What do you think should be done about bullies?

The worst of the worst definitely need something like house arrest. Meaning they don't go to school, instead a tutor is sent to them to give them REQUIRED homeschooling in the home, with the parents having to either cooperate with this or get fined and/or jailed. That would only be for the most violent one-tenth of a percent though (0.1 percent, or one in a thousand).

As for the rest? It's clear that zero-tolerance rules aren't working, and are in fact creating way more problems than they solve by virtue of forcing people to act like NOBODY has any sense. So here's some ideas that might actually help.

--One of the big problems with bullying is that nobody comes forward to adults as a witness. One way around that problem is to put cameras and microphones everywhere--put every hallway, classroom, entrance and exit under audio and visual watch by a team of 2-3 security guards in each school, who are _Trained and Tested_ in child psychology and know how to _spot_ aggressors, particularly among tweens and teenagers. This would also have the side effect of catching abusive and neglectful teacher conduct _before_ it gets caught on a smartphone and uploaded to YouTube as well. But put the school under watch by people _There to_ spot bullies and abusive people as their _Job_.

--Many bullies end up being jocks as well--athletes who only really do well in PE/Gym class. One way to fix that would be to fully fund tracking for PE/Gym, so that the most athletic and aggressive 20 percent of the student population gets put in the team sports track, with ALL of the discipline they can swallow, while the remaining, non-jock 80 percent?

Gets put on a personal fitness (cardio and calisthenics) track, with meaningful self-defense and assertiveness training built into the course. For the non-jock 80 percent, PE/Gym class would run 80-90 minutes. The first 30 minutes would consist of teachers teaching students HOW to skip rope as cheap cardio, and teaching them HOW to use suspension training equipment to make bodyweight exercise _easier_ to start. Then the rest would be about teaching verbal assertiveness, situational awareness (how to spot problems before they hit you), online self-defense (avoid Facebook and Twitter) and real-life moves (taken from Aikido and other arts, meant to keep students unharmed while getting them OUT of the situation--focus on escape, not kicking tail).

Basically the idea is to make sure bullies get NO easy targets and have NO real opportunity to ply their trade. Some of this already happens in Japan and France, where martial arts are a part of gym class. Edit: And yes, this would involve some tolerance of self-defense--the idea that if you teach moves, you'll recognize them in use and understand when someone's trying to not get hurt. I can see where lawyers and PTA groups might not like this.

--The biggest thing though, would change the classroom. The idea is borrowed from the way schools are run in some Latin American nations--instead of students moving from room to room with each new class, THEY stay in place while their teachers roam. The idea for this would be to use a "big room" strategy. Make a classroom with 40 seats in it. This is where the students stay put. Have two teachers _in the front_ working together to teach the material--THEY change from class to class. Have two aides/Classroom Control Personnel in the back monitoring the classroom, and THEY stay put. Classroom Control people are there to enforce _order_ in the classroom as their first priority and to aid the teachers as a close second.

They would have wooden rulers and be trained to use _single strokes_ with those on the backs of hands, or across the triceps or trapezius muscle to get full attention and maintain order as needed--and would be allowed by both the school and a _Waiver/Consent Form_ parents HAVE TO sign, to escalate to straight-up paddlings and/or on-the-spot handcuffings to desks to maintain order.

With cameras and microphones in place, everyone's watched so nobody is abused. But at the same time, nobody gets to play a card and play _head games_ either on their own conduct.

Answer the question:

"How many nice people would be willling to punish bullies if they have the chance?"

The answer is: very few. When nice people are given the opportunity to punish others, they rather not. This is why bullies exist.

I think bullies aren't that strong. Bullies have the edge only because of one thing -- they are willing to hurt others. Nice people would do everything to now hurt others. Therefore, bullies can bully nice people.

I argue that nice people shouldn't sympathize bullies. Nice people are usually very smart. Therefore, if you are willing to wear your own fangs, then you wouldn't be bullied. Fight back, push back. When the bullies are begging for mercy, don't back off and say, "It's okay, I'll forgive you." Give them the punish they deserve. Don't back off, and feel pride while doing that.

About all bullys or a particular one? Every bully has a weakness and it's usually an obvious one.

The best way is a good punch in the nose. Unfortunately, schools have become so strict about any kind of fighting that handling it that way usually results in immediate suspension and sometimes even expulsion.

make them hit the ground, for a count of 100 !

PUNCH THE BULLY

Stand up to them right away

Don't let them escalate