Bullying is never going to go away. Kids that are bullies now are mostly bullies because either their parents aren't involved in their life, there's some sort of physical or emotional abuse, or the parents are bullies themselves. Holding parents responsible for their kids' actions it the best way to go, but that's only going to work if the parent is actually involved and sees that their child's behavior is a problem. There is also the fact that kids are extremely manipulative, and most of them know how to push their parents' buttons to get them pissed off at someone other than themselves. I know that my own kids will try to get me worked up over something by giving me only part of the facts first (The side that makes them look completely innocent, obviously.) and for a few minutes I'll be upset. Then I remember that there are two sides to every story, and if something did happen while they were at school, or with a neighbor, I would have heard something. I know my kids well enough that if I hear what they've done I can say 'Yeah, that's my kid....' or 'Nope. I know that didn't happen.' A lot of other parents don't even bother getting the other side of the story. They hear 'Mom, some boy hit me today!' without learning that their kid was shoving the boy first, then they go flying off the handle at the school who has probably done shit about the situation anyway.
Nearly all schools (On the East Coast at least) have a zero tolerance for bullying, which from what I've experiences means they have zero tolerance for hearing about the problem. They punish the kids being bullied for standing up for themselves, while the kids that are doing the bullying are made out to be the victims because the bullied kid finally did something about it. That only teaches kids that it's better to be victim then to stand up for yourself, and that's not right at all. I've already told every school that my kids have gone to what I tell my kids; If someone hits them, they hit back as hard as they can and don't stop till the other person's down. Is it right? People have told me it's not, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let my kids be victims. And if they get suspended for it? I'll take it up with the school board and question why my kid had to throw a punch to begin with. Of course I also told them if they throw the first punch they're on their own, because I'm not defending them.
The schools are partially responsible for the bullying problem as well. Most of us aren't with our kids when they're in school, unless you actually work at their school. If there's a problem it's generally up to our kids to tell us about it, and even then, if they haven't talked to their teacher parents are pretty much screwed. I can call up to my kids' schools and complain that something is going on, but they always say the same thing: 'We don't have any complaints about it'. If kids aren't reporting it, there's not a damn thing a parent can do. Now if the kids tell their teachers and nothing is being done, then there's all sorts of options available. However, telling a teacher is just as hazardous to a kid as anything else when it comes to bullying. Bully sees kid tell the teacher, sees teacher do jack shit, decided to up the bullying and really torment the kid until they're either too scared to tell on the bully again, or they see that it's a waste of time.
You can't change parents, but you can hold them responsible for their kids' actions. I've always believed that children who are constantly receiving discipline for bullying should be made to do community service, and the parents should be fined. Of course that's difficult, and there's a lot of problems that arise with the idea, but I honestly think that some steps need to be done to hold parents accountable for their kids behavior. If one of my kids broke a window, I would have to pay to replace the window. Why isn't it that way for bullying? As a parent, it's their job to teach their children that it's not okay to be a little asshole. Yes, there are some kids who no matter what you do are going to continue on, and most likely those kids need psychiatric help of some kind. But there are other kids who know what they're doing is wrong, and simply don't care because they can get away with it.
And answer truthfully. How many of you have been bullied in school, graduated and run into your bully later on? How many of those bullies have changed? Of all the bullies I've dealt with in high school, I can honestly say that not a single one of them changed. Sure, there was one guy who turned to religion, but he used religion to condemn and harass others (Mostly homosexuals). Even if they have appeared to change, chances are they've just found another method to bully people that isn't as appalling as their original.
