This is the fourth post in a series titled, “What Can I Do About Bullies?”
Guideline 3: Enforce Your Rules
Don’t park in a fire lane. Always wear your seatbelt when the car is moving. Don’t drive over ____ miles per hour. Always use your blinker when turning or changing lanes. Always stop at a stop sign. Always stop at a red light. Yield to oncoming traffic. Pedistrians have the right-of-way. Always drive a safe distance behind the car in front of you. Do not drive over 25 mph in a school zone. Do not pass a school bus that is dropping off or picking up kids. Turn on your headlights when it rains. Do not make a U turn here.
Do these rules look familiar? They are rules we see everyday on the road. And regardless of how unimportant we may think some are, they were created so that drivers may travel safely. I laughed as I typed out those rules, because it dawned on me that my husband has broken every one of them at least once in the 5 years we’ve been together.
Here’s something you should probably know about me: I follow rules. No matter how insignificant a rule is, I believe it’s in existance for a reason, so therefore it must be important. My husband, on the other hand, gets a sick satisfaction out of breaking rules, especially if I’m around to freak out. He believes a rule should be relevant to him in order for him to follow it. “Speed limit” is actually the minimum speed you should drive. Stop signs can be rolled through. Red lights can be run if no one is coming. What’s a blinker? You get the picture.
He will openly admit he breaks the rules because he knows he probably will not get caught. And most of the time, he won’t. There are roughly 323, 600 drivers in the city of Atlanta and only 304 sworn police officers in the entire Fulton County (the largest county in Georgia). If I do my math right (and remember I am an English teacher), that’s 1064 Altanta drivers per 1 Fulton County police officer. Obviously, the county is ill-equipped to enforce driving laws. What does that mean for my husband? He can keep on driving however he wants, because the chances of him getting caught are slim.
In our classrooms, we must make sure we enforce our rules much better than my local police department. When rules are not enforced, citizens (or students, in this case) become comfortable with breaking them. Students are masters at finding ways to break or skirt the rules set before them. The way we deal with rule-breaking determines how well students follow rules in the future.
If every driver in Atlanta got a ticket every time s/he sped, there would be few drivers willing to speed. If 
every driver in Atlanta got a ticket every time s/he parked in a fire lane, more people would be willing to walk the extra 20 yards to Wal-Mart. If every student was disciplined every time s/he spoke without permission, acted disrespectfully, or refused to follow any rule, students would be less willing to test the rules.
We must be careful and consistant in enforcing rules. That’s what gives us our power in the classroom. When we begin to “let things slide,” we give up our power. And believe me, kids will not know how to deal with that power. The classroom will not be a safe place in which to learn if students run the show. Class systems will form, and bullies will emerge to assert their power on others weaker than they.
So you see, our kids are depending on us to take charge! When a student becomes violent with another, discipline! When kids verbally abuse others, discipline! When girls gossip about an outcast, step in and break it up! Bullying is common in middle schools because we allow it. If we refused to allow bullying in our schools and provided appropriate punishment for the deeds every time they occured, we would see a decrease in such misbehavior and an increase in learning time.
