It has a long-term effect. Statistics show that 80 percent of the children who become bullies are victims of bullies themselves. Parents and school officials must show they won't allow any child to be hurt by another. Students have the right not to be hurt at school and to be guaranteed a safe place to learn. Schools are responsible for supervision of school grounds.
Students are responsible for respecting the rights of their classmates.
Stephens' views are reiterated in Safe at School, Awareness and Action for Parents of Kids K-12, by medical editor and author Carol Silverman Saunders, who also writes about school safety and gun violence. Her first book, Safe at School, was published in 1994 after she learned her son was being bullied in school. The school told Saunders they couldn't help. We invited the bully over to our house, which is not something you'd think of doing. She also began asking experts about bullying and the role schools play in preventing it.