South Hadley,MA Phoebe Prince 15 kills self over bullying

[Paladine]

Phoebe Prince's Death Is a Call to Action
By Dr. Dale Archer

Now is the time to take a stand so that Phoebe’s death will not be in vain; it must happen in the courtroom, the legislature, the schools and most importantly in your own home.

"I’m not a big fan of legally prosecuting teens for bad behavior but this must case in South Hadley, Mass. must be turned into an example. A girl DIED here and the message needs to be sent to all teens, their parents and the schools that bullying can have fatal consequences and will NEVER be acceptable or tolerated. Kudos to district attorney Elizabeth Scheibel for filing charges."

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010...e-prince-south-hadley-mass-bullying-death-da/

ETA:fyi- *editing error was on site, not mine, it appears this way on the site..."but this must case in South Hadley, Mass. must be... "

 

[Paladine]

http://scarlett-journey.net/2010/03/30/phoebe-prince-death/#comments

Keep It In Perspective...who claims to be a relative of one of the accused Bullies...seems to think the problem was that Phoebe wasn't tough enough. He took bullying...hey, then everybody should.

It would do a better service to his family if he understood...that TAKING RESPONSIBILITY and true CONTRITION....if it exists...would be the first step to toning down the widespead anger toward the Accused.

Show, at least in death...you have mercy toward Phoebe...maybe more will have mercy toward you.

I wrote about this on my Blog too today.

Thanks, Mary...I've read your blog, you're doing a great job over there. :blowkiss: And I enjoyed your rebuttal to Keep it in perspective in the comments, as well...thanks for sharing.

 

[Paladine]

One more must post quote from the previous link...

"I say, again, that an example must be set here and charges must be filed against school employees that should have known (or knew) what was going on. It is NEVER acceptable as a teacher, administrator or principal to bury your head in the sand and claim ignorance. We entrust our children, our most precious resources, to the school system; as parents we must demand accountability."

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010...e-prince-south-hadley-mass-bullying-death-da/

imo bolded by me...

 

[Paladine]

"Phoebe Prince's suicide shows students were running the island and adults were missing"
Richard Cohen

"Golding's book is about evil. Kids can be mean. They want to belong. They mistake the strength of empathy for weakness. They need help. An invisible umbilical cord should connect them to a mature conscience. At South Hadley High School, the kids were running the island and the adults were missing. Where were the teachers? Where was the principal? But where, above all, were the parents?

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/columnists/cohen/index.html#ixzz0kL3IKlXX
bolded by me...

 

[Paladine]

"The charges of civil rights violations, most-often used in connection with incidents of racial or sexual discrimination and over-zealous police misconduct, were filed on the strength of Scheibel's belief that bullies had made going to public school (a civil right) intolerable for Prince.

The stalking charges also hang by a thread, legal pros said. Usually used in domestic violence cases, Scheibel must make this charge work on the basis of allegations that Prince was followed by bullies on her way home.

But nobody is calling it a cakewalk for the defense, either.

Experts consulted by IrishCentral made it abundantly clear that even brushing up against a "blame the victim" approach — perhaps by saying that as a young Irish immigrant new to both South Hadley and the United States, Prince was more fragile and vulnerable than another girl might have been, is dangerous ground, and ripe for impassioned counterattack by the state.

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Up...be-Prince-bullying-suicide-case-89967622.html

 

[MaureenN]

In a discussion I'm having elsewhere regarding bullying in schools, another poster is saying that it is not the job of schools to teach character, to teach children how to treat others, to discuss morals & ethics with the children. That person states that the responsibility for that lies with the children's home, family, church. And, while I agree that those are important elements in shaping a child's conscience & behavior - I also believe that the larger community can and should step in where those fail.

Anyway - what I'd like to know & figured people here might be able to find out, is whether the bullies, any of them, attended church with their families. Does anyone know how we could find that information?

 

[Paladine]

In a discussion I'm having elsewhere regarding bullying in schools, another poster is saying that it is not the job of schools to teach character, to teach children how to treat others, to discuss morals & ethics with the children. That person states that the responsibility for that lies with the children's home, family, church. And, while I agree that those are important elements in shaping a child's conscience & behavior - I also believe that the larger community can and should step in where those fail.

Anyway - what I'd like to know & figured people here might be able to find out, is whether the bullies, any of them, attended church with their families. Does anyone know how we could find that information?

Personally, I've seen no references to church attendance. The only thing I can think of, at this time, is a search of church newsletters, maybe...looking for names...or, sometimes churches will have boards, of sorts...people responsible for different tasks...then maybe see if you can link any names to the perps. A possible start...good luck!

 

[abbra]

(I was one of Phoebe’s teachers in the beginning of the year we talked a lot. She was an incredibly intelligent girl who just moved to the US from Ireland in September. She was an excellent student who had excellent work ethics, and, unlike the school she attended here, students where she came from were proud of getting good grades, not slacking off. She was picked on and bullied 1st because she always did her homework and got good grades. In order to be popular, or be befriended, she felt the need to stop doing homework and start doing poorly in class. She was a freshman, and the slackers were upperclassmen. She just wanted friends. Unfortunately, either way she was bullied. She was beautiful, so she was bullied by girls when she was playing the ‘dumb’ girl and boys were then attracted to her. It was nonstop. When I turned in girls who stepped into my own class to threaten Phoebe, I never even heard any feedback. I wish I could have saved her. The last day she was in school, she didn’t have my class. Her last walk out to the bus a girl screamed expletives at her just as she was getting on her bus. Then she went home. We will never see her again. All she ever wanted was to go back home to her cows in Ireland. ) Giana Caldieri )

Oh Paladine This tugs at the heartstrings. Thanks for all your posts and everyone elses posts on Phoebe.

 

[OrdinaryLife]

I have been spending time reading articles followed by comments made. Frankly, we wonder why verbal abuse/harassment exists? These "adults" going back and forth in ugliness of words. How the he!! are our own children going to learn from us, their educators who are their parents and they trust, when they read what is written???

I have absolutely no issue with anothers opinion that is nowhere close to mine. I may not like it, but it theirs and I respect my thoughts may not be welcome as well. Okay. Fine. However, it seems many have lost (or never learned) what *our* responsibilty is to our own. It's work. It's challenging, to say the least. *But*, our children deserve nothing less. What I have read over the last 24 hours disturbs me. Our children are commitments, not obligations. We are living in a very cold, unempathetic world. That is what has touched me today.

 

[Paladine]

In a discussion I'm having elsewhere regarding bullying in schools, another poster is saying that it is not the job of schools to teach character, to teach children how to treat others, to discuss morals & ethics with the children. That person states that the responsibility for that lies with the children's home, family, church. And, while I agree that those are important elements in shaping a child's conscience & behavior - I also believe that the larger community can and should step in where those fail.

Anyway - what I'd like to know & figured people here might be able to find out, is whether the bullies, any of them, attended church with their families. Does anyone know how we could find that information?

Funny. I raised my kids in Quebec, Canada. They have a required class called "moral education". Part of the mandate reads...

SOCIALIZE,
in order to learn how to live together better
In a pluralistic society such as ours, schools bring people together. Our schools must not only help students develop a feeling of belonging to the community but also teach them how to "live together." In doing this, they must pay attention to students' concerns about the meaning of life. They must promote the fundamental values of democracy and prepare our youth for their role as responsible citizens. They must likewise prevent exclusion, a phenomenon which jeopardizes the future of too many young people.

Personal Development
All the activities in which students take part in school contribute to their personal development. Values, however, are essentially explored in certain subjects, namely, moral education and religious education. Moral education must include the study of religion as a permanent phenomenon so that students who do not take religious education will have some knowledge of one of the major aspects of human civilization. This is not to say that value-related issues are confined to these subjects. They come up in other areas, such as literature, science, technology, and social studies, and are also part of the cross-curricular learning to be addressed in other disciplines or through school activities. School life and extracurricular activities, for example, provide tremendous opportunities to teach and learn values.

It doesn't have to be religion based, though...they offer "values"-type teaching, moral ed or religious ed......they acknowledge values are an important part of learning. I agree.
http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/reforme/pol_eco/anglais/ecole_a.htm

 

[Muffet]

Fox News just covered the story and is gearing up to cover the court appearance for the arraignment. :thumb:

BTW, when listing the kids' names, the reporter said, and "Austin Renaud, from Springfield."

It was probably just a note about where he actually lives, but I wanted to make sure that he still goes to S.Hadley... doesn't he?

 

[Paladine]

Fox News just covered the story and is gearing up to cover the court appearance for the arraignment. :thumb:

BTW, when listing the kids' names, the reporter said, and "Austin Renaud, from Springfield."

It was probably just a note about where he actually lives, but I wanted to make sure that he still goes to S.Hadley... doesn't he?

Thanks for the heads up. Yes, I've read he's from Springfield...I don't get Fox but I'm calling my cable provider, as I type.

 

[elle1919]

I snipped the link. This page makes me feel mixed emotions. On one hand it's nice to see that there are a number of 'fans', giving this person a 'taste of his own medicine' BUT I also feel two wrongs don't make a right. I hope all of these 'fans' are able to find a better way of working through these emotions and not continue the bullying. KWIM?

I agree 100%, two wrongs don't make a right and that page could very well be reported for doing the same thing that were done to Phoebe. This is not the proper way for people to achieve a measure of justice, however I can understand the outrage behind it, but I don't think it is needed. JMO

 

[Muffet]

I snipped the link. This page makes me feel mixed emotions. On one hand it's nice to see that there are a number of 'fans', giving this person a 'taste of his own medicine' BUT I also feel two wrongs don't make a right. I hope all of these 'fans' are able to find a better way of working through these emotions and not continue the bullying. KWIM?

I agree 100%, two wrongs don't make a right and that page could very well be reported for doing the same thing that were done to Phoebe. This is not the proper way for people to achieve a measure of justice, however I can understand the outrage behind it, but I don't think it is needed. JMO

Yeah, I've seen some so bad, I actually pondered if they were put up by the bullies' allies, trying to make martyrs of the bullies and create a backlash against their detractors.

I'm sure that's not the case, but the result will be the same, if they don't rein themselves in.

 

[Paladine]

Yeah, I've seen some so bad, I actually pondered if they were put up by the bullies' allies, trying to make martyrs of the bullies and create a backlash against their detractors.

I'm sure that's not the case, but the result will be the same, if they don't rein themselves in.

Some have even claimed to be family or friend...with friends like that...

 

[Paladine]

Have Fox on, now! It's on, now..thanks, muffet!

ETA: Now..on Obama...back on in a min, they said...

 

[Paladine]

Nightline's covering it!

By now, you've likely seen the tragic story of Phoebe Prince and her suicide's combustible aftermath.

The plan for tonight is a report from Andrea Canning about the case. She's in Massachusetts today as three of the nine suspects charged last week in connection with Prince's bullying death were scheduled for arraignment (though no court appearance is required).

And watch of the video on that report, it's from January.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2010/04/phoebe-prince-bullying-in-smalltown-mass.html

 

[Paladine]

Perhaps the saddest part of the whole story, though, is the kids who live in South Hadley that Emily Bazelon from Slate has been interviewing while researching the developing story.

Students told her that while the bullying Prince received was vicious and detrimental, it was considered normal. One girl told Bazelon “a lot of it was normal girl drama” and that the reason Prince was affected so strongly by it was because of her background.
South Hadley should really think about this situation and if they want that type of reputation. They should decide if they want people scared to move there because their children treat each other terribly. The teachers, parents and students should work to fix what is considered normal behavior.

http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/mobile/bullying-like-this-can-t-be-ignored-1.2210764

 

[Paladine]

They've been arraigned..."Teens accused of bullying get day in court"

Updated: April 6, 2010 02:21 PM EDT

The three have agreed to voluntarily report to have police officially book them by Friday, while a condition of their release while awaiting trial is that they have no contact with the Prince family.

A Hampshire Superior Court grand jury handed down indictments against the three March 26. The charges are related to the alleged harassment of 15-year-old Prince, an Irish immigrant freshman at the high school, before she took her own life Jan. 14. The prosecution has alleged the bullying lasted from Sept. 1 up until the day she died.

The three teens were not in court Tuesday because their attorneys had filed paperwork allowing them not to be present, however the three will need to be present during future court hearings. They are expected to appear for a hearing in September.

http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=12263690

 

[Paladine]

This is from GMA, but the producer will be on Nightline, tonight (above post, link)...I wonder if they will put pressure on the school in their report, tonight...

"Alleged Teen Bullies in Phoebe Prince Case to Be Arraigned: 'What About the Adults?'
Prince Family Says South Hadley School Officials Were Aware of Bullying"

A friend and spokeswoman for the family of Phoebe Prince, who committed suicide in January, said officials at her Massachusetts high school should be held accountable for her death because they knew she was being bullied.

"You've got a number of kids who've been charged with severe charges; what about the adults that supervised the school?" Darby O'Brien said today on "Good Morning America."

O'Brien said school superintendent Gus Sayer, school committee chairman Edward Boisselle and principal Dan Smith "are clueless and they've been clueless since the beginning."

Bravo, Mr. O'Brien!
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/TheLaw/st...aigned-massachusetts-family/story?id=10292667