I find it interesting that so many people here are advocating violence against a child. Clearly there's a problem here, but let's all pause for a second and remember that we're talking about kids here. Having Kelsie respond with violence to verbal taunts is a fantastically bad idea for any number of reasons, the foremost of which is that she's then guilty of assault and battery. Defending herself against violence is another story altogether, but the proper response to taunts is to either ignore them and get an adult involved or respond with ridicule for the bully and get an adult involved. Clearly Kelsie is doing the right thing by talking to her mother, and cj2112, you're doing the right thing by getting the school involved.
Bullies do their thing for any number of reason, including just because they can. cj2112, you could be entirely correct that this is misdirected attention because of a crush. It could also be because the kid has issues at home. The why's don't really matter so long as the bullying stops.
All kids are bullied at one time or another. I don't care who you are or how big or tough you are, you have been bullied at one point. My brother, who played offensive line for a D-I football program, spent 3 years of high school hiding from some of his classmates. We all know what it's like, and it's very easy for all of us to think back on what we wish we had done to our bullies. Unfortunately, what we wish we had done probably might not have solved the problem, and I find it difficult to believe that a 6th grade girl is going to have an easy time beating up a 7th grade boy unless there's a serious weight and height advantage going in.
So here's my advice: continue talking to both Kelsie and the school about what's going on. If the bullying (including verbal harrassment) continues, make sure the assistant principal knows it. Document everything and send him copies. Make sure he knows that you're ready to get an attorney involved. Talk to Donald's parents if you can figure out who they are and let them know what's going on. It is entirely possible that they're not aware of what their son is doing and will take immediate corrective action. It's also entirely possible that they don't care and won't do anything. If that happens, mention that you've been documenting everything and that your attorney will be contacting them.
We are all afraid of getting sued. You need to be ready to carry through with any threats that you make and have the documentation to back it up. I promise you that a judge who sees proof that a kid is a bully and that the school and parents are doing nothing about it will have no problem either giving a protective order or remanding the case to a jury trial. I have personal knowledge of at least 3 bullying cases in the past 2 years around the country that ended up with multi-million dollar judgements against the school boards.
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Originally Posted by The_Dunedan
Bullies understand only one language; force. They understand naked, vicious, implacable ferocity and nothing else. They cannot be begged with, reasoned with, or bribed: on the contrary, they LOVE seeing their victims squirm and beg, and bribery is even better. Having their balls swell up to the size of a pair of Granny Smith apples, however, tends to get their attention.
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The_Dunedan, I don't want to pick on you, but this is an assinine statement. Bullies are children and people. I don't know of any sane person that acts in a manner anything close to what you're describing. Bullies can certainly be reasoned with, although if someone is worked up to administer a beating, the likelyhood is pretty low. The reason may be "if you don't stop, I'll tell my mom" or it may be "if you don't stop, I'll pull the trigger". Bullies understand much more than just force; just because they're bullies doesn't make them idiots.