Cheerleaders’ Reign of Terror Comes to an End
Friday, December 29th, 2006By Mimi Rothschild
Sometimes I just have to shake my head at these sorts of things. The Telegraph News reports of a shocking scandal in which a clique of teenage cheerleaders essentially had the run of the school, even in the classroom. They intimidated other students, pulled pranks, intimidated the teachers, skipped school, and committed other various acts of disrespect.
“These girls were at the top of the food chain, they were ‘uber-cool’, they had the looks – some of them had the money,” said Mr Jones. “I talked to a real good-looking football coach and he was obviously scared of them. He had taught inner-city school kids in San Francisco and he said gang members were nothing compared with these girls.”
As much as I hate to say it, this sort of social climate exists within most schools. The public school environment not only allows this sort of behavior, but fosters it. This particular situation got out of control enough that it got media attention, but I’m willing to bet that this situation is indicative of a majority of schools.
It’s a shame that it took a $40,000 investigation and several lost employees to bring this to light. Although the girls have been kicked off the cheerleading squad, it’s likely that they will continue to bully their peers.
In homeschooling, there are no bullies. There is no peer pressure. There is no social pecking order based on survival of the prettiest, richest, or coolest. Parents, in which environment would you rather see your child?