Mom's stand against son's bullies

The mother of a former Pinetown Boys' High pupil said she removed her son from the school after management failed to deal with months of incessant bullying.

Her claim emerged on Monday in the wake of another by the father of a 16-year-old at the school who has laid criminal charges against five teenagers for bullying his son. Police are investigating this.

The mother, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "The last straw was when he was strangled during school hours because he refused to steal a pie from the tuckshop for a matriculant. I laid charges, but they would not do anything, so I took him out of the school," she said.

Her son had been traumatised and was being treated for depression, she said.

Attempts to speak to school headmaster Dave Aitken were unsuccessful on Monday.

These two alleged bullying episodes at Pinetown Boys' were aired amid a case in Johannesburg, involving bullying at Parktown Boys' High. Twelve matric boys appeared in court last week on assault charges after an alleged beating during an initiation ceremony that left a boy bruised and bleeding.

A leading educationist, Professor Jonathan Jansen, condemned bullying as a contravention of human rights. It was symptomatic of a violent social culture linked to the country's traumatic past, he said.

"It shows up in initiation in schools where children get violated. Parents are ambivalent and say, 'well, I went through it', but bullying is against our democratic rights and our human rights. It is a very serious problem, and vice-chancellors and principals have not acted with one voice in condemning this and imposing penalties," Jansen said.

He said bullies who did not change should be suspended.

Educator and counsellor Derek Jackson said bullying was a worldwide problem because adults were not fulfilling their leadership roles. Prefects and seniors were granted "far too much power" and teachers tacitly allowed a macho culture to develop.

Durban-based forensic psychologist Rita Suliman said school bullying was rife and teachers were also being victimised. "Bullying is not just extended to their co-mates, but to their teachers who are abused in class." Suliman said violence on television and in video games was not the problem. "When schools complain that their kids are not behaving, parents get defensive."

Psychologist Dr Thilo Moodley Kunnie, of the Meyrick Bennett Child Guidance Centre, said bullying had a great impact on children's psychological functioning, school performance and the ability to develop friendships. "It often goes unnoticed and we only hear about the more violent cases."

Department of Education spokesperson Mbali Thusi said children should be encouraged to report bullying. Under the Schools Act every school has to enforce a code of conduct and parents should request a copy.

Durban High School principal David Magner said his school had successfully dealt with bullying by appointing senior mentors to juniors. They met for structured discussions.

Glenwood High School headmaster Trevor Kershaw said he believed physical bullying had virtually disappeared compared with 20 years ago because 90 percent of boys at his school matriculated without any bullying or intimidation. However, verbal bullying was a problem in schools.

"As a headmaster you have to be sensitive to these things all the time," Kershaw said.

lyse.comins@inl.co.za

• This article was originally published on page 3 of The Daily News on June 09, 2009