Geraldine, I totally agree with you, but I think the point of the article is that no action is/was taken, despite the issue being reported. I’m sure you wouldn’t have been quite as understanding if your son had reported the bullying to his teacher who then did nothing.

I agree with you again Geraldine. But I suppose as a parent you also have a responsibility to push to ensure that the powers above are also listening (which is probably what you did in your case) – it can’t always be left to a teacher, who may have 150+ kids to deal with in any one day.

Fashion sense is now a core part of the curriculum.

Ah they changed the photo :(

Completely agreed Michael but its underlying issues of bullying that needs to be addressed and not sensationalist stories about racist children in Ireland! Bullying occurs in every form and I don’t believe any one type is more severe than the other. Integration always proves to be very difficult due to perceived inequalities between certain groups but it works both ways!

Again this racist spin people are trying to use is incorrect, children can be extremely cruel no matter what colour your skin is.

When I was in school I was bullied for having a surname that sounded strange and big ears.

Ginger kids get the same.

This immigrant councils want to stir up problems at that young level as it suits their agenda.

Most children at a young age dont know the difference as see most other kids the same as themselves.

Where I live we have black kids,hungarian, serbs and Irish and they all play together.

Bigotry is from the home and if it does occur most children dont actually know the difference until they are teenagers.

LOL, quieter classrooms in a jolt

When you were in the school system I hope you weren’t teaching English!! Here’s a clue. I’m being anal :)

Thank you for that witty reply Niall, also one exclamation mark is sufficient.
Casually, exclamation marks may be repeated for additional emphasis (“That’s amazing!!!”), but this practice is generally considered unacceptable in formal prose :-)

Well said John F….my son had speech problems when younger so only moved into a mainstream class from 1st class onwards…..he was ridiculously shy and was the target for every horrible bully in the class. His speech is perfect now and he has more confidence now but those bullies made school unbearable for the past few years for him. I teach my kids to be nice to their peers and talk to them about how horrible it is to bully….pity all parents couldn’t do the same!!

So you know more about the casual use of exclamation marks in a sentence than the word ‘being’.Very strange indeed but maybe we’ve both learned something today eh. :)

Niall…stop bullying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While on many cases, the word ” racism” is misused as “cultural bigotry”, to say that all humanity is one race is equally just playing with words. Should we all have the same rights? Yes? Are we all the same? No. Multicultural integration fails when we play down cultural differences. Difference cannot be ignored.

Strictly speaking, I believe the “ethnicity” is more concerned with cultural differences. The concept of “race” is an outdated concept that assumes there are significant biological differences between various groups (there aren’t). Should we all have the same rights? Yes. Are we all the same? Biologically speaking, yeah, pretty much.

It’s the “pretty much” that causes the problem. You may see the differences as insignificant, others might not. We cannot relay on subjective value judgements as they can’t objectively proven. People of African descent are more likely to suffer from Sickle-cell Anaemia. People of Irish descent are more likely to suffer from Haemoxhromatosis . These are biological differences. We need context to see if these differences are significant or not.

Very true Karswell, but it should be noted that these genetic tendencies have no real causal connection with the quantity of melanin in the skin upon which theories of race tend to be based. Also, these differences, while of some slight import to a health service looking to help immigrants who might be marginally more susceptible to certain conditions than the indigenous populace, should have no impact on integration and interaction with the public as a whole.

My point is that context changes with the perspective of the person. Saying that everyone’s basically the same is undoubtedly well-intentioned, but what has pens when you say that everyone’s the same but the people you are intending to help disagree with you, and would find this rejection of their difference not only untrue but highly insulting? And who is correct? They or you? If you impose your ideas onto other people, but are not recognising their right to have a different point of view. Many cultures cherish difference. The western middle-class notion that we’re all the same is not a universal notion.

Think we’re probably talking across each other. I appreciate and agree with your points about very real cultural differences but I would disagree if someone was to say that these cultural differences were in some way deeply biologically determined. Culture is not biology, regardless of whether or not someone’s culture say it is. Anyways, good chatting!

Teachers are in loco parentis in schools. How are they not to blame?

Okay if your victim status is for a moment considered to be true for arguments sake , then the consequence to you as a professional are …. A big fat zero , because it is easier to get an audience with Sammy Davis junior than it is to reprimand or even fire a teacher in Ireland, unless of course you get convicted of a custodial sentence, so while I’m not in favour of teacher bashing , you do have certain arrangements that are the envy of humanityn

I put the blame squarely where it belongs on the parents of bullies. Its what they learn and see at home that influences a child more than anything else

I was a bully at school, I’m not proud of it. We had this Irish kid I’m my class, pale skin red hair we used to call him all sorts. And now I’m living in his country :) I got in touch with him recently, its all cool.

Go crying to the lawyers, bring the whole thing out in the open, and see how that pleases the bullies, whatever their age and stage. For the reality, Fiachra, is that it is these bullies and their apologists who need to develop a thicker skin – not to mention guts, as they whine, finger-point and blame about being brought to account for their actions. Everyone finds their survival skills sooner or later. True, the bullies and their apologists may struggle with a target’s choice of a rational, legal method of obtaining justice. Generally speaking, it’s not their preferred environment. But that’s their tough – probably the closest they’ll ever get to that word’s true definition.

Against it works both ways.

As for teachers turning a blind eye they did it before we had any non nationals in any school.

In my school bullying was pretty much ignored unless parents kicked up a stink, this is not unique to todays environment.

But the statement you make that teachers encourage it, if it is true which I doubt except very few cases, I would consult the Gardai then.

By the way I am not a teacher or have anything to do with them but I have two small nephews 4 and 6 so I get an insight to what goes on in schools now.

@robbie, i again reiterate the fact that the number of teachers doong this is small, but why shd the fact that teachers do it be a surprise, after all they are from the same environment and country as the parents. Most non national parents do little due to fear of victimisation of the child or its sibling. We just develop a thick skin.

Try being a protestant in a catholic school in the 80′s and 90′s the mechanism is there, so use it, if the schools dont comply they will be made too if you push it.

If anyone has evidence of a teacher ENCOURAGING bullying in an Irish school they should report it immediately.

Robbie
I have to agree with you here , it works BOTH ways, But to say that teachers turn a blind eye or even encourage it is a disgraceful comment, by Zulu Zulu .And if he knows this as fact then he should report it immediately.
Children , by the very nature of the beast will pick on and be cruel to other kids , this we know. It is our duty as responsible parents/ adults / aunts/ uncles/ grand parents etc to explain to kids the unnecessary hurt they can some times cause. I have 3 boys ,2 of whom have red hair and they were often called names and bullied , my 3rd son is mixed race and has been called names not by Irish kids but by black kids , I approached one of the Mammies and she explained to me that it is a tribal thing … but did not ask her son to stop. So racist bullying can and does work both ways . I put it down to the bad behavior of each individual child who is nasty, the lack of training and good manners. Neither of which COST anything.

@Fintan some years ago one of my sons eventually broke down and told us he was being terribly bullied at school, he was suicidal. This bully would do the usual things, ridicule him, hit him and destroy what work he was doing in school but there was nothing he could do. The bully was a teacher. He would often single my son out in front of the class and, f’ing and blinding at him, hit him, mock his work and generally make shit of him. This had gone on for years before we found out. We went to the principal and I made it clear if it happened again my son was to leave the school immediately and I’d deal with them through my solicitor, this was their one chance. At a parent teacher meeting I also spoke quietly to the teacher in question and made it clear that if he ever so much as raised his voice to my son again I’d beat the ever loving shit out of him. He believed me.
The school more or less didn’t want to know, it turned out this teacher had a reputation for this sort of thing and my son was just one of a long line of his “victims”, I imagine other kids were relieved it wasn’t them. He retired a couple of years later. My son is now over 6 feet tall and very proficient in jiu jitsu.

Wud agree here a 100%, this is similar to my experience.

A bully will pick on anyone they see as an “easy” target or someone they know won’t stand up to them. Let’s be clear that bullying is not exclusive to children from ethnic minorities. All children who have been bullied for whatever reasons all feel the same inside – isolated, helpless, scared.
All bullying should be stamped out! There’s no point in saying lets help these kids who are been bullied because of their ethnicity but forget about those who are been bulled for been overweight or poor. No child should go to school feeling intimidated or scared!
Mary I find your comment stating ‘Most Irish are racist’ to be very ignorant and narrow minded.

Bullies will pick up on anything they can. But if it’s racist bullying, then it’s racist and bullying. It’s both, there’s no need to pretend it’s not. Just like it’s homophobic bullying if someone is being bullied because they’re gay. It’s important because if someone is picked on because of, say, their skin colour – it will affect that kid in a particular way. It’s different to being picked on for having ginger hair, for example, because racism is a bigger thing, an established and deeply damaging practice that goes on daily in all facets of life.

The distinctions can be very important because otherwise we run the risk of blinding ourselves to the problems.

I have no way of knowing how bad a racism problem we have in this country. Accounts differ greatly. But if one side is saying “we’re all racists” and the other is saying “no we’re not, racism doesn’t exist here at all!” then neither party is going to really get to the bottom of it.

On another note, I heard a group of (Irish) kids in mcdonalds a while back insulting each other by saying “you’re an immigrant” “no, YOU’RE an immigrant”. So…yeah.

Ok Lets take an example of Peter who is a Bully. Peter bullies 4 people at school David, Paul, Michael and Robert. Just to say for instance that out of these 4 kids Michael is Black and the other 3 kids are white. Is Peter bullying Michael because he is black or is he bullying him simply because he is a Bully? Should Michael’s problem with this bully be dealt with as a priority over the bullying of David, Paul and Robert?
If your bully is a different ethnicity than you does it automatically make it racial bullying?

It seems to have done precious little to help you, Waterford.