The Aftermath of Bullying
by Allison Seale

Twelve-year-old Casey Woodruff, a sixth grade student in Eugene, Ore., was just one of about 282,000 students experts estimate are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.

Some of the challenges often associated with eliminating bullying in schools include:

• It is usually done subversively, out of sight of caring adults.
• Its victims often fail to report it, sometimes fearing retaliation and often because they have prior experience within a system where reports are ignored or, worse, the victims are punished along with the bullies.
• The adults within the school feel that bullying is a normal part of childhood and are not united in following anti-bullying policies to the letter.

12-year-old Casey Woodruff sinks down in his seat as three boys single him out for bullying while others look on.

Because of the subversive nature of bullying, it’s sometimes difficult for a parent or teacher to get a mental picture of what is really going on when a child says he or she has been bullied.

On October 2, 2002, after being bullied for more than a year, Casey Woodruff's parents and school got a visual of bullying few will forget. A surveillance camera installed in Casey's school bus captured frightening images of three boys who, together and individually, took turns kicking and hitting Casey for approximately 10 minutes while other students on the bus simply looked on. The images on the tape gave his parents the graphic proof they needed to force his school to take action against against the boys.

“When he’d come home and say, ‘someone was kicking me at recess,’ I had something else pictured in my mind,” says Casey’s mother, Ciel Woodruff. “When I actually saw it on the tape, it blew my mind. It was so much worse than I imagined kids that age could be.”

More shocking than the boys’ brutality was that the entire attack took place while the bus was parked in front of the school and the bus driver was seated at the front of the bus. Incredibly, she was unaware of what was happening behind her.

“We always have supervision in front of the school,” Peter Van Geem, Casey’s principal at Monroe Middle School said. “If something had been going on in the bus that the driver had taken notice of and needed help with, all she had to do was step out and ask for help because we’re right there.”

The incident, which ultimately made national news, offers important lessons on bullying and how we respond to incidents. It may support the case for those considering implementing district-wide anti-bullying curricula, such as that done in West Covina, Calif. described on page 4.

This situation challenged school administrators because it occured within the first month of a new school year between children who had a previous history of bullying Casey in elementary school. The assistant principal at Casey’s middle school wanted incoming students to start with a clean slate and, therefore, had chosen not to separate the boys, even though his parents had specifically requested this as a minimal step to prevent more bullying. Since the boys lived within a block of one another, they were also assigned to the same school bus.

As often occurs with bullying situations, Casey stopped reporting the almost daily attacks. On October 2, he came home and reported the bus incident to his mother, and she immediately called the school to have the tape pulled and reviewed. By reporting the videotaped incident, Casey's parents were finally able to demand action on their son's behalf.

By having consistent policies against, and definitions for, bullying from school to school within a district, bullying can be reduced. But equally important, is that all school employees – from the principal to the teachers and bus drivers – understand that bullying is not tolerated, how to respond to it when it occurs, and that its victims are to be empathized with and followed up with to ensure that the bullying has truly stopped. Bullying, though common, has no place in school.