Why do schools protect bullies? This is the question on the minds of most school bullying victims. If you’re one of them, here are all the detailed reasons you need to know.
When a student is bullied and reports the abuse, many schools will protect the bullies instead of the kid who needs protection. They never hold them accountable for their bad behavior. Instead, they blame the victim.
Therefore, in this post, you will learn all the answers you need to know.
Once you learn all the answers and the details around them, you will no longer need to ask, “Why do schools protect bullies?”. Moreover, you will realize that protecting yourself from bullying is your responsibility. And you will feel better about taking the initiative and standing up to your bullies.
This post will give you all the answers when you ask, “Why do schools protect bullies,” so that you will no longer let it confuse you.
Why Do Schools Protect Bullies?
If you’re bullied in school, you should follow the proper channels. You can report the bullying to your teachers and the principal. It’s only legal.
However, when you are bullied and report the abuse, many schools will only protect the bullies and blame you.
There are several reasons why schools protect bullies. However, first, let’s discuss how and why they attempt to conceal bullying.
Why do schools try to hide bullying?
Here are all the ways schools try to hide bullying.
1. They vehemently deny bullying in their facilities.
The reason they do this is to protect the school’s reputation and that of the school district. Bullying has been a topic of widespread news coverage over the last twenty-five years or so.
Moreover, the last thing any school wants is to be plastered all over the media because of a bullying incident. Therefore, they will deny that anything happened to cover it up.
2. They don’t contact the victim’s parents.
When a bully injures a child, schools often fail to report the incident to the child’s parents. Moreover, they refuse to show any videos of bullying or fights to the bullied child’s parents. I’ve read about this many times.
Again, the reason they do this is to prevent the school’s reputation from being tarnished. Additionally, this also protects the bullies.
3. Why Do Schools Protect Bullies?
They answer any questions with vague statements or refuse to comment AT ALL.
The reason schools do this is to confuse the parents. They also do it to stonewall them and make them go away.
They think that if your parents give up, everything can go back to the way it was, and they won’t have to worry about their school’s reputation taking a hit.
4. They Retaliate against the bullied kid or their family.
When your parents get involved and refuse to shut up about the bullying, your school may retaliate. This doesn’t happen often, but it happens.
How schools retaliate against Bullied Students.
Many schools are vindictive toward bullied students and families who refuse to shut up about incidents of bullying. Here are the ways they retaliate.
1. They threaten to call Children’s Services
Schools do this to scare your parents into being quiet. If they can put you at risk of being removed from your home, they are more likely to silence you and your family.
Additionally, this shifts the negative spotlight away from the school and onto your family.
2. Why Do Schools Protect Bullies?
It’s easier to ban your parents from the school.
Parents who complain about bullying pose a threat to the school. Therefore, the school may ban the parent from school property.
If the parent is violent, then the school should ban them. However, in many cases, the parent did not resort to violence. All they did was simply bring up a bullying incident, and that was all it took for the school to ban them.
No. This doesn’t happen every day. Some schools do protect bullied kids. However, they are few and far between. And the bullying of innocent parents does happen. And it’s heartbreaking.
3. They have your parents arrested.
Again, if the parent comes to the school threatening violence and acting like a fool, I’m all for banning them and having them arrested.
However, many innocent parents have been arrested for simply addressing bullying. Sometimes this happens even if the parent handles the situation with diplomacy.
I’ve read many heartbreaking stories about similar situations.
4. Why Do Schools Protect Bullies?
It’s easier to Threaten you.
This happened to me years ago. Because I defended myself against many bullies, the staff made out an unruly child report and almost had me sent away.
Fortunately, I dodged that bullet. But many bullied victims don’t. And it’s sad.
5. They have you arrested and sent to the juvenile detention center.
I’ve read many stories of innocent bullying victims being sent away to juvenile detention because they fought their bullies in self-defense.
Unfortunately, zero-tolerance policies often fail to deter bullying. Sometimes, they get innocent kids in trouble for simply trying to defend themselves from physically violent bullies.
6. Why do schools protect bullies?
It’s easier to hide behind Sovereign Immunity.
Also, understand that schools have Sovereign Immunity and they will hide behind it. Sovereign Immunity is the stipulation that protects federal or state entities from litigation.
Therefore, it’s difficult to file a lawsuit against a school or school district. Parents have filed lawsuits against schools. And, yes, some have even won those lawsuits.
However, the statistics for successful cases are low.
This is why Sovereign Immunity for schools must be abolished. Moreover, they must be held accountable if a bullied student is maimed, murdered, or dies from suicide.
So, why do schools protect bullies?
1. Because the bullies have connections to people in power.
In other words, they are connected to local politicians and crime kingpins. This is especially true in small towns.
It’s because schools are afraid of pissing off those in power. If they suspend the bullies, their grades will likely drop.
Then, their powerful parents, who are likely to be adult bullies, would show up the next morning. They will demand to know why their little darlings were suspended.
If nothing else, know this. In most cases of bullying, it’s not about who’s right or wrong. It’s about who has the most power.
In other words, most people care less about right and wrong. What they care about is power and how you can benefit them in some way, shape, or form.
“What’s in it for me?”
2. Why do schools protect bullies?
Because the bullies often score high academically, which makes the school look good.
Schools are rated by the grades their students receive. Their graduation and dropout rates are also taken into account.
Therefore, if a school can maintain a high graduation rate and a low dropout rate, it enhances its reputation. In short, they look good.
Therefore, why would the school side with anyone other than its brightest stars and highest achievers?
If schools can crank out college candidates with high honors, all the better. And sadly, because of bullying, many targets drop out.
3. Why Do Schools Protect Bullies?
The bullies are athletes on the school sports teams.
Many bullies are stars of the school’s sports teams. Let’s face it. Schools have an interest in their sports teams.
They want to win games and to win in regional, state, and national championships. Why? Because it bolsters the school’s image.
And what school board member or principal wouldn’t want these things?
If the school has an excellent reputation, it’s likely to have a larger number of attending students. And more parents will likely want their kids to attend.
And the more students a school has, the more funding it receives from its state. Therefore, schools have a vested interest in maintaining a positive image.
4. The bullies are on the cheerleading squad and in sororities and fraternities.
Only students with good grades and high marks are accepted into these groups. So, it goes without saying. If they make superior grades, the school will protect them.
5. Why do schools protect bullies?
The bullies’ parents are boosters.
In other words, they are those who provide funding for the school’s programs. And trust me when I say that schools won’t risk losing these funders!
Therefore, schools will always side with the bullies and blame you because appealing to any entity’s self-interest equals POWER! And most victims of bullying, I’m sorry to say, don’t have the power that bullies have.
Remember that an imbalance of power is a primary characteristic of bullying.
6. The bullies suck up to faculty.
Like it or not, most people in power love being sucked up to. Teachers and school officials are no exception. Therefore, sucking up gives bullies many brownie points.
And school staff will protect bullies. And they will do it out of loyalty.
Why do schools protect bullies?
Schools THAT bully parents
Schools have more power than you realize. If their reputation is at risk, they will do anything to silence you and your family. They will take measures to prevent anything bad from getting out.
Sadly, many parents of bullied kids are single. And they are raising children on one paycheck. How do they fight against such powerful entities?
Understand that school officials are elected officials- politicians. And schools will protect their reputations at all costs.
How Parents can protect their children from bullying
1. Put in for a school transfer.
Although not always feasible, transferring your child to a new school is one of the best things you can do for them. A transfer will give them a fresh start with a clean slate.
And, because they’ve had no history with the other students at the new school, it will be much easier for them to make friends there.
However, what if you can’t afford it? Luckily, there’s a government program called school choice. With the school choice program, you get vouchers to send your child to any school they want to attend, even a private school.
Ways you can appeal to the school’s interests and level the playing field
If you can find a way to appeal to the school’s self-interest, then you have an ace in the hole. Here are ways you can do it!
1. Excel and keep your grades up.
I realize that this can be hard to do when you’re a target of relentless bullying. Bullying can break your concentration.
Instead of focusing on schoolwork, you naturally focus on ways to be safe. That’s completely understandable. However, you must make your bullies your motivation to excel.
There’s nothing wrong with compensating. And sometimes you must compensate to buffer your self-esteem and protect your mental health.
Therefore, if you lack friends and social connections, compensate for this by excelling in academics and improving your class performance.
It will pay huge dividends. And you’ll feel so much better about yourself.
3. Find ways to benefit the school with your talents and gifts.
If you can use your talents to bolster the school’s image, that’s a win for you. And the school will more likely support and protect you from bullies.
If you can sing, join the school choir and win in the all-state championships. Not only will you look good, but your school will also look good!
In closing:
It’s a fact that most schools ignore bullying and protect bullies. Bullies get away with bullying all the time, and some teachers may join in on the torment. It’s heartbreaking.
But don’t give up. There are things you can do to protect yourself.
This post answered the question, “Why do schools protect bullies” to get rid of any confusion and bewilderment you might have.
Related posts you’ll enjoy:
1. Why do Schools Ignore Bullying? 7 Reasons Schools Do Nothing
2. Why do Bullies Get Away with Bullying? 15 Must-Know Answers
3. Bullying by Teachers in School: 7 Steps to Protect Yourself
