Teaching Young’uns to Stand Their Ground

The fine legislators of Nevada are once again engaged in the noble pursuit of rearranging deck chairs on a ship they set adrift years ago. Assembly Bill 48, now making its rounds in the statehouse, proposes a grand solution to the scourge of bullying.

Instead of sending the poor, battered child off to a new school like an unwelcome houseguest, the school board may now, if kindly asked, shuffle the bully instead. It’s a remarkable stroke of wisdom, akin to relocating the fox when he gets too enthusiastic about the chicken coop.

Now, while these lawmakers pat each other on the back for their high-minded efforts, one cannot help but wonder if they have considered the time-honored approach—one that predates government committees, education codes, and the ever-expanding rulebooks of modern civilization–called teaching your child to fight.

Before the pearl clutchers take to their fainting couches, let’s clarify. Not brawling. Not hooliganism. No. It is the fine, upright tradition of self-defense—an education in standing one’s ground when some pint-sized highwayman deems it his right to pummel another child for sport.

There was a time when a youngster–after receiving an ill-tempered shove, understood that the correct response was not to file a grievance with the school board but rather to plant their feet, square the jaw, and make it abundantly clear that they are not to be treated as a doormat.

Now, of course, we live in enlightened times. Bullying reports in Clark County alone number 15,000 a year, with 6,000 of them dismissed as the kind of schoolyard nonsense that once sorted itself out on the playground without a tribunal.

The proposed law would allow parents of the offending party to request their child get transferred, a curious notion indeed, as bullies are rarely known for their eagerness to leave their carefully cultivated fiefdoms. Meanwhile, the real victims are left waiting for salvation from a policy that treats them as something to be relocated rather than empowered.

One wonders if the honorable legislators have ever seen a bully meet an unexpected right hook. It is an educational moment far more effective than a stack of bureaucratic policies.

There is great talk these days about preparing children for the real world. Well, here is a lesson worth teaching: Some will test you, push you, and take from you, and at times, the best course of action is to introduce them, firmly and without hesitation, to the consequences of their actions.

If Nevada wishes to curb bullying–it might look at a more pragmatic approach. Rather than drafting another bill to shuffle the problem from one building to another, perhaps parents should do what parents once did—teach their children to stand up for themselves and tell politicians to leave the child-rearing to mom and dad.