Too Young...

On January 21, 2010, nine year old Montana Lance, a 4^th grade student at Stewart Creek Elementary School in Lewisville, Texas took his own life.  After being sent to the office, he asked to use the bathroom and locked himself in the nurse’s closet and hung himself with a belt. 

Nearly two and a half years later, the case is still in litigation. 

Parents from Lewisville and several other school districts staged a demonstration today due to their feelings that schools are not doing enough to protect students from bullying.  What many parents fail to realize is that the US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, called for school districts across the country to adopt anti-bullying protocols last school year.  It was mandated in Texas as part of the most recent legislative session.  While parents do have an expectation of safety when their child is dropped off at school, it is important for parents to familiarize themselves with their school district’s code of conduct.  At the beginning of every school year, parents are given a stack of paperwork to fill out from their child’s teacher or school.  One of those papers is usually an acknowledgement of receipt of the code of conduct.  The majority of parents simply tear the signature paper out, sign it, and return it with the rest of the stack.  However, it is the parent’s responsibility to know the information.  While it happens that some schools and districts fail their students, it also happens that parents fail their children. 

Whatever comes of the litigation in Montana’s case, there is still a family that is missing their son.  There is still a little girl, now 8 years old, who witnessed Montana’s lifeless body being taken down and laid on a bed in the nurse’s office.  There are still classmates and teachers who lost something that fateful day.  And there will be victims of bullying who get no media attention, whose parents grieve in silence, and whose deaths and victimization go unnoticed. 

No amount of legislation or lawsuits will put an end to bullying.   Parents, it’s up to us to teach our children that their words and actions, even at such young ages, can have devastating effects.  It’s also up to us to watch how we speak to and in front of our children before.  We need to be the change we want to see in our children.

For more on Montana Lance, read here