Yep.

It's the only thing that works.

That story is so typical of the liberal school establishment. They won't do anything to protect kids if they are being bullied, but they will punish you if you fight back.

I, like you Ted, say bring it on. The punishment the school dishes out will always be far less than the punishment a kid recieves from the bullying.

Excellent tip. I was wondering what to do about that very problem. The best bit is telling the teacher how it will be handled because that gets them to solve the main problem.

I'll have to remember that - I have a nine month old son. I especially like the phrasing of your policy. "Massive Retaliation." Heh. If it was good enough for us in the cold war, it's good enough for me and my son.

"You can't teach your child that!" Now there's a classic quote.

Nice work!

i love it Ted. That's the only way to get those administrators to do their job, i guess.

a long time ago-

i was set upon by 3 bullies while doing my paper route. they pretty much kicked my ass.

long story short, my dad was pissed, and ordered me to resolve the matter regardless.

at school the next day, i caught bully #1 and pretty much hammered him.

result: suspended 1 week.

upon returning to school i caught bully # 2 in the hall. same action, same result, another 1 week vacation.

same story with bully # 3. this time the principal told me i would not be coming back if it happened again. i related the whole story to him and said i doubt there will need to be an encore.

no one EVER bothered me in school again.
:-)

coyote

Sometimes, there's just no education like a good a$$ whipping.

IMO, it is a mistake to verbalize threats. You lose the element of surprise and make yourself a target for lawsuits and/or CPS home invasion. My kids were taught to defend themselves and they had the occasion to do that a couple times. Saturday school and suspensions were served with pride. If you raise kids to be healthy, strong, smart and happy, they will take care of themselves.

I had to work out the massive retaliation bit for myself (my father told me about it, but I was too timid to try it for a long time). I was the youngest in the class and small for my age. I got bullied a lot. One day one of the principal bullies pushed in front of me in the queue for lunch. I smacked him in the face and gave him a huge black eye. He squealed like a stick pig. Not once was I touched at that school after that.

When I changed schools at age fourteen I took this lesson with me. I was yet to experience my growth spurt and a larger boy in my year decided he was going to rough me up. I kneed him in the balls: collapse of stout party. Word got round that I was a psycho and was not to be messed with. Funny thing is, I got to be pretty good friends with the guy whose nuts I kicked. These days I look like a thug so no-one messes with me anyway...

go to www.straightblastgym.net and learn the difference between "functional" martial art and "show" or "traditional" martial art.
Boxers are the second toughest kids in school next to the wrestlers. Fighting ends on the ground, but a person needs to know how to control the other man's weight and his distance at all times. These two are the essences of boxing, greco roman wrestling, and brazilian jiujitsu. One must have a "coach" not a "teacher", "sensei" "guru" or "sifu". A coach teaches performance athletes to make the most of their inherent abilities. Read "street vs. sport" article on the site, and the other articles, and make your own decision.

This knowledge will make it so your children will be safe for the rest of their lives. More often than not they will make the cool-minded, intelligent decision in all situations if they TRULY know how to defend themselves. Standard martial arts school do not give this knowledge. "Self-defense" classes for your daughters will NOT keep her from getting assaulted or beaten. Susie must work out and train just as hard as Johnny if she is to one day defend herself from Johnny's attacks.

To some parents this sort of talk may sound extreme. You are fortunate. A child must learn while young to hold his/her head high, because the world will tear it down. Because the child feels they could not adequately defend themselves (should it go that far, and in school, it can always go that far)they will take many insults and put downs.

No child should do this. All children should respond with courage (not necessarily aggrssiveness). But to have courage, one must know they can represent themselves well.

It is heartening to see the number of parents that are behind their children, empowering them. On the other hand, the level of violence that could be influenced could be regrettable. However, I tend to think the bully has it coming.

I just wanted to add my two cents.