Perhaps I'm naive, but a recent news story covering a bunch of middle school students who formed a club to combat bullying got me thinking about a positive, proactive way to more systematically eradicate it from our schools. I don't believe this to be a panacea by any stretch of the imagination; but I do think it might be an important part of a much broader plan. 

Incentives.

Here's my thought process:

Right now, neither the students nor the schools are sufficiently interested in ending bullying because, from their respective perspectives, the costs/pain outweigh the benefits. So let's alter the playing field. Let's create two different tracks that in tandem, will incentivize both groups to combat bullying. It's really no different than what many parents (including yours truly) does with their younger kids.

To be candid, I'm not certain right now what those incentives will look like. But it is certainly worth considering.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Jonathan Cooper
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Non-Compete, Trade Secret and School Negligence Lawyer
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