Evaluation Of School Counseling M: Fill & Download for Free

While I’m a Christian, politically, I’m Libertarian. Not sure if that qualifies as “conservative”. I’m also not as much “pro-gun” as I am, “right to own a gun”.So if you’re ok with a Libertarian being sincere, I will.I don’t think guns are the problem.It sure seems that they’re the problem, because, after all, they’re the things killing kidsThing is, someone has to want to pull that trigger. That’s a state of mind. That’s a person who has made a decision that one life is not as valuable as the next. That’s a person who has set in their minds that the best solution to their problems is murder. Not just a murder of a single person that’s harmed them, but indiscriminate murder.What are the problems?The school shooting in Broward county, by all accounts, had nothing to do with the gun and everything to do with a school district that missed safety opportunities[1] , a sheriff that didn’t act on multiple reports about the shooter[2] , and a deputy that didn’t run into a hostile situation to save lives[3]To solve these problems, we need:law enforcement agencies to take reports seriously. Especially 39 of themSchools, nationwide, to have property funding to implement reasonable safety measuresThe best and brightest law enforcement protecting our kids (Chan Roberts knew what I meant )What can we do about guns?Not much. This isn’t a problem that gets solved in a 240 character tweet, a Facebook post, or a Quora answer.Firearm ownership is a right, not a privilege in the US. I’m not the one saying those words, that’s what’s in the 2nd amendment of the United States. It is not a right created by the government, it is a right of the people that is protected from the government. (Thanks Steven Archibald for pointing out the correct prepositions).I’m not even defending the 2a. I’m just stating a fact; it’s a right, and as such it is hard to make it go away. The design of the constitution is such that, by design, it’s hard to change. It is hard to pass an amendment that overrides the second.Every time someone talks about “common sense gun legislation”, they inevitably say things that make no sense — because they don’t know about A) Guns, B) The Constitution, C) all of the above.It’s already illegal for children to purchase guns. Guns already require background checks. There’s no real “loop holes” with buying guns. That “loop hole” is two private individuals trading a gun for cash, which, regardless of being a gun, is hard to track.We can focus on the point before the saleI think we should make NICS readily and easily available to the publicYou know how people rant about the “gun show loophole” that’s otherwise known as, “two adults trading goods and services”?If the seller had free access to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, he’d be able to check if the buyer is Sketchy McGeeWe should put boatloads of money into NICSMake it an app that’s available in every platform available: Web, Android, iOS, Netscape Navigator, Carrier Pidgeon, Telephone, Fax, and smoke signal.More staff should monitor itThere should be routine tests of it, whose results are made publicWe can focus on mental heatlhThis is a mental health issue on two fronts:A person needs treatment and or counselling as to prevent them from escalating to violenceA person prepared to do violence needs to be identified and stopped.Law enforcement, teachers, and principals all need good training on what a violent person looks like. I’m not talking zero-tolerance BS where someone makes a gun out of a piece of toast and everyone loses their minds. I’m talking about teachers and principals knowing the difference between an autistic kid saying, “I’m more likely to shoot up the school than not show up with headphones” and, “I’m going to shoot up the school.” (Real quotes that caused a real problem with a real friend of mine).Teachers, LEO, hell, even civilians, need to know what dangerous people look and sound like.The whole, “He was such a quiet boy, I never would’ve thought he could have done this…” routine is a crock of proper English gob-shite. All of these kids and adults have clear behavioral patterns. Gavin de Becker’s book, “The Gift of Fear” is just one of many I’ve read that elucidate the fact that we’re actually really good at ignoring the warnings. We need to learn how to recognize the warnings and get that person treated, or get that person neutralized.I’m not talking abut evaluating physical appearance, but assessing mental state.Edit: other legislation I’d write in that version of reality where I run for congressOffer a tax break to FFL holders who attend suicide prevention classes and mental health screening classes, while simultaneously making sure they carried no additional liability for whom they sold firearms to.Make gun trigger locks and gun safes tax freeOffer a tax break to any firearm purchaser who attended a gun safety course.Final thoughtsThe ones who hate guns need to stop being cowards. If you think guns are awful for this country, then buy one, go to the range, and learn how to shoot it. At the very least, learn enough about guns that you can formulate a reasonable argument for why you think <restriction> is necessary on <firearm>. If you’re not willing to educate yourself about your objective, then you don’t have an objective. Many of us on the “pro gun” side would probably be willing to have a talk and pass reasonable laws — if you knew what we did about guns. Reasonable people find it foolish to argue with the ignorant. Gun owners are (fairly) reasonable.The ones who love guns need to stop standing behind the second amendment. If your only argument for owning a gun is, “the constitution says so”, then you’re giving the other side all the metaphorical ammo they need. Your argument for owning a gun must go deeper than, “because of 2a”. You need to argue for gun ownership from the perspective that it’s not a right established by government, but one protected by the amendment from the government. You need to argue why the amendment must continue to protect this right. You need to see the 2A as a natural extension of man’s natural rights to life, liberty, and a pursuit of happiness. The right to a firearm is a means to protect your rights to life and liberty. If all you’ve got is the 2nd amendment, then that’s what they’ll take away.Footnotes[1] People died in Parkland massacre because schools ignored security warning[2] Fact Check: Did Broward Sheriff’s Department Get 23 Calls Beforehand About School Shooter?[3] Scot Peterson argues he didn’t have to intervene in Parkland school shooting. A judge disagrees.

For those of you who don’t know, please read below. IIT Madras rated number 1 has a dubious reputation of printing question papers with errors. Please read the news way back in the year 2010 below. Thanks to my friend Mr. Verma for sharing this with me.You could see a huge difference in the way all concerned have reacted so far.Students: Not much of a reaction. Should have been more serious, probably involving the parents.Ministry: No response at all. Mr. Sibal in 2010 took this very seriously and pulled up everyone who were responsible.Media: No response to requests for news item before writ petition was filed. Now there is some news here and there.So I guess people over the last few years have become too complacent about serious matters!Hindustan Times :: 17 April 2010JEE Mistakes : Sibal Promises ActionArun KumarPatna : Union Minster for Human Resource Development (HRD) Kapil Sibal assured Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that he would order an enquiry into IIT-JEE 2010 mistakes, especially those in Hindi medium questions, and take necessary action. Sibal told Kumar there would be no discrimination with any one on the basis of language or religion. “I will get the matter examined,” he said.Kumar had called up Sibal after receiving a detailed letter from Mathematician Anand Kumar of Super30 on the IIT-JEE mistakes. Anand had a detailed discussion with the Chief Minister on the nature of mistakes in the JEE papers. Anand also apprised Nitish of the growing resentment s well as dejection among the JEE aspirants, especially those from the rural area, due to the errors this year.Anand re-iterated that the IIT-JEE should be held afresh in view of the mistakes. “I told him that the mistakes in the Hindi medium paper would hit students from Hindi belt, especially Bihar, the hardest. “Here a majority of students take exam in Hindi,” he added.Kumar has also forwarded Anand Kumar’s letter with his comments to Sibal for necessary action. Several candidates have pointed out anomalies in the instructions printed in the Hindi version of the paper II, which could cost them upto 48 marks.As per the English version of the paper, Section IV of aper II had two questions – each having 4 parts (A, B, C and D); each part carries two marks. Thus, there were 4 X 2 X 2 = 16 marks for each subject. Earlier discrepancies in OMR sheet also came to light. Later there were concern over incomplete instructions in Section II and Section IV, which could benefit clever students. It had the option of one or more correct answers (partial marking) and no negative marking for incorrect answers. Some questions were from out side the syllabus.Times of India :: 18 April 2010Nitish Kumar Seeks Fresh Entrance for IIT-JEETNN, Apr 18, 2010NEW DELHI: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has demanded holding of a fresh entrance test for IIT-JEE 2010 following the detection of major mistakes in this year's question paper.Kumar spoke to HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Friday and also wrote a letter seeking his personal intervention. It is believed Sibal agreed to look into the matter. "A fresh entrance test is the only solution following reports of mistakes in the Hindi version of the IIT-JEE paper," Kumar said.In his letter, Kumar said he was not satisfied with the reasons given by the incharge of the IIT-JEE 2010 entrance test and the Centre should initiate an inquiry into the mistakes in the Hindi version of the IIT-JEE paper.A news agency quoted the Bihar CM as saying that a delegation led by Anand Kumar, director of a coaching institute, met him on Friday evening and sought his intervention in the matter.Rajiv Kumar, professor, IIT, Kharagpur, had pointed out mistakes in the Hindi version of paper II. It carried wrong instructions which could have misled students who gave the paper in Hindi.IIT-JEE organising chairman T S Natarajan admitted the mistakes but maintained that it would have no impact on the overall result. "There are certain minor mistakes in the papers here and there. But I can assure the candidates that these mistakes will not affect their performance. They will be taken care of during the evaluation of papers," he had said.Nitish Kumar seeks fresh entrance for IIT-JEE - Times of IndiaTelegraph :: 18 April 2010Nitish Demands IIT-JEE Re-examOUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTNew Delhi, April 17: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has demanded that the 2010 IIT Joint Entrance Examination be re-conducted, arguing that the discrepancies exposed in the test had discriminated against meritorious students.In a letter to human resource development minister Kapil Sibal, Nitish has cited three major errors in the JEE which, he has argued, have denied meritorious students a fair chance at qualifying for the IITs.“I request you to re-conduct the IIT entrance examination in a clean manner to ensure justice to meritorious students,” Nitish has written in his letter. Sources in the chief minister’s office and aides of the HRD minister confirmed that Nitish had spoken to Sibal on the phone yesterday about his concerns. Anand Kumar, founder of a Patna-based coaching institute that trains students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds for the IIT-JEE, had met Nitish yesterday.Sibal, sources said, assured Nitish he would speak with IIT authorities on how to mitigate the disadvantages that students may have faced because of the discrepancies. The IIT-JEE, held last Sunday, contained at least three typographical errors that, according to several stakeholders — students, parents and critics within the IITs — misled students and potentially denied them a fair opportunity.The Optical Mark Reader (OMR) answer sheet had “physics” printed over the math section and “mathematics” over the physics section. Although many students realised it was a mistake, they were confused about where to mark answers for which section.The fourth section of the second paper had six questions — two each in physics, chemistry and math — that carried eight marks each according to the instructions in the English paper but just three marks each according to the Hindi version.IIT Madras, the organiser of the JEE this year, has clarified that the instructions in the English version represented the correct marking scheme. But concerns remain because the discrepancy in marking instructions may have misled Hindi students on the weightage of these questions and so denied them a fair opportunity to appreciate the significance of answering these questions.A question was not printed on one of the parallel sets of Hindi question papers — denying students who received this question paper the opportunity to answer the question.The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata)Indian Express :: 18 April 2010Nitish Demands IIT-JEE Re-testExpress News ServicePatna: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Saturday demanded an IIT-JEE re-test for those students who had taken the examination in the Hindi medium. Besides the wrong marks being printed against the questions in Paper-II, Hindi medium students had also been given the Physics answersheets in the Mathematics paper. Nitish Kumar has already spoken to Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal on the matter and said that the students from the Hindi belt should not suffer.Kumar took up the matter after Super 30 mathematicians Anand Kumar and other heads from other coaching centres brought the matter to the CM's notice. "A fresh entrance test is the only solution following mistakes in the Hindi version of the IIT-JEE paper," Kumar said demanding Sibal's intervention. Kumar also demanded an inquiry by the Centre for the goof-up.Anand Kumar told The Sunday Express: "In the Hindi version of paper-II, six questions had three marks each written against them whereas the English paper for the same questions had six marks each."Nitish demands IIT-JEE re-testTribune :: 17 April 2010IIT-JEE 2010 Errors : Nitish Raises Matter with Sibal, Wants Re-examAditi Tondon, Tribune News ServiceNew Delhi, April 17: IIT-JEE 2010 error saga continued today with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar raising with HRD Minister Kapil Sibal the matter of injustice meted out to students of the Hindi belt due to serious marking blunders in JEE 2010. JEE’s Hindi version concerns Nitish the most as its errors have put lakhs of students from Bihar, UP and Rajasthan at loss, pushing them out of the IIT race.The Bihar CM, in a letter to Sibal, highlighted the errors and sought a re-examination as futures of five lakh students were at stake due to “faults in the paper.” The CM added that denials of errors emanating from IIT Madras, which conducted this year’s JEE, were insufficient and the matter called for a high-level probe and rectification. Sibal has assured action in the case.The Tribune had earlier reported how wrong instructions in Hindi JEE question bank cost each aspirant 48 marks in Paper II. In English version of the paper, Section IV of Paper II had two questions each with four parts of two marks each, taking the cumulative score to 48.Instructions in English version of the paper said, “For each question in Section IV, you will be awarded two marks for each row in which you have darkened the bubble (s) corresponding to the correct answer. Thus, each question in this section carries a maximum of eight marks. There is no negative marking for incorrect answer(s).”Corresponding instructions in the Hindi paper were shockingly different and said for each question in Section IV, a student would be awarded three marks if the bubble corresponding to the correct answer is darkened and zero marks if no bubble is darkened.While English paper said each question in the said section carried eight marks, Hindi paper said it carried three marks. In all, Hindi paper put the worth of six questions in the section at 18 marks whereas their real worth was 48 marks,” Nitish Kumar wrote to Sibal, after telephoning him to discuss the issue.Sibal said Nitish spoke to me about this matter and I asked him to send me the details of the stated errors. We will certainly get the matter investigated. Why won’t we?Meanwhile, Anand Kumar of Super 30 (who trains poor students for IITs) told TNS today that he had petitioned the Bihar CM on the matter. It was on Anand’s petition that Nitish intervened and sought the concerns be addressed. Anand said errors had crushed the IIT dreams of lakhs and eroded the credibility of IITs.The Tribune, Chandigarh, IndiaPTI / Business Standards :: 17 April 2010Nitish for fresh entrance for IIT-JEE 2010Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today demanded holding of fresh entrance test for IIT-JEE 2010 following detection of alleged mistakes in the Hindi version of the question paper."A fresh entrance test is the only solution following reports of mistakes in the Hindi version of the IIT-JEE paper," Kumar told reporters here. He said he spoke to Union Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal and wrote a letter seeking his immediate intervention.Kumar said he was not satisfied with the reasons given by the incharge of the IIT-JEE 2010 entrance test and the Centre should initiate an enquiry into the mistakes in the Hindi version of the IIT-JEE paper.The Chief Minister said a delegation led by director of a coaching institute led by mathematics wizard Anand Kumar met him last evening and had sought his intervention in the matter.A Professor from IIT Kharagpur Rajiv Kumar recently alleged that the Hindi version of the paper-II of the test carried wrong instructions which could have misled students in the Hindi heartland.However, IIT-JEE organising chairman Prof T S Natarajan later said, "There are certain minor mistakes in the papers here and there. But I can assure the candidates that these mistakes will not affect their performance. They will be taken care of during the evaluation of papers."MP close in on victory against RailwaysIn News : MHRD Sibal Pulls-up IITs on JEE ErrorsTimes of India :: 27 April 2010Sibal 'Pulls up' IIT Director on JEE ErrorsTNN, Apr 27, 2010.NEW DELHI: HRD minister Kapil Sibal is believed to have pulled up MS Ananth, director of IIT Madras, for the mistakes in the recent Joint Entrance Examination taken by 4.45 lakh students.Sources said Sibal asked Ananth, who met him on Monday, as to how such mistakes took place in a prestigious entrance examination for IITs and other premier engineering institutions. Sibal is believed to have asked IIT directors to ensure students do not suffer.Ananth, who was accompanied by Gautam Barua, director, IIT of Guwahati, told Sibal that a statement would be put on IIT-JEE website on May 2 explaining steps that have been taken to deal with the mistakes. "Re-examination has been ruled out since no question was not leaked," a senior official said.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sibal-pulls-up-IIT-director-on-JEE-errors/articleshow/5861697.cmsTelegraph :: 27 April 2010May 2 deadline to clear air on JEECHARU SUDAN KASTURINew Delhi, April 26: Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal today asked the IITs to declare by May 2 how they would compensate students for errors in this year’s joint entrance examination (JEE).The minister is reportedly unhappy with the explanations given by the tech schools. An upset Sibal quizzed the directors of IIT Madras, Delhi and Kanpur whom he had summoned to seek an explanation on how the errors had crept in. The IITs have admitted to the errors in an internal report.An NGO has approached Delhi High Court seeking to stall the declaration of results. Sibal’s plan to summon the directors and the admission of the errors by the IITs in their report to the minister were reported by The Telegraph on April 25. Sources present at today’s meeting said Sibal asked the IITs to ensure against the repetition of such errors.The IIT directors reportedly told him that many students don’t read the instructions and so would not have suffered because of the misleading instructions. Sibal, sources said, shot down the argument. “I have also appeared for many examinations and always studied the instructions,” the minister is understood to have told the IIT bosses.The directors promised Sibal that they would place on the IIT-JEE website by May 2 the details of corrective measures they would take to see no student’s score is affected by the errors. But the trio also told him that the test could not be re-conducted as demanded by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. IIT Madras organised the JEE this year on April 11.The optical mark reader answer sheet wrongly instructed students to mark math answers where they needed to mark physics answers, and physics instead of math.Hindi question papers allocated three marks each for a set of questions that were actually worth eight marks, misleading students who took the test in Hindi about the true value of these questions. This error triggered concerns that given examination time constraints, students who took the test in Hindi might have chosen to spend less time on these questions thinking that they carried fewer marks. A handful of students who took the test in Hindi also had sections missing in the question paper.The deadline set by Sibal and accepted by the IITs assumes significance because of the PIL filed by the NGO in Delhi High Court seeking a stay on the declaration of IIT-JEE results. The NGO has demanded a fresh test. It is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100427/jsp/nation/story_12384736.jspIndian Express :: 27 April 2010Sibal Summons IIT HeadsAnubhuti VishnoiNew Delhi: Concerned over the errors in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) 2010, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday summoned IIT Directors for an explanation. The IIT heads reportedly said that the Joint Admission Board (JAB) of the institutes would meet later this week and gave an assurance that irrespective of the errors in the question papers, a correct answer would fetch the marks due.The Directors of IIT Delhi, Guwahati and Madras assured Sibal that students would not suffer on account of the errors in the question papers. While a fresh JEE 2010 — as demanded by some including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar — has been ruled out, the JAB will hold an emergency meeting on May 2. It will follow that up with a detailed response on the JEE website, explaining to students that the total scores will not be compromised owing to the errors. The JAB will also deliberate on remedial measures strengthening the vetting of the JEE question paperhttp://www.indianexpress.com/news/sibal-summons-iit-heads/611801/Tribune :: 27 April 2010JEE Errors : Solution strategy to be posted on IIT websites by May 2Aditi Tandon, Tribune News ServiceNew Delhi, April 26: The government today said it would do everything to ensure justice to IIT-JEE 2010 takers in the wake of errors that crept into the question banks. Over 4.7 lakh students took the test on April 11.By May 2, IITs will post on their website the solutions being worked out for those affected due to instruction errors, especially in the Hindi version of IIT-JEE, which assigned lesser marks to a certain set of questions that carried more weight. The IITs are already working on the remedial measures available. Directors of three IITs - IIT, Madras, IIT, Guwahati and IIT, Delhi, even met Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal here today to apprise him of the steps being taken.Sibal said the Ministry had analysed every error that was pointed out in the JEE 2010 question banks and would see that “substantial justice” was done to students. “Errors had crept in,” he admitted, adding that after the Joint Admission Board (JAB) meeting next week, IIT websites would have information on what was to be done to address the concerns of the affected students.“I can’t tell at the moment what the nature of remedial action will be, but I can assure the solution is available; it is inbuilt into the system and will soon be available on the IIT websites. There will be substantial justice for students,” the minister assured. He, however, ruled out a reexamination of JEE, saying it was impractical to hold the test for so many students.“We will do all we can to ensure no injustice is done to anyone,” Sibal added. When asked if the compensation would be in the nature of grace marks, he said it was premature to conclude what the corrective mechanism would be.Dr MS Ananth, director IIT Madras, told the Tribune that IITs could find a way out. “There are errors and there is a solution,” he added.http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100427/nation.htm#4IANS :: 26 April 2010Petition seeks stay on declaring IIT entrance resultCiting an error, a non-government organisation (NGO) has approached the Delhi High Court seeking a stay on the publication of the result of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) entrance exam held April 11.The petition has also sought a fresh entrance test. It is likely to come up in court Tuesday. Raising the issue of an error in the instructions for examinees who took the IIT joint entrance examination (IIT-JEE) in Hindi, the NGO filed the public interest litigation (PIL) Saturday. 'In the interest of justice, the court may pass an interim order or stay directing the respondent (IIT) not to announce the result in the meantime, till the pendency of the writ petition,' the PIL said.'Due to the error, students who took the entrance exam in Hindi suffered a blow in more than one way,' M. Shakeel Khan, counsel for the NGO told IANS. Chairman of the IIT-JEE, T.S. Natarajan has denied any plan to re-conduct the entrance examination.'There is no need for re-conducting the examination. For the Hindi question paper problem, corrective measure will be decided in a committee meeting and it will be shared with people,' Natarajan told IANS over phone. He also added that the results will be declared as per schedule.Anand Kumar, director-cum-founder of Bihar-based Super 30 coaching centre for the economically poor, has favoured a fresh exam. 'The IIT must re-conduct the entrance examination as the problem in the question paper is very serious and meeting of the directors of the IITs held on Sunday also could not find any concrete solution,' Anand told IANS over phone.

Hahaha! I cannot tell you why but this does not come as a surprise to me!You asked for them so here are my thoughts: I am so sick and tired of the “no violence” policies in schools that ONLY help bullies in Lalaland America! These policies could work ONLY IF:Teachers and school personnel were all trained to identify, report and react properly to bullying, harassment, and abuse.If protective measures were IMMEDIATELY put in place (presumed victim and aggressor OR their friends can NEVER be left alone together in the same place)If 100% of the complaints (by students or parents) were thoroughly investigated by the school and WRITTEN results of the investigation was provided to parents.(who was interviewing? Who was interviewed?What is the chain of events? When everything took place? What were the conclusions and the actions taken?If 100% of the presumed victims were assessed by an independent, recognized by the family courts and specifically trained PSYCHIATRIST or PsyD (i.e: NOT some PA, a Psy RN or Psy NP or MSSW, or an MS in counseling or psychology of some sort that all are insufficient credentials for a psychiatric eval) .If 100% of the presumed aggressors (and their parents) were assessed separately by an independent, recognized by the family courts, and specifically trained PSYCHIATRIST or PsyD (i.e: NOT some PA, a Psy RN or Psy NP or MSSW, or an MS in counseling or psychology of some sort that all are insufficient credentials for a psychiatric eval) .If 100% of duly assessed and identified bullies/harassers/abusers/gang leaders were given ONE written warning at the first strike and were required to follow a series of specialized counseling sessions with a specialist of this type of violenceIf 100% of the repeat offenders were excluded at the next strike (that includes of course aggression by any member of the bully’s “gang” so that they do not get to think that they can outsmart the system).If 100% of the parents and students were required to sign a consent to this procedure in advance (every year before school starts) stating that they understand the procedure and will abide by it while holding the school legally harmless if their child was found guilty of harassing behavior and excluded from the school or if they refuse to comply with either part of the evaluation process.But THIS requires courage from institutions that are prone to “howl with the pack” i.e: implement the “no violence policy” that prevents victims from defending themselves and are also prone to accepting the status quo, to hiding things to not get sued, or are often protecting unprofessional teachers (apologies to the good ones: I do not put you in this bag of bad apples but actually protecting bad ones makes the entire school look bad!). THEREFORE THESE RIDICULOUS “NO VIOLENCE POLICIES” CANNOT WORK IN REAL LIFE BECAUSE THEY ARE INCOMPLETE AND AS A RESULT ARE ONLY PREVENTING VICTIMS FROM PROTECTING THEMSELVESNow for the personal story: Don’t ask me why but my gut tells me a lot of things and I tend to listen… After I saw my son J quite interested in a TaeKwonDo demonstration during the Olympics, I suggested he enrolled in a martial art class. Of course, TKD was the first he tried and he loved it (by the time he was 10 he was state champion, was first Dan in no time, won several gold medals on the national scene and more than 20 years later, he remains in touch with his first instructors and trainers).One morning I started talking to a mother (our Vet’s wife) whose kid -M- was in my son’s class in 2nd grade. She was complaining profusely that her son was violently bullied by a boy as were other kids and no one could get the school to take action against the bully despite several meetings with the director. Apparently, the school was hesitating to take measures as “the kid was in fact adopted by a family that already had several kids in this school” (what does this has to do with the protection the school owes the other kids?)That same night I asked my son about this kid and he confirmed that this kid was really bullying everybody but that he was not subjected to this because he was in an art group with a different schedule and was almost never in recess with him. He also mentioned that several kids had their parents complain due to the bullying, but that the teachers asked the kids to “be patient” with the bully as the school was “trying to help the family” (by doing nothing enabling the parents in denial while other kids were coming home with bruises and ripped off clothes?)When school resumed after summer, to my surprise, this kid was still there and the violence resumed, to a point that he actually punched M in the face so bad that he broke his glasses. At this point, I started making contact with a lawyer and other schools. The next night J came back home saying that he had to stand his ground as the boy had decided to turn his “attention” to him but that he managed to control the situation without having to “touch him”.The very next morning first thing, I was in the director’s office and had an appointment with J’s teacher at the lunch recess. And here is how the “conversation” went down: “Sir, YOU have a bullying situation in your school and you know about this since last year but YOU are refusing to deal with it appropriately. I cannot control what you do but as the adult in charge of my son, here is how this is going to be managed on my end: My son J is in TKD class for about a year and he was instructed by me to retaliate to the full force of his abilities if he gets attacked by this bully. He will have my full support if he does retaliate. Since you, the adult, did not take appropriate action, I had to. You forced me to take serious measures to palliate your inabilities and so that we understand each other CLEARLY if my son is obligated to defend himself because you did not take the appropriate actions for almost a year, he WILL NOT suffer ANY consequence OR the next thing you know you will be explaining yourself in front of a judge as I will hold YOU personally accountable for your failure to protect the kids you were entrusted with. As a matter of fact, I already have filled my lawyer in about this situation and here is her card. Now you are going to get served a letter describing the situation you are brushing under the rug since last year. Copy of this letter will be served also to the school board and the secretary of education so that nobody can pretend they did not know. I also have another private school lined up so do not think that you have ANY power on my son’s next steps or that you will have the power to threaten either him or me into silence. I am going to speak to his teacher to whom I am going to say the very same thing”…His reaction: “Are you threatening me?”(Ah so YOU are sensitive to that ? How so?)My response: “ABSOLUTELY it actually IS a threat Sir! You apparently are not handling pressure very well but the kids have to take the threats AND the violence that goes with this bullying situation for months because YOU SAT ON IT”The director was duly served moments after that and realized that these were not empty threats. Next day, the kid started a fight with my son who just made sure he would not try him ever again but weirdly when the bully complained “nobody saw what was happening”, this time measures were FINALLY taken against this boy and this ordeal stopped. I hated to have to be so confrontational but at times incompetent imbeciles just need to be confronted and being told they are incompetent imbeciles. Being a parent is no walk in the park, you owe it to your kids to be a fearless tiger, and to teach them how the alpha tiger is supposed to behave.