This is how one boarding school dealt with bullying

WHEN I was at a boy’s boarding school the college was set up as houses. One house had earned the reputation as the toughies’ house.

Memorial Service at Our Lady of Lourdes School for teen Amy "Dolly" Jayne Everett. January 2018. Picture: Bev Lacey

YOUR SAY: When I was at a boy's boarding school (70 plus years ago) the college was set up as houses. One house had earned the reputation as the toughies' house - if one was bullied, your adversary was probably from that house.

In my second and final year my cousin and I used to patrol the sports field at dusk on Saturdays looking for kids from that house bullying first year kids.

We would interfere in the engagement, mostly distracting the bully and sending the target on his way. All done in a fairly light-hearted way. During that year we found Saturday night bullying events diminished.

Recently, (now many years later) I met someone from the same college, and asked if it was still the toughies' house engaging in the Saturday night bullying.

"No," he said, you and Mike broke the pattern, it never was the same again."

So to the current tragedy of Dolly Everett - for her family and for he, she or they, now living with their responsibility of causing Dolly's unhappy life and death. (Bullies need to know their behaviour can be lethal.)

One of the most effective methods for dealing with bullying must surely be the establishment of Random Acts of Kindness Clubs.

Club members would easily recognise the need of a distressed bullied persons and offer intervention. I imagine bullies can be recognised on Facebook too - targets of bullying should know they can approach RAK members for support. One doesn't have to live in isolation.

JOHN SWINBURNE, Toowoomba
 

Originally published as This is how one boarding school dealt with bullying