WARNING! This video shows a small 6th grader getting picked up and slammed on the ground at Lee Middle School by a larger kid. Do not watch it if you are uncomfortable with real life violence. https://www.mysuncoast.com/2025/02/27/my-son-wasnt-protected-mother-has-questions-after-son-assaulted-school/
As I’ve always said, the problem with middle schools is that they are filled with middle schoolers, who are, by and large, socially inept still.
Kids should not “need” to defend themselves in school. That’s not what school is for and it shouldn’t happen there. This attack shows that the problem is not lack of self defense training. This small six grader turned his back, which was a mistake, but what was he supposed to do? He’s trying to get to class so he can learn. It’s not a gladiatorial arena! The other kid towered over him and if you don’t think size matters, then why are their weight divisions in every fighting sport?
The rise in bullying shows a societal problem. All kids need to learn respect, confidence, self discipline and impulse control at an early age (through martial arts training). This way they don’t become bullies, because their self esteem is high enough that they don’t need to prove themselves, nor will they become easily targeted victims, because they now walk with confidence.
They need to learn social skills that they aren’t getting from Fortnite and their phones. The amount of kids that I meet who get unsupervised time and exposure to inappropriate material on their phones is mind boggling. Parent’s aren’t supervising well enough because they either don’t know, or sucked into their phones too, or they are working multiple jobs so they can feed their kids. There are no classes that teach kids how to have conversations, how to resolve problems and how to be a good, upstanding citizen. We do this in our leadership class, but where else are they going to learn these things that will make them a functional adult? The number of young adult employees that I’ve had to teach how to “do” adulting is stunning, but they gain so much from it that they all go on to become the most prized employee in their next job or career.
Maybe it’s time to send more kids to Juvie and get them out of an environment where they aren’t thriving and are negatively impacting the kids who are there to learn. Let school be for those kids who are there to learn. I don’t envy school officials, but they have a tough task on their hands, especially here in Manatee County.
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