[nabs-l] asking for advice on problem at school

[Desiree Oudinot]

When I was in elementary school, I had kids stealing books from me,
throwing erasers in my hair, pulling chairs out from under me, you
name it, they did it. The worst part was that most times, my teachers
were right there, and refused to do anything about it, because they
too were uncomfortable with my blindness, so why should they
intervene? I say this because it wasn't so long ago that this happened
to me. I grew up in the 90's, before bullying was the huge deal it is
now, but still close enough to the events of Columbine that it wasn't
completely unheard of either. And it was as "unacceptable" then as it
is now. Yes, I put unacceptable in quotes, because guess what, it
happens every day and so little of it is actually dealt with.
Meanwhile, things that are no real problem at all are resulting in
criminal records, such as a case I heard about recently where a boy
gave his friend a hug in school and was charged with sexual
harassment. I forget their exact ages, but they were young, elementary
school age. And yet, kids are driven to suicide, depression, drugs,
and every other dysfunction in the book, because they're bullied
mercilessly every day and no one will do anything about it.
Why do I say all this? I say it because I hope your school isn't like
mine was. I hope that someone in authority actually cares. I hope that
it doesn't escalate, because most kids have a cruel streak. I think
it's true what they say about the impulsiveness of adolescents--it's
human nature to be cruel, and at that age, most of us haven't learned
how to control those impulses or aggressions, making them the most
prone not only to selfishness and thoughtlessness, but to almost
animal rage, not to mention an inability to see beyond their own
actions to how they might be affecting others. My point is, people
like this have to be stopped. Perhaps if something can get through to
them while they're still young and impressionable, they might not grow
up to be tomorrow's criminals. Or maybe they will, who knows. But I've
seen enough to know what usually happens in these situations, even if
it was 15 years ago; and, in saying that, I hope things have evolved
at least a little bit since then. It makes me sick to read messages
like this. I hope for your sake that these small actions do not go
untouched. Right now this kid is probably testing the waters, seeing
just how much he can get away with. If he can steal a pack of gum, so
to speak, he may try to steal a candy bar next, then a bag of chips,
and on and on it goes, you get the picture.

On 2/1/12, Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu> wrote:
> Chris, I know what you're going through.
> I had a girl, put a dead frog in my shirt, as we were playing outside,
> (I was in elementary school, when that happened.)
> Go to your principal, and he/she should do something.
> This stuff has got to stop!
> If they don't do anything, go in front of the schoolboard!
> Blessings, Joshua
>
> On 2/1/12, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I had a problem at school today that I'd like to get your
>> thoughts on as to what I should do next.  Today during lunch,
>> another kid at my table dumped his bag of pretzels into my water
>> bottle without my knowing; he must have thought it was some kind
>> of funny prank.  Fortunately, I was sitting next to a good friend
>> of mine, who told me about this.  Even after multiple people
>> commented negatively about what he did, he said nothing.
>>
>> Variations on this have happened before with this same kid as the
>> perpetrater; only once before today this school year and 3 times
>> last year.  The one time something like this happened this year,
>> he put his dirty napkin in my Yogurt cup (after I had finished
>> eating the Yogurt) without saying anything.  The first time (with
>> the napkin,) I realized that this had happened as I was getting
>> my trash together to throw it away.  Knowing who did it, since
>> he'd done this kind of thing before last year, I said, "(Insert
>> name,) why is your napkin in my Yogurt?" Knowing that he had been
>> caught, he replied, "Oh...  sorry." I then talked to the lunch
>> lady who is in charge of supervising all of us in the lunchroom.
>> She said she would talk to him.  I wasn't there when she did, but
>> apparently she had, as the problem (for about a month and a half)
>> had been resolved...  that is, until today.
>>
>> I feel that this is a person taking advantage of my blindness and
>> playing a "prank" on me knowing that I won't catch him.  So, what
>> do you think I should do next? Should I go to our principal?
>> Should I talk to him directly? Any suggestions would be greatly
>> appreciated!
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Chris
>>
>> "The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The
>> real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that
>> exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and
>> opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical
>> nuisance."
>> -- Kenneth Jernigan
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/jlester8462%40students.pccua.edu
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/turtlepower17%40gmail.com
>