wintertime: Solution: Do not institutionalize your child. Homeschool if you possibly can. If you must use institutionalized education, look for a **small** private school.
Guess what? Bullying can, and often does, occur in any setting where there is more than one child.
I spent 12 years in small private schools and guess what? Bullying occurred even there and that was back in the 60s and 70s.
The idea of bullying is NOT confined to public schools----but you knew that - it just doesn't fit your agenda and therefore you are unable to bring yourself to state it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Regarding non-educational situations: Nothing in my post referred to this. What do you want me to do? I should chase a red herring of your creation? I don’t think so!
Regarding institutionalization:
Why do you think I said, “Do not institutionalize your child” ? Hm? I did not specify government or private. I said “institutionalize”. That means both private and government.
I did say, “Homeschool if you possibly can.” That means do **NOT** institutionalize your child in either a government or private institutional setting. Institutionalization should be a parents very last choice!
However...I did say, if you must institutionalize, look for a **small** private school. Why? Answer: The parent will probably have somewhat more control, and the teachers and principals as well. I think I made it perfectly clear that institutionalization, even in a small private school, was **NOT** an ideal situation for the child. In no way did I suggest that private schools were free of bullying.
Gabz, get used to this idea. It is catching on. I am seeing the idea of “institutionalization” in the writings of some very influential editorialists and, specifically, the leaders of the Exodus Mandate.
I must be lucky, because I spent 9 years in private schools, and I saw no bullying of any kind. Not even serious teasing and that was in the 70's and 80's. Sure, there were some kids who were thought of as "dorks" and "geeks," and there was joking behind people's backs, but nothing really mean-spirited.
If you really, REALLY, think the average private school has the same type of law-of-the-jungle type atmosphere of the average private school, I can only say that doesn't come close to my experience, even more so when I consider my children's private school.