In recent decades, there have been a number of changes to the policies and procedures that public schools institute for disciplinary problems. Long gone are the days when teachers and principals could use corporal punishment. While most parents wholeheartedly approve the restriction, others believe that lax discipline in schools only makes their own job as disciplinarians at home even more difficult. The converse mode of thought is that the discipline of children should be solely the parents’ job, and responsibility for such should never be placed on others.

Some of the more recent modes of school discipline involve strategies that attempt to determine the cause behind a child’s behavior. This is often given more attention that the punishment for infractions. Policies that involve disciplinary councils made up of school counselors, administrators, teachers, parents and even representatives of the student body itself may be particularly effective. In the best disciplinary policies, students are asked to sign a statement of commitment that they have read and understand the rules on what is and is not acceptable behavior. By this method, there is no confusion on when the rules have been broken and the student in question has committed behavior outside of the established policy.

The disciplinary plans that have shown to be ineffective are those that limit the involvement of the student and do not bring the parents’ attention to the problem. The policies only reinforce poor behavior and there is little benefit. Regardless of the specific methods in place, it is clear that we must continue to place importance on requiring students to accept responsibility for their own actions. Accountability is an important quality that must be stringently adhered to for any disciplinary plan to work. Only by encouraging our youth to be involved in their own disciplinary programs can we expect to see success.

T​he news has been rocked in recent months with stories of youths who were tormented, stalked, humiliated, and in some cases, even physically harmed by their peers and classmates. Some of these kids were targeted for their sexual preference, and that caught the attention of the media in a big way. However, looking back a few years, one might recall the story of the girl who was tricked into believing she was communicating with a young man here own age. When the grown woman pretending to be that young man turned on the girl, she committed suicide, resulting in a charges against the woman.

T​he short answer is that bullying, by any definition and in any situation, is not a new trend. For as long as there has been civilization, there have been those that attempt to gain power over others through the use of fear tactics and intimidation. Whether people are targeted for their beliefs, their appearance, or for identifying characteristics over which they have no choice, the single unifying factor in bullying victims is that they exude a sense of weaknesses. It is most important to understand that bullies prey upon those whom they can intimidate with words and with limited effort. When the target becomes too much trouble, or the bully senses that his attempts may fail and therefore cause his own pain or humiliation, the bullying typically stops.

Teachers, administrators and parents should all understand that this deviant behavior has been exhibited by people since the earliest human societies and that it is likely to continue indefinitely. The task at hand is to help potential targets understand the nature of bullying tactics and to give them the tools they need to keep themselves safe. Once young victims of bullying feel certain that they can turn to an adult for ​help, they become much more capable of handling the situation.