Bullying is a sad fact of life, but often the way it’s handled can sometimes make the situation worse.
We send our kids to school hoping that they will be educated well in a safe environment – but unfortunately this isn’t always the case.
This South Carolina mom says she was so upset by the bullying her son had endured during third grade that she felt she had no other option but to go into the school and speak to her son’s alleged bullies and teacher herself.
According to a police report, the situation soon got emotional and next thing she knew she was being arrested by police officers.
Jamie Rathburn said her son’s treatment was nothing short of harassment.
“He was told that he was ugly, that he was stupid, nobody cared, and he was called gay, he was cussed out, and when he reported those things he was told to ignore it,” mom Jamie said, according to Fox 2.
Jamie says the verbal abuse eventually turned to physical abuse and her son had come home with scratch marks on his neck as well as bruises.
‘Threatening manner’
But her actions did not go down well with local enforcement officers.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said Rathburn entered Greenbrier Elementary School “without permission and began yelling at a class of third-grade students, pointing her finger in a threatening manner,” according to Fox 2.
Beth Brotherton, director of communications for the Greenville school district, admitted there had been several incidents but nothing that could be described as bullying.
“Maybe in her mind she was going there to confront a bully or a couple of children, but in not knowing who those were and choosing to yell at dozens of innocent kids, there is nothing appropriate about yelling at other people’s children’s in a school setting after you’ve snuck in illegally,” Beth Brotherton said.
She said Jamie’s arrest was prompted by someone who had seen a Facebook live video Jamie had posted saying she was going into the school, and was not the result of the school pressing charges.
‘I wish I could change it’
Jamie says she regrets her behavior that day but acted out of frustration because she felt not enough was being done.
“I understand what I did was wrong. Like I said, I don’t condone it… I can’t change it though, the only thing I can do is apologize, because that is sincere, and try to push forward and put the spotlight on what the real issues are, and that’s bullying,” Jamie said.
According to Fox 2 News, Jamie was issued with a no trespassing notice which means her son will not be able to return to his school but he can attend another school in the district.
What do you think of what mom Jamie Rathburn did?
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