Disabled girl's hair set on fire and bullied non stop

[-:Undertaker:-]

The same occured in my school and my school isn't even considered a 'bad school'.

Just another day in the nasty country we've become.

[FlyingJesus]

Anti-bullying week is just seen as a challenge tbh, same way as all the racist jokes come out during black history month. Ambiguous reporting in terms of whether the bullying was actually to do with her disability (which it states won't properly affect her until she's 25, although the extent to which she suffers isn't reported on either) or just general bullying with that as something she happens to have going on as well, but either way this is nothing new. Attacks on peoples' hair went on throughout high school when I was there, even between friends if we got bored, and bullying is hardly an up-and-coming phenomenon as shown by how actual physical violence is now seen as the absolute worst case where it used to be the norm

[Eoin247]

That's pretty unsurprising. Schools are too lazy to tackle the problem, they prefer to just suspend the ill-mannered and poorly behaved children rather than actually tackle the problem head on. Suspension is just another word for "a week on holiday", the child doesn't learn a single thing. If this was the 1950s it would mean something, but children these days have so many ways of contacting the outside world from inside their bedrooms that suspension doesn't feel like a prison sentence.

I'm not sure what is a suitable punishment, but from what I remember taking the bullies to one side and talking to them on their level about what they've done and about the condition of the girl seems like it would of been useful. Even getting them to apologise to her and be told to grow up wouldn't of gone a miss.

Well said, but unfortunately it looks like these sort of things will not change anytime soon

[geo]

I think it's awful that people would even do that. Schools don't really do anything with bullying although they make such a huge deal about it. I think it's awful how little they do about bullying and how long they spend on people's behaviour tbh. :s

[Chippiewill]

It's the system that's broken, the school loses school attendance days for students who are excluded. In essence the system punishes the school for doing the right thing. In this case however, I feel the action taken was mostly correct. The whole fire incident seems very serious, but if you've ever tried lighting hair.. you'd know it doesn't. In terms of the punishment, a longer exclusion would result in the students getting behind on work, a permanent exclusion should only really be considered for multiple incidents since it's less of a punishment to jump right to it.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Setting alight somebodies hair in my view amounts not only to being expelled, but is a criminal action.

[Chippiewill]

Children are children, criminal punishment would serve no purpose other than adding fuel to a non-existent fire.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Children are children, criminal punishment would serve no purpose other than adding fuel to a non-existent fire.

Actually when you punish people for criminal acts, and punish them harshly, they most times refrain from doing so again. Why do we have so much crime and bad behaviour? because we allow people to get away with appalling behaviour particularly from a young age.

I also can't believe you label this act as 'children are children', perhaps it just goes to show how far we've sunk when this is seen as childlike behaviour thats worthy of youngsters - but there are still many of us who believe that evil ought to be punished, and punished harshly.

[Judas]

Setting alight somebodies hair in my view amounts not only to being expelled, but is a criminal action.

I agree

Children are children, criminal punishment would serve no purpose other than adding fuel to a non-existent fire.

Children are children? This isn't just playground name-calling and teasing, a group of kids set a girl's hair on fire and physically assaulted her. If that is seen as acceptable childlike bickering these days then I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

[Accipiter]

Isn't hairlacquera highlyflammablesubstance, and isn't this target female... I think it's highly possible her hair could be god damn flammable.

I don't think there is anyone specific to blame, it's the good ol' "I blame society" act, that kids are taught the needs to have dominance in groups from a young age, so go so stupid, ****** up attempts to create some aurora of dominance.