Iowa Governor Terry Branstad seems to be jumping on the bandwagon of having tougher anti-bullying measures based on the recent tragedy in Northwest Iowa. We should care about all bullying and anti-bullying policies should place the emphasis on the the wrong actions of the bully, not on perceived thoughts or motivations. The bully’s reasons or excuses should matter. Schools should pursue this problem by prohibiting any bullying regardless of the reason or the child. Schools, communities, and families can do the best job addressing this problem, not the state government. When government gets involved polices become politicized which ends up focusing on an agenda instead of the problem at hand.
Some facts that we must consider before jumping on the current anti-bullying bandwagon:
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Physical appearance – or the general concept of appearing different than one’s peers – is usually the most commonly reported reason for why victims are targeted.
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A child’s chance of being bullied can even be increased by something as subtle as difficulty reading “noverbal” social cues.
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Students who struggle with obesity, for instance, are 65 percent more likely to be bullied; children with disabilities as much as 85 percent more likely.
(Above bullet points from Fast Facts on Bullying in Schools)
Update: Some stats from the 2010-2011 school year to consider from the top 10 largest school districts in Iowa (based on 2010-2011 enrollment).
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Des Moines Independent School District (Enrollment: 32,438): 97 reports of bullying, only 5 instances was the reason of sexual orientation given.
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Cedar Rapids Community School District (Enrollment: 16,971): 68 reports of bullying, none had to do with sexual orientation.
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Davenport Community School District (Enrollment: 16,737): 642 reports of bullying, 66 instances were reported prompted by the victim’s sexual orientation.
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Sioux City Community School District (Enrollment: 14,233): 195 instances of bullying reported, only three were related to sexual orientation.
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Waterloo Community School District (Enrollment: 10,663): 467 reports of bullying, 76 instances were due to sexual orientation.
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Iowa City Community School District (Enrollment: 11,925): 25 reports of bullying, only three had to with sexual orientation.
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Dubuque Community Schools (Enrollment: 11,163): 72 instances of bullying reported, only 9 had to do with sexual orientation.
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Council Bluffs Community School District (Enrollment: 9,210): 3 instances of bullying reported, none had to do with sexual orientation.
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West Des Moines Community School District (Enrollment: 9195): 149 reports of bullying, only 15 had to do with sexual orientation.
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Ankeny Community School District (Enrollment: 8,656): only 1 instance of bullying reported it was classified “other,” for additional reference back in 2007-2008 they had 105 reports of bullying with only one instance due to sexual orientation. In 2008-2009, 54 instances of bullying, none had to do with sexual orientation.
Now I admit that not every instance of bullying gets reported. I would say that is definitely true in Ankeny, Council Bluffs and Iowa City which have extremely low numbers of reports compared to their enrollment. I still don’t believe, and the facts simply don’t show, that is the prominent cause of bullying. Since that is the case I think we can reasonably ask why is all of the anti-bullying emphasis at the state and federal level on homosexual kids?
Update 2: You have to love how the “anti-bullying” activists bully people who disagree with them.
