Jerry Davich: Bullying in schools a hot topic with readers

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Jerry Davich

Updated: March 1, 2012 8:16AM

Bullying in this region’s schools is a brutal fact of life for students of all ages, I’m told.

My previous column on a special-needs teenage boy from Hobart who’s been bullied since third grade sparked more than two dozen parents, and a few teens, to contact me with similar complaints.

“I’m writing to tell you that bullying is alive and well in the Valparaiso schools, too,” Susanne H. said. “We are raising our grandson who has autism. He just had his 10th birthday and is bullied every day. My problem with the bullying is that much of it is done by the teachers in the school. It is so hard to send this child into this war zone every day and try to explain that evening that God did not give him autism to punish him.”

Janet L. of Gary said her 11-year-old daughter is bullied by other girls in her elementary school almost on a daily basis.
“It’s gotten to the point where she cries on the way to school each morning,” Janet told me.

Forrest Christian emailed me a lengthy analysis on this issue, including this insight: “It turns out that bullying is a part of the social system, and it’s not going away. You only drive it underground, much like teen drinking, where it becomes something nightmarish.”

Several other parents said they are even more aggravated with the educators who ignore bullying or pretend it doesn’t exist.

PTSD — ‘Half dead me’

Of all the responses to my column on military veterans who deal with post-traumatic stress disorder, this email, below, still rattles around in my head. It’s from a longtime reader and an opinionated vet who calls himself “Space Cadet.”

“Dear Jerry, this is how the Veterans Administration keeps me from running around killing people:

Divaloproex — 500 MG/a day

Gabapentin — 300 MG/4 a day

Clonazepam — .5 MG/a day

Desipramine — 50 MG/3 a day

Prazosin — 2 MG/4 a day

“The cheapest way out is to keep the person’s mind dead enough with drugs but well enough to get by without having to be in an institution,” he wrote.

“The amount of counseling it might take to help one have a better quality of life costs too much. So when you see or hear from me you know you are talking to a half-dead me, walking around continuously tired and (ticked) off.

“What a life, huh?”

Free air AND service

In this day and age of self-serve, well, everything, including gasoline pumps, I was pleasantly surprised to find a gas station that provides full service for no extra charge. And also free air for its customers’ vehicle tires.

The Mobil gas station in Valparaiso on Calumet Avenue next to the WiseWay grocery store offers both perks, and such stations should be rewarded for doing so — with your business.

Drug testing teens

Just a few parents replied to my request asking for their experience with drug testing their teenagers at home. This excerpted response, from Christine McDonald of Portage, best illustrates their situations.

“My son is a freshman at Portage High School. Over the past three or four years, we have had trust issues with him. Basically every word out of his mouth was a lie.

“Once I felt all trust was completely gone, I purchased a 12-drug testing kit. It was expensive but well worth it. He tested negative for everything.

“He was mad for several days, but he understood why it was done. He had blown our trust for the last time. It was explained at any point we felt he betrayed our trust, another test would be given randomly.

“Now our relationship is so much better. He comes to us with questions and concerns. He is earning our trust. I believe if you have any reason to carry a big stick, it is during the teenage years.”

Which amenity goes?

What would you give up first (or last) if your discretionary dollars dried up? Dining out? Bar-hopping? Gambling? Movie theaters? Your — gasp! — phone?

This was the question I asked in a previous column. Here is one reader’s detailed explanation.

“Although we don’t eat out much, that would stop,” said Greg Hajduk of Valparaiso.

Followed by, in order, the couple’s land phone line, the “recording” DVR from their cable company, home delivery of their “beloved Post-Tribune,” one line from their cell phone package, shopping at Aldi’s rather than other grocery stores and cutting out concerts or sporting events.

Hajduk and his wife both work at the Portage WalMart, so let’s hope that store values their employment.

Listen to Jerry’s “Out to Lunch” radio show at noon today on WVLP 98.3-FM or www.wvlp.org.