Bullied boy allegedly banned from bringing 'My Little Pony' backpack to school

[Gman]

Bullied boy allegedly banned from bringing 'My Little Pony' backpack to school

Outraged parents say their son's elementary school told their 9-year-old to leave his "My Little Pony" backpack at home after the boy complained that he was bullied for bringing it to school.

Noreen Bruce said she became alarmed earlier this month when her son, Grayson, refused to get out of the car to go to school. “Everybody hates me," he said. "I don’t feel I belong here.” Shaken, she asked him why.

His classmates at Candler Elementary School in Candler, N.C., were bullying him because of the My Little Pony backpack he’d been using for about a week, he told her.

Noreen and her husband, Josh, both of whom work at a local restaurant, were shocked by the response.

Researchers who study bullying had much the same reaction.

If the school actually did tell the boy to leave his backpack at home to avoid bullying, “That’s placing the blame on the kid,” said Sandra Graham, a professor of education at University of California, Los Angeles, who studies the long-term effects of bullying. “The principal is basically saying you brought this on yourself, so deal with it — as opposed to putting the responsibility back on the perpetrators.”

A better response, she said, would be to use the incident as a teachable moment. It’s not only the bullies who are a concern; it’s also the student bystanders and adults who refuse to intervene. The response should involve the whole school community, she said, meeting and planning to “change the climate and culture in the school.”

Personally, I think it's his choice...but don't then whine about the consequences. This kid needs to learn about the real world at some point. The real world doesn't give a damn about your delicate sensibilities or your "self-esteem".