TRI In The News

Punishment for School Bus Bullies Too Harsh?

From One News Now

Original article available here

The head of the Rutherford Institute believes the one-year suspension for the students who verbally abused a school bus monitor was excessive and not the right approach.

Rutherford Institute president John Whitehead says the four 12- and 13-year-old Rochester (New York) students should be disciplined. But he says a year-long suspension is not discipline but excessive punishment.

"Obviously, when they do these things, I say they should be disciplined, but [not by] whacking them over the head," Whitehead remarks. "These are kids who are 12 and 13 years old. They're not fully formed adults. Treating them like they're in a prison somewhere and really cracking down on them is, I think, the wrong message to send to the kids."

The four students continuously heaped insult after insult on school bus monitor 68-year-old Karen Klein, bringing her to tears. The incident was recorded and seen by millions on YouTube.

"We raise them to be brats today, which a lot of psychologists are saying that we're raising brats," Whitehead tells OneNewsNow. "When they act like brats, we come down on them very hard. So I think that the educational system and parents need to re-assess how they're bringing kids up today."

In addition to the suspension, the four children will be required to perform 50 hours of community service with senior citizens and complete a bullying prevention, respect and responsibility program.