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

Sat Feb 4 21:34:19 UTC 2012

One more thing-I don't think these kinds of things are just about
blindness. While your bully might be playing tricks on you that take
advantage of your blindness, he might easily be playing different
kinds of jokes on other kids. He should definitely get in trouble, but
what he's doing to you isn't necessarily worse than what he might do
to other kids. That is, unless he's tripping you or otherwise
threatening your physical safety. If it goes from pranking you to
harming you, you will need to get more adults involved.
Arielle

On 2/4/12, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I agree about having friends watch your back. The most effective way
> to keep from being picked on by this particular guy again is simply to
> avoid him-try not to sit at his lunch table or come in contact with
> him in other ways. Your friends should be able to help you accomplish
> this.
> Also, if you try not to give him opportunities to tease you, and just
> give him as little reaction as possible when he does pull something,
> he should soon get bored and stop pranking you. These kinds of people
> thrive on attention. Confronting him about what he did will likely
> just egg him on.
> Arielle
>
> On 2/3/12, Dave Webster <dwebster125 at comcast.net> wrote:
>> That's pretty bad putting your bad of pretzels in your water.  Hopefully
>> it
>> was just one of those small individual sixed bags and not the really bit
>> ones.  I'd be sad if someone did that especially if it was a big bag of
>> them.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Nicole B. Torcolini at Home
>> Sent: Friday, February 03, 2012 5:10 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] asking for advice on problem at school
>>
>> This is not the kind of thing that you put in an IEP.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Hope Paulos" <hope.paulos at gmail.com>
>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 4:48 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] asking for advice on problem at school
>>
>>
>>>    Hi Chris. I'm assuming you're in high school.. I'd go to both your
>>> principal and your guidance counselor. I wouldn't talk to him directly--
>>> I
>>
>>> think he'd get more dicipline if you had the principal talk to him. I'd
>>> also bring it up during your IEP/PET.
>>> HTH
>>> Hope and Beignet
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Beth" <thebluesisloose at gmail.com>
>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 6:54 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] asking for advice on problem at school
>>>
>>>
>>>>I knew this kid, speaking of criminals who were playground and school
>>>>bullies, who was always harassing me, got mein trouble at lunch one day
>>>> in
>>
>>>>elementary school, and later went on to rape somebody and go to jail for
>>>>it.
>>>> Beth
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Desiree Oudinot <turtlepower17 at gmail.com
>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>> Date sent: Wed, 1 Feb 2012 18:41:07 -0500
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] asking for advice on problem at school
>>>>
>>>> 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
>>>>
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