School bus monitor "fine" with bully punishment

Karen Klein / CBS

(AP) NEW YORK - The upstate New York school bus monitor who was bullied by four seventh-graders says she's satisfied that they're being suspended for a year.

Speaking one day after the boys' punishment was announced, Karen Klein told The Associated Press on Saturday that she wants to meet with the boys who tormented her to ask them why they did it.

Klein told the AP she feels "fine" about the school system in the Rochester suburb of Greece handing down a year suspension and keeping them from regular bus transportation.

The students were caught on video mercilessly taunting the 68-year-old Klein on the bus.

She says the best part of showing her ordeal to the public is that it has inspired parents to talk to their kids and teach them what they shouldn't do.

Students suspended in NY bus monitor bullying

[varigdc10]

I would hit the parents with some type of penalty, good discipline and education begins at home. When I was growing up when I did something stupid my old man would slap me across my head ( not very hard at all ) and I would learn forever.

[hypnotoad72]

Agreed.

But when the parents aren't able (or willing?) then we need surrogates. That is why we have school administrators and bus monitors... if they aren't able to discipline, then they are just paper tigers and unable to do anything. Seems a waste of money to employ people to do a job they aren't able to do because of, yes, excessive regulations... (I'm not anti-anti-regulation, depending on regulation it may or may not be justified to have and support.)

[rich2777]

If I had the final say on their punishment, I wouldn't kick them out of school for a year, I'd make them return to school, as scheduled, but I'd require their parents (both parents, not just one parent) to take them back and forth to and from school, everyday. The parents need a reminder too, for a while, to do a better job of parenting. No school transferring allowed, either. Too, the students will have to face their classmates, peers, a lot sooner...instead of a year later after things cool down. That arrangement would teach a lot of kids and some parents a lesson, if you want to dance; sooner or later you will have to pay the band.

[rich2777]

...after further thought, I would also require these kids to complete 52 consecutive weekends of public service work, starting right now (6 hours on Sat. and 6 hours on Sunday, after church)...such as serving meals and cleaning up at a local charity or mission; they can always use the help! I'll bet these kid's, and hopefully their parents too, will soon realize they are no longer untouchable, beyond the reach of retribution.

[hypnotoad72]

Agreed.

The perpetrators' families need some condign action as well. In the past, victims of bullies would be ferried by their parents, while the bullies would get away with it and continue without as much as a word said.

It's nice to see some forms of justice exist these days. But more needs to be done...

[Jaylah54200]

The biggest problem I have with this is where our priorities seemingly lie.

I'm okay with the fund-raising effort to give her a nice vacation. Maybe $5,000. But I'm appalled at the idea that such a fund raising effort raised over half a million dollars!!

Meanwhile, "Veg" (Martha Payne) has a blog, NeverSeconds, that went semi-viral, so she started a fund raising effort for Mary's Meals, that provides lunches through schools at some of the poorest countries in the world. For many of the children who eat Mary's Meals, that's the only food they get each day. And not only does that program provide enough nutrition to keep kids alive, but -- since they receive that meal at school -- it draws children into school where they get an education that can eventually help lead them out of such dire poverty.

"Veg" set a fundraising goal of 7,000 GBP (approximately $11,000). The contributions came trickling in and she'd raised a total of a little over 1,500 GBP ($2,356). Then her local school council banned her from taking photographs of her school lunches each day and the blogosphere exploded.

As people heard about the ban,she quickly shot past her original goal and her fundraising now stands at 109,684.96 GBP ($172,309.59).

So we'll gladly send our money in to allow a school-bus monitor to retire in comfort because she was bullied by a bunch of middle schoolers one day.

But we can't manage even $200,000 in donations to a charity that feeds starving children a school lunch.

I have read previously that Karen Klein has said that she intends to give part of her donated money to charity. I sure as hell hope so.

[Jaylah54200]

By the way, that 109,684.96 GBP ($172,309.59) is enough to build a new Mary's Meals kitchen in Blantyre, Malawi, plus feed well over $10,000 children for a year.

If you'd like to donate, you can do so online at http://www.justgiving.com/neverseconds

[askagain]

People are free to spend their money as they see fit. We don't need another law restricting people's choices.

[knewsteerrrrr]

Big deal, a year suspension, that's a mini vacation for them to hang out while mom dad are at work all day.

[hypnotoad72]

Agreed.

The suspension should have led to more - a person above mentioned community service. I wholeheartedly agree with that.

[npvere]

I think everyone is missing something. The kids will go to a special school for problem kids, and they aren't allowed to use school transportation, which means that their parents have to drive them. Every day. Back and forth. For a year. If the parents don't pound home the "be polite to people" message I'd be very surprised.

[Resin-Smoker]

Well considering that she got paid and is most likely getting a settlement from the school as well... Fark I'd be content too.

[knewsteerrrrr]

There is no "settlement" from the school, the school had nothing to do with it, the woman should have gotten up out of her seat, gone up to the driver and had him STOP the bus and phone the parents or the school or someone and take those 4 brats out.

[hypnotoad72]

knewsteerrrrr--

Or, if nothing else, wait until they got at destination and phone in then.

Indeed, if kids are going to act like street thugs, why aren't such monitors younger and more capable of subduing them to begin with? That's right, these monitors can't do anything of substance and we both know the brats know that too.