All that matters is that you back him up, if the situation calls for it.
I got into plenty of scuffles defending myself as a child. I was thin and petite and fat stupid mean girls thought I was weak because of my stature. My parents always backed me up when I defended myself, regardless of what the school or parents said. I wasn’t offensive or violent then, and don’t have violent tendencies now. But I do have self respect and I don’t let anyone bully me. As a result, I don’t have a victim attitude.
So... if the situation calls for it, support your son and that will be the voice he hears.
History book to the nose? Worked for me...
My 8 year old grandson got into a fight at school too. Another kid had been bugging him telling him he wanted to fight him. Finally the other kid smacked him in the face and my grandson son punched him in the mouth. They then proceeded to grapple until the teacher broke it up.
Other kid was given two days ISS (in school suspension) while my grandson got a 1.2 day. That day was the day they were to do their halloween thing.
My daughter picked him up and and on the way out of the school she loudly told him he did a good job defending himself and that she was taking him for ice cream!
The other kid hasn’t bothered him since.
Teach him to box the teach some other manly fighting skills.
The fight was recorded....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_agOnqeEeXw
The aftermath....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KjxFDGFKhk
In the 70s, in my town we fought for sport, to establish the pecking order. If you didn’t like your ranking, you tried to move up.
When my oldest son was in middle school, he was getting off the school bus, and accidentally stepped on the heel of the kid in front of him. The kid turned around and punched my son in the face. My son went to the school nurse because his mouth was bleeding and he had a terrible bruise on the inside of his bottom lip. The nurse reported it to the principal. The kid who punched my son was black. So the kid and my son were both suspended for “fighting”.
It is to his benefit that he has not been “sissified”. He fought instead of whining to a teacher. A fighter (NOT an assailant) gets respect; a tattletale does not.