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What I am about to say is in no way intended as a threat or personal attack on Greece Central
School District bus monitor Karen Klein or anyone associated with the events on June
18th, 2012 in Greece, New York.
I know you have already seen the video of Karen being harassed on a bus by a group of
7th graders. My concern is that the adult in that video was employed as a bus monitor
at the time of the harassment. Regardless if the job is paid or volunteer work, a bus
monitor accepts a list of duties to perform with the intended goal to ensure a safe environment
for all of the children on the bus.
Like it or not, there are a lot of obnoxious teenagers in the world. Some of these teens
have no boundaries and will take harassment to extremes. The reasons behind this is just
opinion. There is no simple answer.
Basically though, what teenage harassment comes down to is:
some teens are just bad people
Do you know an adult who is ruthless, cheats, lies, or steals? Well, that adult was developing
those negative qualities as a teenager.
teenagers are conflicted
People treat teens like they are children, yet expect them to act like adults. This creates
a terrible burden of conflicting feelings.
teens are learning about their own feelings
People don’t care about the feelings of others until they figure out their own feelings.
teenagers want to be part of a group
People look for a leader to follow and will do and say things to fit in with peers.
teenagers need an effective authority figure in place
People test limits and when there is no resistance, they keep on going.
Were those teenagers who bombarded their bus monitor with harassment in the wrong? Yes,
definitely. Was that instance of bus monitor harassment a unique situation? Yes, but mainly
because the events were recorded.
The sad reality is that this type of harassment occurs A LOT around the world. There are people
who are excessively harassed on a daily basis, but not all harassment is recorded.
What you witness in that video is not even close to the worst of the harassment that
some people face each day. Possibly not even the worst of the kids in the video.
Has anyone asked the teachers of those kids what they act like in class? Those teens didn’t
just go bad this one time on a bus; they have a discipline problem. A bus monitor is supposed
to establish a presence of authority on their bus and maintain order. A bus monitor accepts
this responsibility when they sign up for that job. There are kids who depend on them
for their own safety.
Was Karen harassed that day? Yes. But, though extreme, the harassment she received was from
teenagers who she knowingly agreed to supervise. A bus monitor is supposed to be the authority
figure and maintain order on the bus. I know this seems harsh, but there is more happening
on that bus than just one woman being harassed.
Think about the other children on the bus. Imagine being one of the other students sitting
near Karen. The bus monitor you are supposed to depend on for support is unable to defend
even herself. So what about you?
What happens to the children on the bus when the harassment turns to them?
The bus monitor is supposed to be the authority figure who protects them.
This is why, as a bus monitor, Karen failed at her job. She is supposed to be protecting
the children on the bus.
I understand that people want to offer support. I respect that. I would like to know though
if the people donating money actually see the big picture.
I’ll ask these questions to those who donated money to Karen.
Did you donate money because you simply felt bad for a stranger on a bus?
Did you realize that the adult being harassed by kids is their bus monitor?
Did you know that a bus monitor’s job is to establish order on the bus?
Did you know a bus load of kids depends on a bus monitor to protect them?
Did you think about the innocent kids on the bus as being the real victims?
If you can answer these questions, visit busmonitorharassment dot com
and leave a comment