- by Gary W. Kenny

One morning in the 1970s, as I sat in my Grade 11 high school classroom in small-town Ontario, the principal delivered, over the PA system, some sombre news. A fellow student – Radko – had taken his own life.The previous afternoon Radko (a pseudonym) had purchased a rifle and bullets, walked to a nearby ravine and shot himself to death.

The silence in the classroom was deafening. Most of it was motivated by genuine shock and sadness. Some of it was triggered by guilt.

Radko, you see, was the target of bullying. The harassment he experienced was unrelenting, cruel, humiliating, physically violent and on public display. I suspect Radko finally snapped.

Radko stood outside the norm of rural, small-town Ontario. He lived in a foster home. He had a foreign-sounding name. He was quiet and kept to himself. As if to escape notice, he always walked quickly with his head down.

Radko’s distinctions made him a target of mostly boys compelled to torment others. We need to better understand and address the societal conditions that induce such behaviour.

I would see Radko walk past my house on his way to school most mornings. We were not friends – he was a grade below me and we had never spoken.

I’ve thought of Radko over the years and have always regretted not having done something in response to the unconscionable treatment inflicted upon him. I’ve asked myself, are those who fail to defend the bullied not in some manner aiding and abetting the bullies?

I could have come to Radko’s defence. But I, too, was bullied. Not to the extent that Radko was, but enough to make me afraid and keep my own head down.

For anyone reading this who has bullied someone physically, emotionally or through cyberspace, know that any psychological or emotional damage you have caused can last a lifetime. In some cases, as with Radko, that lifetime may be short.

In October memories of Radko resurfaced. The results of a CBC News country-wide survey of 4,000 students, aged 14-21, were released. Forty-one per cent of boys said they were physically assaulted at high school, while 20 per cent were threatened with a weapon. Fifteen per cent of girls said they have been sexually assaulted and 26 per cent experienced unwanted sexual contact at school. Specific acts of the bullying and violence are described in graphic detail.

Bullying has been part of school culture for generations. What we’re witnessing now seems to have risen to a whole other level.
Some educators argue that episodes like those reported by the CBC are isolated. But in fact bullying of the kind reported occurs frequently in many urban and rural schools across Canada.

Why isn’t this problem being shouted from the rooftops? The answers to this question are troubling.
According to the survey, nearly 50 per cent of high school kids don’t report violence they’ve experienced or witnessed, for fear of reprisal.

Second, even though Ontario (as an example) enacted a law in 2012 making it mandatory for schools to report incidents of violent bullying to the Ministry of Education, some school boards under-report, if they report at all.

Also, some school administrators don’t share information with each other to help facilitate resolutions to the violence. The CBC asked education officials across Canada to release their records on violent incidents, but many refused or placed “significant roadblocks” in the way of accessing the information.

One board worried the release of records might cause “reputational risk” to its schools.

Many school boards do maintain comprehensive policies to address and prevent bullying or assaults within their jurisdictions. Among them are the Bluewater District and Catholic school boards in Bruce-Grey. But words alone don’t make it so. Boards also need to walk the talk.

If I was a parent with children in the school system today, I’d be calling my school board and asking a few questions: “In any given year how many incidents of bullying and violence are occurring in your schools? What are you doing in actual terms to address the problem? Do you ensure that the data you collect is shared with other school boards?”

Anti-bullying activists have called for a national database so governments can adequately monitor and address bullying and violence in our schools. Until one is established, school boards should worry less about their reputations and a lot more about their, and our, kids.

Gary W. Kenny is retired from a career in international human rights and development and is now a writer residing in rural Grey County.