Tragedy for STX Child

QueenofdeRock, That you so much for posting about this subject. I cried as I watched this as JJ could have been like these two young boys. I haven't spoken much about it but at JJs previous school here on St. Croix JJ was severely bullied in the first month of school. Not only was he allowed to be injured he was blamed for being too passive. Every day for 3 weeks with the exception of 3 days he was punched, kicked, bitten, hit over the head with toys and spat on. The child responsible was not kicked out of school. JJ would come home from school saying things like, "I am a failure and I cannot do anything right". We removed him from school on the day I asked him how his day went and he told me that he was not allowed to tell me what happened at school. At the time we did not know that JJ had suffered a groin injury from being repeatedly kick and punched. We ended up having to seek medical attention and counseling.

I encourage all parents to listen to what their children are telling them and to be alert to changes in their behavior or emotional state. Keep copies of any correspondence with your child's teacher and notes on any verbal conversation that you have. If you have any concerns or have made complaints to the school put it in writing. Most of all if your child is being bullied and nothing is done, take your child out of harms way. Young children cannot always verbalize what is happening to them.

Such a shame.

Shame on the schools & personnel who turn a blind eye to this crap. How adults can allow this to happen after they know about it is totally beyond me unless they were bullies themselves at a younger age. But what do they care as long as the paychecks keep coming.

Tragic story that hit close to my home...my coworker was family of the little boy, Jaheem.

the family is going to try and raise funds for the return of the body to STX. I will post here when i have more info on the fundraisers.

Peace

greets

please be SURE and post the information about donations AS SOON as you get it.
i cannot send any this week, but i can send some next week when i get paid.

give thanks
Sis Irijah

Thanks again, Sis!

I'm glad you removed JJ before something horrendous happened to him.....................geeze, can you sue his former school?
The teachers & school administrators should be fired!!!! (and daily bullied)

SO sorry to hear another child suffered and paid the ultimate price............:X:-(

I am very sorry and upset that this bullying thing still happens. But as a teacher I felt I should let you know that we are powerless. We report the student for bullying and many times there is nothing done that stops the behavior. Here is my school's policy.

Bullying minimum 2 days In School Suspension maximum 5 or more days Out of school suspension and referral to a guidance counselor. As you see the consequences are not much of a deterrent.

Today (Saturday) there is supposed to be a food sale to raise funds for the return of little Jaheem to STX....

Find them across from Sion farm Shopping center (across from Frame up, Airs R Us, etc...) Over where they often sell fish/lobster.

Please come help out, and fill your belly.

This makes me sick! I know that they felt that their son was safe in the St Croix schools, but I see bullying tactics everyday. As a teacher, I refuse to stand by - and the students know it. Even students that aren't mine talk to me about incidents repeatedly, because they know that I am going to try to do something about it. But, it is very difficult, because it's not taken care of the same way as a big fight would be.

I tell my student to write down EVERY incident, with the date, time and details about what was said or done. I also ask them to write down other incidents that they see. Once it's on paper, and the incidents are repeated over and over, and multiple people are reporting, it's easier to deal with. So many students are afraid to say something because they know that nothing will change or they will be tormented even more because they told.

Quite honestly, parents need more educating about bullying. The response from them is always, "Well, boys are boys. They grow out of it!" I really hope that parents see this clip and take it seriously.

The obituary is in today's AVIS.

Bullying in schools has been around forever. There is no easy answer, because the 10 year old bully grows into the the grown up bully. Some of those bullys are now the policeman, the manager, the teacher, even the Senator.

They continue to "enable" their co-bullys all of their lives. They take their anger and hate and use it as a club against others. Those who oppose gay marriage today are the same ones who taunted the "queer kids" in the 5th grade.

The CNN report clearly states that it is all about intolerance.

Hopefully some of you made it out to buy a plate today. If you couldn't make it over but want to help out, Mrs. Bermudez was there and gave this information for donations or sympathies:

Masika Bermudez
Po box 1642
Kingshill
Christiansted, VI 00850

Thank you aquaponics. We were not able to make it and I would like to make a donation.

Is Mrs. Bermudez the mother?

Aquaponics, will you check the zip code on the address you gave? I have a po box at kingshill and the zip is 00851.

this is such a sad state of affairs. it seems the teachers are not really allowed to do much about the bullies due to the administration. also the parents of the bully generally see nothing wrong with what their kid is doing. you remember the case of the parent who set up a fake myspace page to torment and bully that young girl who killed herself. i think she only got a slap on the wrist.
my prayers are with this family at this difficult time.

I had a relative who was bullied unmercifully in high school (Stateside.) This was many years ago & the teachers, principal & all the staff knew about it & did NOTHING. He saw them watching when it was going on and totally ignored what was happening. His female cousin who went to the same school & was very popular & had a BIG mouth used to protect him & went verbally after the guys who did it . SHE was punished by the teachers for it.

This is a real sore spot with me & it infuriates me that it still happens after all the school shootings that have happened. In many cases, the shooters are loners & many have been bullied. Even though it was back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, I can remember what a tough time it was being a teenager & when you add this kind of daily torment I can really understand that these kids feel trapped & see no other escape. Shame on those who allow & even encourage it to continue.

This is such a sad situation. I saw Jaheem's obituary in the Avis and was just angry that he was made to feel so hopeless. I spoke with my mom stateside and she had seen the story-my cousin is a CNN cameraman and also spoke about it. The pressure on kids today is so intense-intolerance overwhelming-very scary. My prayers go out to his family. Where are the administrators?? Children with these bully tendencies need to be identified and stopped-they need counseling before they endanger any other lives. And when are the stereotypes that "gay" or "lesbian" is a bad thing, going to stop? I just hope that his family is able to heal and that maybe some kids learn from this. wonder if his school is doing any follow up with the bullies...