What does ‘severity of injury’ have to do with how one side went about riling up a lynch mob to take down half the high school? All because their precious kid voluntarily went into a fight and came off badly from it?
You realize what this kid is learning, right? I can get into a fight any time. If I win – great. If I lose, my extended family will use all their clout to take down any and everyone who did not protect me from my own decision.
There is a well-established term for that kind of situation. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/ethan-couchs-affluenza-explainer/story?id=36011293
Here’s a few questions, presumably germane:
A. If one posseses digitally-stored indecent pictures of an adolescent minor, but that adolescent minor is oneself, is this okay (i.e., does this constitute a legal loophole)?
B. If one **distributes** indecent pictures of an adolescent minor, but that adolescent minor is oneself, is this okay (i.e., does this constitute a legal loophole)?
C. Presuming, solely for the purposes of discussion, that the answer to question B is “yes”, does this additional information change the answer to “no”?: The individuals to whom you distributed the indecent pictures of an adolescent minor are, themselves, minors?
Boys in today’s society were already facing plenty of pits into which to fall. Now they need to contend with this? Talk about instigating absolute chaos.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood High School “ANTI BULLYING POLICY” was adapted in 2016 , it has very clear rolls for students , parents and staff, While the kids involved in the incident have gotten all the attention , the little public information that is available about the incident and what led up to the incident would lead anyone to suspect the Ridgewood High School anti bullying policy , despite years of finger wagging was not followed and it appears that not only were students documented to be in violation of the policy but clearly so were some staff and parents .
So the question remains ; who knew ,when did they know and why did they not act?
Roll of the Staff
Staff must promote and reinforce the notions that IT IS SAFE TO TELL and IT IS EASY TO TELL because the school finds bullying behaviour harmful and unacceptable – this message is supported by the high value placed on Children’s Rights and the Anti-bullying pledge. Staff must always listen effectively and non-judgementally when children are trying to communicate about a bullying issue, and through training and support, be fully aware of strategies that might be usefully employed in response. Senior staff and pastoral staff, have a particular responsibility to support colleagues in dealing with incidents of bullying. Consideration must also be given to individual needs and circumstances.
Staff are given regular training through whole staff, House and Sharing meetings. This includes updates in policy, curriculum or legislation. Specific training information, findings from surveys and work with children is disseminated to staff on Inset days.
Ridgewood High School will support staff’s needs for in-service training to help ensure that anti-bullying strategies are effective, and raise awareness of possible bullying risks and vulnerable groups/individuals.
Staff should always consider their responsibility as role models and subsequently go about their duties in an anti-oppressive manner.
School staff are on duty around the college before school, during break & lunch and after school. Support and Guidance staff must be informed of bullying incidents or concerns to ensure accurate recording and monitoring. Support and Guidance staff will work together with form tutors and other relevant staff to ensure effective intervention.
Reporting of incidents should be recorded on SIMS as bullying incidents. A log should also be made on the victims Behaviour log. The Support and Guidance team, including Heads of House will ensure that form tutors are informed and able to monitor and support children daily. They may also decide that extra support is needed from Heads of House, Support and Guidance or Peer Mentors. However, form tutors are normally the first line of support and daily contact for children experiencing difficulties.
Parents/carers must be informed of their child’s involvement in any incidents of bullying behaviour and strategies put in place by the member of staff dealing with the incident/s.
Bullying of or by school staff whether by children, parents or staff must be reported to the relevant line manager and Head Teacher. Matters should be dealt in line with relevant discipline policy guidelines.
Roll of the parents or Guardians
The parent/carer is vital in the implementation of this policy. Sometimes a child will not inform school staff if they are being bullied but will inform their parent or other family member. When this is done the parent/carer is expected to contact the form tutor or a member of the Support and Guidance team team to discuss the incident to enable staff to deal with the issue.
A parent/carer may also see changes at home that may possibly indicate that bullying is taking place. It is again vital that the parent communicates with school staff with any concerns.
Anti-bullying information is passed onto parents throughout their child’s time at Ridgewood; general information at induction evening, displays at parent events, newsletter articles and e-safety awareness sessions.
The parent/carer of a student displaying bullying behaviour must be contacted by school staff and then, if necessary invited into the school to discuss the behaviour shown by their child. It is also essential that the
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parent/carer of the student doesn’t feel isolated and that they are also getting support in ensuring that the behaviour is not repeated.
Parents/carers must be informed of any bullying issues and informed of any interventions.
These questions from a commenter to an earlier post still seem important:
what if a girl texted naked photos of herself to 2 freshman? What if one of the freshmen was bi-racial and the other was small for his age? What if the girl who texted these naked pictures had a boyfriend in 11th grade, that was REALLY mad that someone had pics of his gal? What if the girls boyfriend, a Junior born and bred in Ridgewood, challenged the small freshman to a fight and taunted him via social media. What if the other freshman, who also received the naked pics from this girl, came to his smaller friends defense because of the disparity in size between the two boys? What if the Junior then called him a Nigger. Over and over again, called him a Nigger and challenged him to a fight, on social media with everyone standing by. What if this freshman accepted, who had been called a Nigger on social media over and over again, accepted the challenge to fight and met the Junior? And what if, when the freshman showed up, not only was the Junior there and ready to fight, but 40 of his closest friends armed with their phones video taping? What if the wrestling team wasn’t there? What if there was a fight and the freshman, the “Nigger” punched twice, and the second punch knocked the Junior flat on his back? What if the Juniors friends were cheering and videotaping? What if the Junior’s friends chased the “nigger” off the field instead of calling 911? What if the Junior came home and was unable to share the truth with his family, because he was ashamed and embarrassed? And what if, he embellished the truth to save face? What if an enraged and upset Aunt posted the Juniors embellished story on Facebook? What if we all believed the “story” because the media picked it up and what if there was a modern day lynching of this so called “brutal animal” on social media because we believe anything that’s posted, must be true? What if the Juniors grandfather misspoke at the BOE meeting indicating the “victim” didn’t know the attacker, but yet a simple Facebook search could indicate otherwise? What if we blamed the BOE for not expelling the brutal animal immediately when quite possibly he could be the victim? What if it were your kid?
What’s in a name? Don’t get hung up on the name, it’s what we all use to call a workshop. It still is a workshop, but now it’s a “community commuter workshop”, where all you have to do is bring your ideas. We have basic tools that you would find in a woodshop, craft shop, your garage and more. If you are still not sure how you can utilize the Ridgewood Makerspace, come on down and see what our members are doing. We have soldering stations, sewing machines, bandsaws, drill press, and if you want to expand your horizons learn how to use a 3D printer.
On Mondays from 4-9 pm in the Ridgewood High School Makerspace (in the Science wing) we hope people of ALL ages will come and work in our Makerspace together.
I couldn’t believe my ears, at last board of ed meeting where parents screamed about lack of communication about the “INCIDENT.”
Fishbein went through the schools with powerpoint and pointed that they want the taxpayers to come up with MILLIONS of dollars to upgrade the windows and bathrooms and other cosmetic fix ups , so the kids can have a good environment in which to work, words like appealing, good condition, safe. ( only justified change I thought was new fire alarm system at high school if really needed, it would cost over 100K if I remember correctly)
Hey, Fishbein , how about being able to communicate properly to parents during a crises.
So what about not allowing kids to bring in Smart Phones and text while class is going on, Fishbein. Apparently only one teacher has that rule in a German Class, I think it was middle school. Kids have to put Smart phone on shelves during class.
What about teaching about Social Media dangers. Maybe that would provide a safe and appealing environment.
NO MONEY SHOULD BE SPENT ON THESE COSMETIC CHANGES. IF A TOILET WORKS KEEP IT. IF WINDOWS ARE NOT BROKEN KEEP THEM. LUX schools are UNNECESSARY
MANY GREAT INTELLECTUALS , writers, scientists, did not have Lux schools and they did great things. Stop this materialistic nonsense and get to work teaching values.
It’s really not that complicated. Kids were kids.
And evidently a young girl has not heard that sending inappropriate photos of yourself to teenage boys can end up badly.
The one kid who was vilified is hardly the villain he’s proclaimed to be, and the hero is hardly the hero he was touted to be -BY HIS FAMILY MEMBERS!!! And shame shame shame on them for that and for using their long standing Ridgewood connections to try to garner sympathy???? SHAME on them.
Both are wrong. Unfortunately one ended up with a worse injury. That’s terrible. But it happens when children act foolish.
And for the record calling this particular injury a “skull fracture” is a touch of an exaggeration…..
Both need a lesson in how their actions have consequences and both should be (and I hope were) suspended. So should the girl!!!!
Ridgewood High School biggest problem right now is not THIS incident. It’s the rampant out of control obsessiveness of social media and not enough supervision and direction in that building. Period. Where in the hell are our tax dollars going?? No substitute teachers! Instead? Free periods! Open campus, drug sales in the bathrooms, drinking and pot smoking all day everywhere. No repuscussions.
Our damned obscene school budget in this town really out to stop funding silly chrome books which are barely used, half of the problem and totally distracting-and many other foolish initiatives, and get on board with making sure we aren’t raising a group of social media obsessed, desensitized, spoiled mongers.
This situation speaks more about a much bigger problem. This is a fight. Pure and simple.
Dan the man Fishbein no longer has an excuse to delay taking “appropriate” action.
This is a leadership failure by the super and worthless principal This is our fault for accepting the steady decline of our schools and the high school
The high school needs a strong leader, we went the easy route and picked some local without the right skills who is not very concerned about or able to lead when challenged
For school budget of 100m plus a year we should have the best there is in these positions, not just ones that meet the job posting within 5 miles
That is what we have Really a sad state for the kids.
Ridgewood NJ, according to North Jersey Media two boys a 14-year-old boy and 16-year-old boy were charged in the Oct. 28 incident. The boys have been charged with assault following a violent school incident in Ridgewood at Stevens Field and Brookside Field.
The Record reported that Police Chief Jacqueline Luthcke announced on Thursday. After an “extensive” investigation police charged with 14-year-old with aggravated assault and simple assault, and the 16-year-old with simple assault. Both teens have a juvenile court date pending in Hackensack.
With the Village still reeling the school district and police have kept relatively quiet on what led up to and what caused the incident . However parent exchanges on Facebook have described what happened Oct. 27 and 28 as either a series of arranged fights or an outright assault, and the culmination of weeks online bullying. Some have questioned the account as being one sided ,and others have postulated far deeper issues than the public has been led to believe .
The Ridgewood school district still has to answer as to who knew and when did they know and why were school anti bullying policies not acted on .
Ridgewood NJ, The debut concert of our middle schools’ Honor Band is Saturday, November 18 at 2 p.m., RHS Little Theatre. $10 at the door. Please plan to attend!
The District Honor Band was designed to recognize Ridgewood’s middle school students who excel in music performance and who would gain from an additional opportunity aimed at providing differentiation for advanced and advancing musicians. Unlike many honor ensembles that simply provide an “all star” conductor-centered ensemble experience for like-aged, the Ridgewood 7th & 8th Grade All-District Honor Band goes several steps further by partnering advancing middle school musicians with advanced student mentors from the RHS Band Program, while also providing the students with small group instruction led by professional certified music teachers according to instrument group. Leading up to the November 18 concert, the Honor Band will meet for three four-hour rehearsals, including sectionals, mentoring sessions and full band practice.
For the inaugural season, RHS Band Directors Jeffrey Haas and John Luckenbill are serving as the conductors. The band’s concert program will include “Into the Storm,” by Robert W. Smith, “Evermore” from the recent Beauty and the Beast movie, “West Highland Sojourn” by Robert Sheldon, and David Shaffer’s “Pinnacle March.”
Any 7th or 8th grade student who is enrolled in his or her school’s curricular band program was eligible to participate in the Honor Band. Although an audition was not required, participating students submitted a video recording via Google Classroom, which included specific scales and a musical excerpt used to determine placement within each section of the band.
Funding for the District Honor Band was provided by the Ridgewood Board of Education in cooperation with the Ridgewood Friends of Music. Sheet music and folders were provided by the education division of Music & Arts retail music store.
A late speaker at the 2nd session of public comment at the recent Board of Ed spoke of some ‘adults” cyberbullying. If this is true, it would be hypocrisy at its worst and perhaps they should be held accountable if their clear intent was to defame, especially since the question of who actually bullied who leading up to this fight is still being determined by the authorities. High time for some ‘adults” to walk their talk and teach their kids how to respect due process.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police Department Chief Jacqueline Luthcke presented Certificates of Appreciation from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to Patrol Officers Michael Karcher and Kyle Monton during a meeting of the Ridgewood Village Council held on Wednesday, 11/08. Officers Karcher and Monton led the Ridgewood PD in the number of drunk driving arrests during a recent designated crackdown period. Karcher joined the force late in 2013; Monton has been on the job only since early 2016. Message to all: DON’T DRINK AND THEN DRIVE THROUGH RIDGEWOOD.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Schools are presenting an important program on digital mindfulness, Nov. 29: The Wellbeing series combines with the Tech Nights initiative to host Devorah Hetiner, Ph.D. on Wednesday, November 29. Dr. Heitner’s program, Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World, will cover criteria by which parents and guardians may judge the quality of their children’s media experiences and offer tips to help them become tech-positive parents.
Dr. Heitner is an experienced speaker, workshop leader and consultant, and a professional development resource for organizations wishing to cultivate a culture of responsible digital citizenship. She holds a doctorate in Media/Technology and Society from Northwestern University and is the founder of Raising Digital Natives, for parents and educators seeking advice on how to help children thrive in a world of digital connectedness.
The evening with Dr. Heitner will take place from 7-9 p.m. at the George Washington Middle School Auditorium, 155 Washington Place. It is free and open to the adult public.
Dr. Gorman’s letter is even wordier than Fishbein’s letter but essentially the same.
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I guess the Ridgewood Schools administrators just can’t help themselves… they must feel compelled to paint with a broad brush and send a message blaming all of the students and the parents and everyone else rather than focusing on the small number of “offenders” (instigators, participants, recorders, watchers) by sending a positive message of “bad apples don’t spoil the bunch”.
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I guess if the only tool you have is a broad brush then every problem is treated as a whitewash of communal blame.
Let me preface by saying what happened to this boy is extremely sad. Nobody should ever have to experience what he is going through.
Every single day we see bullying happening. Whether it is the current over protective idea of bullying or straight up bullying – this isn’t a new thing. Almost everyone on this site “bullies” other commenters on a daily basis, parents are bullying other parents on the Ridgewood Facebook group, other towns are bullying Ridgewood residents on social media by associating every Ridgewood resident with this incident and worse, grown adults are bullying the one who threw the punches to the extent of wishing the worst upon him without knowing the full story.
I’ve seen the expression “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” when referring to the boy who threw punches numerous times. Why don’t we take a minute to stop and think about his parents, about his siblings, his teammates, coaches, etc. People who were ultimately shaping this boys life up until this moment. How dare we point fingers i’m sure i’m not the only one who feels as if I’ve let loved ones down on more than one occasion and wish they didn’t have to deal with the consequences of my own actions. Our children see everything, they hear everything, and even mimic most things (whether we want to believe it or not). The behavior that is going on in this town on all sides is baffling and embarrassing. Words being thrown around, parents who don’t even have children in the school system pointing fingers because they want to be involved, gossiping everywhere like it’s a recreational game of telephone and we’re letting our children think this is appropriate behavior.
As for our children- what are we teaching them? That a girl who sent inappropriate pictures (doesn’t matter to who)is having her honor defended? Because that has got put on the back burner. To believe That one side and only one side only is completely innocent should be assumed bible? Yes violence should not have been involved. 1000%. But let’s all take a second to band together as a community and realize that yelling and accusing isn’t getting us anyone. Let’s take a day to not judge another parent, another child, another administrator.
I’ challenge all of you…let’s try to help each other, lift one another up. Put our trust in the justice system. Go a Day…maybe two with trying to see positive instead of negative. Go a day without checking every social media for the latest town gossip and basing our opinions off one side of the story. We will not get anywhere with the way things are going now. The children of this community are counting on each of us.
