Mom blames teen's suicide on bullying
York County teen Christian Taylor, 16, was found hanged in his bedroom May 31 after his mother complained to the sheriff's office about bullying, the AP reports.
Authorities say they looked into the matter weeks ago, and because no crime had been committed, turned the matter over to school administrators. Taylor's mother, Alise Williams, says her son, a freshman at Grafton High, complained to the school and to police. According to Williams, nothing was done and his tormentor remained in school.
School officials say they met with both students and their parents.
Read more on: bullyingteen suicide
30 comments
Regardless of who's fault it is...parents, teachers, clergy, FRIENDS, need to make it clear that SUICIDE is a PERMANENT solution to a TEMPORARY problem.
www.twloha.com
Home schooling could be a great alternative, but not when both parents work. Some kids are just very cruel, and they tend to gang up on others. They of course do this out of sight of teachers and staff.
Lisa Provence needs to do better. I checked other websites and they have much more information. Writers are to lazy these days.
Really. come on there is more kids that have much more problems then him. wussy
I agree with what a wuss. My dad was alcoholic i was bullied in school. Every one picked on me. this kids only problem is a bully.
This kid was bound to do it later anyway if he failed to get in college or his girlfriend left him.
Used to be (back in the '50's and '60's) that if you got bullied, mom or dad would call the others parents and the matter would be taken care of- not a pleasant experience............the school didn't take care of it to begin with, what makes anyone think that they will take care of it now.
Lol commit suicide because you think you have more problems then any one else. People have much more problems. Suicide is the easy way out. Some kids are disabled in a wheel chair and they are picked on. But they keep going.
today suicide is the easy way out.
This is a travisty and prayers go out to this young mans family. Grafton however is known to have a lot of problems including staff members harassing, sexual abuse ect... Some of the staff are former inmates and so they will not step in when an innocent child is being taunted. The school, staff and student should all be held accountable.
Deleted by moderator.
@Very Old timer - Vouchers! You are spot on! Take the money that would be put towards these bullied children and send it to a private school and see how fast school officials stop looking at the situation as "they're just being kids"....
my answer: vouchers...
I agree that it is a parent's responsibility to raise their children and teach them morals, however, obviously that doesn't always happen! That does not excuse the police or the school from maintaining a safe enviroment for our children. I don't care if they are only there for one hour a day!!!
This is a shame. Though we must not depend on the state to protect our children. Parents need to be the protectors.
There can be a zero tolerance bullying policy that starts in preschool. If the children are not taught respect and consideration at home, they can still adhere to that standard at school. Start young. In New Zealand by fourth grade there are trained peer mediators who intervene when they see someone being treated badly. Two mediators take each child and talk through the incident. If necessary they can take the matter to a teacher, but it is usually not necessary. My niece's school also has a lonely spot where a child can sit if feeling left out. A peer mediator will join the child and either talk to him/her or help him/her join in with a group that is playing. Guess how much bullying they have.
No he's not, Bible. But then again, you're just posting that to be an inflammatory troll, because we all know that most everybody who posts at the Hook always falls for it. Next thing you know they'll be 150 back and forth posts of pointless fighting, everybody full of self righteous indignation, having to be right and have the last word. yawn.
Don't feed the trolls everybody. Stories like this always bring them out......
TO BLAME A TEACHER FOR A CHILD BEING BULLIED IS NAIVE!!!
____________________________________________________________
Being a teacher is a COMPLEX job!
So now they're supposed to stop bullying? And how should they do that? Tell a bully, "Stop calling that fat kid names!"
To be honest, if a child is being bullied, I don't think there's anything a teacher can do about it. The school can kick the bully out of school, and then the bully might go after the kid-who-is-being-picked-on AFTER the kid-who-is-being-picked-on gets out of school that day.
I doubt that is someone is bullying a child that it's a case of just ONE person bullying a child. There's always a reason, even if it's 100% not the fault of the child who is being bullied.
The only answer if a child is being bullied is probably to take the child out of the school and send him/her to another school. But will that work? The same reason that the child was being bullied at the previous school still may follow the child to the next school.
Bullying may actually just be another name for discrimination. :)
I read this and it makes me sick!! This bullying has got to stop! I cannot fathom why Police/School officials act so helpless to protect our children. I hope to God that this poor child's tormentor will be held accountable!!!
What a Sad, Sad thing to happen. Where are the parents of the children that were bullying? This is not a school problem or police problem, it is a family problem. They are in school at best 6 hours a day. Where are the parents the other 18 hours in the day? If parents were to be held accountable for their children's behavior, maybe some of this would stop!!
You know this is a sad day in the USA when a child cannot go to school and get an education without being harassed by some child who has no mind to make anything out of themselves and will not allow someone else too. Then we wonder why children take guns and other weapons to school, to protect themselves from this type of mess. This child is gone and his family is greiving over something that could have been avoided. Where are the educators in this case where are the Police who are sworn to protect? If it were no more than to give the tormentor a good talking to, that certainly would not have been out of the line of duty. When my daughters were in school there was one person who tried it but the both of them fought back and whipped some tail, that was how they handled it. Of course she was sent to the prinipals office but it did not matter to me because she had the right to protect herself and to say no to whatever that person was trying to do to her. That does not leave the tormentors parents out of the loop either, as parents we need to be involved in our children's lives and know what is going on at school and wherever. At times when mine were in school I would show up there from time to time and just sit in their class room, not only was my child on their best behavior but so were the rest of the children. This tormentor obviously does not feel good about himself and has issues in his/her own life that have not been dealt with and that is up to the parents. Didn't mean to say all this.
How terrible for everyone concerned. That a child cried out for help, and help did not come. The problem is that we forget that being a teenager is a little like living without you skin on, you are so exposed, emotionally. A young person might have used a huge tap of reserves just to ask for help, and wait to see what that help looks like, to see if they can trust that the adults in question really listen.
Problem is, how do you make sure that there is someone to hear what is not necessarily said? Just the fact that the teen spoke out likely reflected a lot more inner angst than was seen by his face to face communication, and if he didn't hear a recognition of help in the dialog he was faced with, he may not have had faith that there would be change.
We really need to listen when a child discusses social conflicts... and we need to teach our children about navigating relationships. It is such a crime for such a needless death to occur, just for lack of communication. I am sure that everyone will feel that they have tried... and over the years I feel that the greatest risk for children in terms of suicide, is the immediacy of their outlook, they cannot see past the moment.
There is much more we need to do in order to prepare our children to handle their social worlds.
This is another tragedy that did not need to happen. As a parent of a child who downed bottle of pills "to deaden the pain" from being harrassed, my heart cannot begin to express the pain and sorrow it feels for that boy and his family. My child again in high school was bullied and harassed, not only at school, but also at her after school job. These bullies would boldly walk into her job, walk right up to her and spit in her face!!! Even before these incidents, I confronted the school officals and the parents. No help. The best thing that I did, I was to remove her from that school and let her get her GED. It's really a shame that we had no other choice-since we pay taxes to have our childen educated and protected. When will anyone really step up and stop having a deaf ear, which only becomes a "hearing" one only when a needless tragedy like this occurs, again and again.
My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with not only this boy's family, but also for all the other children and their families crying out for help.
I can't believe that anyone in their right mind could even think yet make a remark about this child and how he would have handled his future in such a way!! SHAME ON YOU AND ALL OTHERS WHO GO ALONG WITH THIS!!!!
These bullies are mentally sick, they need professional help NOW!
This cycle of abuse will continue and who will be their next target? A sister, brother, friend, members of their own current family or their future family!
I am sure that many of us cannot feel the deep pain of this so sad tragedy, but it will become even sadder if these bullies and any others in our country are continually allowed to carry on.
@Cathy: My children went to Grafton and never once did I hear that "some of the staff were former inmates". Could you tell me where you read that?
I've lived in York County since 1989 and it was considered to be one of the top school districts. The military who move to the area flock to York County because of the schools. I agree that the school district has gone downhill, mostly because the School Board and York County Supervisors are an old crowd and not familiar with up-to-date practices. Too much building in the 90's led to overcrowded schools. When Grafton was built, it was over capacity in its second year of operation. The Board of Supervisors have trimmed the school budget so that teachers are not being hired and class sizes in some classes reach 30 or more. A few years back they even had distance learning in the language classes - no teacher, just a television!
The local newspaper. the Daily Press, has yet to release a statement from the Grafton Principal. They will shove this under the rug and since he is a military kid, they will hope his parents move away and all will be forgotten. But hey, that's what they do at UVA -- and a lot of Grafton kids go to UVA.
hey this was very tragic for me and the family and friends and it made me break down and cry cuz i knew him and his family and friends and i am dating his older brother Gregg. i love the family and friends and i am with them with whatever they want to do to the school and ppl.
@Imsh, what a wonderful system! Children start young learning to HELP each other and not USE each other as a scape goat. Kudos to New Zealand for a great idea!
@nbc29fan, I wouldn't blame a teacher for the child being bullied. But I would blame the teacher for being made aware of it and not bringing this to the administration's attention. Administration should then remove the bully from the school system until proper action can be taken (ie: send this child home to be homeschooled leaving the innocent child in place, thus putting the responsibility for the bully child back on the parents, too bad if they both work, their problem). It's important for ALL of our children to feel and be safe while receiving the education that the law allows.
If your child is being tormented at school and nobody is helping them, why continue to force this child to go back over and over again to face it. The law allows us as parents to home school our children, and to also seek alternative ways for our children to get their education. I am in no way condoning the terrible behavior of all of those involved, but if you are not getting results, for the sake of your child's mental health, pull them out of the situation. The healt and safety of the child is first and foremost. Deal with the beaurocracy later. Pull the child out of the situation.
Deleted by moderator.
Come on Lisa Provence you can do better then this. Face palm.......
Once more the "educational system" has ensured a lack of a future for an innocent human being.
Meanwhile, taxes are increasing to ensure that the school buildings are stylishly up-to-date to look impressive on websites, and that "professional educators" can receive pay increases to compensate for cost of living increases.
Police? Its Virginia, don't expect them to take time away from writing speeding tickets in 25mph zones.
@ What a Wuss and Jackson, you have no idea what was going on in this young man's life. Shame on both of you for makiing such insensitive remarks. What makes the two of you so great??