A mother named Leslie Latham took to the Maryville Speaks Out! (An SSO affiliate) Facebook public group to share about her son’s experience with bullying at MJHS.
She’s a mom who’s fed up, and she posted a strong message calling out some rough behavior on the sports team there.
In her words, she said, if you have a super tall son on a sports team at MJHS, you might want to talk to him about name-calling and bullying other kids.
She made it clear that this kind of behavior won’t be tolerated. She wrapped it up with the hashtag #raisethembetter, pushing for parents to step up and do better.
The post has sparked a ton of reactions, with people sharing their own stories and advice. From what folks are saying in the comments, this isn’t the first time bullying has come up around Maryville schools.
Some are pretty heated, like Allen P. Harding, who jumped in, saying to teach your child that there’s an acceptable level of violence and to push back until they get praise at home.
Many shared their frustration about bullying at MJHS. Kristen Carney Fitzgerald also shared similar experiences with her kids, saying:
Both of mine have been bullied there.
Kristen Carney Fitzgerald
Chris Wilson noted that reporting issues to the school often leads nowhere, as they need to catch the bully in the act to act. He commented:
I know multiple kids that have had to transfer to different schools because the school system would do nothing about it. Their parents even tried to make police report and that could not happen because the school could not back the information up.
Chris Wilson
Likewise, another commenter, Derek Kagley, also stated that the school literally doesn’t care. He shared a troubling story about his son being punched and the school blaming him, saying their policies seem to encourage bullying by punishing victims, too.
Some comments took a tougher stance. Philip Morgan and AJ Moore suggested that kids being bullied should band together and fight back, arguing that bullies aren’t scared because they know victims fear getting in trouble.
Whereas, Lynn Gregory, advised teaching kids to “fight dirty” if the bully is bigger. She said:
Teach your children not to tolerate it. If the other kid is a lot bigger, teach them how to fight dirty. A good eye poke will stop most anyone.
Lynn Gregory
Others, like Jennifer Racer, recommended legal steps, like filing an order of protection if threats or physical harm are involved.
Not everyone agreed on fighting back. Summer Nicole May pushed back against the idea, saying parents should focus on teaching kids not to bully in the first place, saying:
All yall being hateful and mean saying to teach your kid to stand up for themselves, like okay? Maybe teach y’all’s kids not to be a bully and a jerk to begin with. Hate is taught
Summer Nicole May
Tonya Brown said that kids who stand by and watch bullying without speaking up are just as guilty.
While Joanne Campbell pointed out that bullies might learn this behavior at home from abusive siblings or parents.
April Heatherly and Robin Dickenson, whose daughter faced similar issues years ago, said the school’s lack of action is a long-standing issue.
Dawn Harmon Bath urged Leslie to email the school with details to push for change, writing:
I hope.ypu have sent a detailed email to the school letting them know what is happening as well.
Dawn Harmon Bath
