Posted on 09/08/2022 4:32:55 PM PDT by Morgana
he young boy who took his own life as he started school in North Carolina on Tuesday has been identified, as his heartbroken mother revealed he had been bullied for years and urged her fellow parents to teach their children to be kind.
Austin Pendergrass, 13, took his own life in a bathroom at Wendell Middle School on Tuesday on his first day of eighth-grade.
He was found dead by two students, prompting school officials to send everyone home, claiming there was a 'medical crisis.'
Pendergrass' family has now confirmed he died of suicide after years of bullying.
'The signs were there, but the bullying it was so bad,' his grieving mother, Jessica Pendergrass told WNCN, revealing he had been bullied since he was in sixth-grade.
'It was so bad last year with kids just taunting him, hurting him,' family friend Jalia Harris said in a video taken at a vigil Wednesday night.
He was able to enjoy the summer, his mom told WRAL, but as soon as he went back to school on Tuesday, the bullying started again.
'It's sad for us,' Harris said in the video, 'but this should be an eye-opener for everyone.'
'Just teach your kids to be kind, because kids can be so cruel,' Jessica Pendergrass added.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I did that when my son was being bullied in 5th grade. A registered letter to the principal and all members of the School Board was sent with a cc to a lawyer I picked out of the phone book.
I reminded them of their legal duty to protect my kid and that I’d sue each and every one of them personally if the behavior didn’t cease immediately.
I got a call from the superintendent before I got all the receipts back.
The bullying stopped and the kid who did it was removed and sent to a “special school” for kids with behavioral issues.
L
Yep You have to fight for your kids because the school system won’t act unless you do.
One father I knew didn’t bother going to the school when his daughter was bullied by a known bully. The bully lived in the country so the father of the girl waited for him until he got off the bus and put the fear of God in Him! Kid never bothered his daughter again.
“What is wrong with kids today?”
Today? There was bullying in the ‘50s and ‘60s, too. Back then, kids sucked it up and grew up to be tough adults.
Good point. In my day, the school bullies didn’t have the internet.
And more than a few of kids in his position have walked into the school and shot their tormenters. There is very little holding you back once you decide to do yourself in too. This kid was decent and didn’t go that route.
You have a good point. It was a long time ago.
Fear is what keeps people from defending themselves. Bullies generally have a leader and a couple of witless cowardly cronies who are there to watch and snicker as the leader torments his victims. Beat the crap out of him and his cronies will not step in to protect him. Bullies prefer victims who won’t fight back.
The world was a saner place then.
Lol, ok.
A good ass kicking works in real life, too. Bullies prey on their victims fearfulness. I was bullied by a guy when I was in the 9th grade. One day I had had enough and hit him with a chair and then hit him with another. He never bothered me again. Well, he tried but he knew I would fight him and he didn’t want to fight. He enjoyed the psychological torture, not fighting.
This boy was in school, according to the article.
We knew schoolkids who were bullied horribly, and their parents finally removed them from school. They were much happier homeschooling.
With that said, homeschooled kids aren't perfect little angels, either. Some bullying will happen anywhere, including homeschool co-ops.
Your points were once good sense and in some situations they will work. Now many kids in middle school are in gangs and they think they will be cool when they get their first kill accomplished. My son wanted to try public school in 9th grade so he could play football. He got more than he bargained for with kids threatening him with knives at locker breaks. Society has gone to pot with no consequences and enabling rather than discipline. If we don’t get back to rewarding hard work, and honorable behavior the jungle ethos will destroy every vestige of safety as the complex society fostered by equal justice, individual responsibility, & accountability crumbles.
If we had a voucher system his mother could have sent him to a better school. But the ‘teacher’s union’ wants control over our kids and they’d rather have kids die than lose control
Support vouchers - give parents a chance to save their children.
< I was bullied by a guy when I was in the 9th grade. <
The point I’m trying to make is that most bullies now run in packs. Sometimes it’s by race. Sometimes it’s by neighborhood. Whatever.
I’m sure single bullies still exist. Then a quick punch might do the trick. But one small kid is simply not going to prevail against a gang. Please see my post #55.
This has been true for a long, long time, depending on where you grew up and went to school.
One of the biggest mistakes that states have made in revoking the driver license of dropouts to keep them in school where they don’t learn and only make learning more difficult for the rest.
my friend sent his kid to boxing training...No more problems
Absolutely right and bring back schools where incorrigible discipline problems are sent so that they will not destroy learning opportunities for other kids. Different tactics may allow the disruptive kids a better chance as well.
Principals definitely aren’t the feared disciplinarians they were when we were in school.
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