Would our kids have bullied the school bus monitor?
How can we help make sure our children don’t treat anyone the way the middle schoolers in Greece, New York, treated their school bus monitor?
One of the saddest and most disturbing videos that I have seen recently is the video of an elderly bus monitor, Karen Klein, being bullied.
The 68-year-old grandmother was just doing her job as a school bus monitor for a busload of middle school children. This poor woman was cursed at and ridiculed by a group of these children using the most vulgar and cruel terms, and nothing was done to stop it. No other children came to her defense or tried to stop the cruelty of their classmates. They dehumanized this lady and received a few minutes of Internet fame on YouTube for it.
What about our children?
Our culture is corrupt! Do we know what is happening in our children’s schools today? Are we aware of what their friends are doing and saying? Do we really know that our children would never participate in something as vile as this? Would our children have tried to stop it?
We must not make assumptions when it comes to protecting our children and when it comes to training them in the way they should go. As the Proverbs say, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). We must talk to our children about this incident and other such things. (I’m not suggesting watching the video with them—such language should be censored and avoided.)
Teaching godly values
Many have commented on this tragic situation. It makes us question where our society is going, and what we can do to make sure we are instilling true values in our children.
Our children are our heritage, and they are so precious to us. We cannot take anything for granted today.
We must be engaged all the time. Our society mocks things that are decent and that are in line with godly values. Our children must be disciplined and trained. They must know that they will feel the consequences of their own actions and their mistakes.
Do our child-rearing practices reflect that, or do our children seem to be the ones who rule the roost, much to our chagrin?
Can’t evade our responsibility
As parents, we cannot evade our responsibility to our children. Left to their own devices, they will absorb the influences that are all around them—particularly with their friends at school.
Our children should be the ones who are described as proper role models because we have trained them to be humble, respectful and obedient. Does that describe your 2-year-old? Your 13-year-old? Are our children addicted to the make-believe world of handheld video devices? It seems like we see them everywhere. Just what are those games they are playing? Do you know?
Do your children tune you out during the evenings in favor of surfing the Internet or their favorite TV show?
Helping shape our children’s character
Let’s be sure we know that we can trust our children to never even think of participating in such a vulgar and hateful episode as what happened to poor Mrs. Klein. Let’s know this because we know our children’s character intimately—because we have helped shape it as a result of the time, teaching and attention we have given them. Let’s be sure we implement the successful methods of child rearing as outlined in the Word of God.
For more about Christian parenting, see the articles in the “Parenting” section.
Date Posted: June 29, 2012
About the Author
Ron Kelley
Ron Kelley was born and raised in West Virginia. He spent 31 years working in hospital finance in Ohio before entering the full-time ministry in 2006.
by Ron Kelley
