Today as I was figuring out what the next blog post should be about, I came across this article. This is relatively new and I hadn't yet heard about it in the news. I feel like I should be all for this new bill, but I am having concerns. Maybe you all can think for yourselves for a minute, would this improve things or make things worse? What would you change to make schools a better place?
In a nutshell, this Safe Schools Improvement Act basically forces educational leaders (who receive money from the government like public schools) to come up with a plan to help stop current and future bullying problems. On the one hand I agree with Senator Mark Kirk who talked about every child needing a safe place to learn. The other side of this issue is the fact that this will be "forced" upon these people who are already overworked and underpaid. Granted, integration was forced on the people of Little Rock, AK and look where we are now. Sometimes ideas need to be forced, but it's going to be a long hard road.
In my opinion, the idea is spot in that we desperately need a law in place that protects kids from being beaten up because of race, sex etc. To go even further, if/when this bill is passed, together we need to continue helping others see the negative consequences of bullying. So many schools have the tendency to ignore the problems their students face in fear of negative publicity or maybe just plain shame. It's time to take action and to let the principals and teachers of these schools know that they can and SHOULD do something to help.
I like how Ellen Khan describes the intent of this Act, "puts more teeth in taking action." This world definitely needs it. I can't wait to read more in the upcoming months on how this bill progress and if there will be additions or modifications to make this change easier.
What do you think about it all? Would you have suggestions for Congress? This very well be the much needed next step to encouraging our youth in the right direction.
--Ruth Jackson
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