reported that the attacker was hospitalized after making threats to harm herself after the incident. This just makes me so sad for everyone. Perhaps she can get help and learn from this and move on a better person. Why do our kids get so angry at others and the outcome is to fight it out? Why so much physical violence against each other?
As parents, we worry. But as parents, we can just do the best we can in teaching our kids what's right and wrong and hope they listen and learn and never find ourselves on either end of this kind of situation.
Do you worry about violence like this at your kid's school?
Image via KB35/Flickr
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Comments 37
I wonder... if Cristia had stood up for herself and beat back her attacker, would she have been handed a 10 day suspension as well... if she had gone to my daughter's former high school, yes, yes she would have.
I homeschool now, admittedly more for educational and health reasons than the incident my daughter was involved in when she simply protected herself from an unprovoked attack and got the same one day suspension her attacker did...but for now, we don't have to worry about this kind of insanity.
For now though... parents homeschooling their kids is reasonable and fulfills a parent's primary role, that of protector of their children... but not only is it unrealistic for many parents to homeschool, it's not a solution to the greater societal problem, and eventually our homeschooled kids are going to face these bullies as neighbors, as co-workers, as adults in society.
I don't know...sometimes it seems as if our society is going to hell in a handbasket, and it's starting in the schools, and the advice that seems to be coming down is "teach your kindergartner not to say gun at school so they don't get suspended"...or to pull the kids and homeschool, rather than parents rising up en masse and demanding that schools start effectively putting an end to assault and battery being labeled as "bullying" and a return to simple common sense and a standard of common decency.
I was bullied a lot growing up because I came from Ny It was by a boy too when I was ten until my mom went to confront his mom by telling her it was wrong she didnt care she found it funny so then my dad knocked the kid out because it continued on until i was 14 and the school never did nothing about it. Parents now a days need to take more responsibility for their childrens actioins . what your kids do reflects back to the parents. Its a shame how schools dont take bullying that serious.
How sad i would be very upset if that was my child. Prayers goes out to this young girl's family. Ugh what is wrong with kid's these days????
this makes me sick, the entire time I read this I pictured my own 16 yr old. How scarey for that ppoor girl. She stood up for her friend and got attacked for it. I think the attacker deserves more than a suspension. I hope her parents get justice. At this age they know what they are doing and they know thats its wrong. I do hope the school officials all over start taking these things more seriously though. I can't tell you how many times my kids have been threatened and I've gone to the principal and been brushed off. Not until I threaten to go to the police do they take action.
i have rode buses as kid and you cant tell me that the bus driver didnt see it happening!!