Molokai for Misfit Students

Creating an ally for students

Ashley Werner does not mince words when describing her experience as a lesbian at Milwaukee's Pulaski High School.

"If you are even remotely different, (the students) harass and make fun of you," Werner said. The 17-year-old junior said she is teased, called names and singled out almost every day. The situation was no better when Werner attended Clintonville High School as a freshman and sophomore. "I decided that I had had enough with Clintonville and moved down here," Werner said.

Werner hopes her situation will improve next year. She plans to attend the Alliance School, a charter high school that will focus on students who feel discriminated against or bullied. That might be a Goth student, a painfully shy student or a gay one. All three have enrolled in the school, which plans to open in August.

The school will be the first of its kind in the state, and possibly the nation, its founders say.

Last spring, the Milwaukee School Board approved the concept, and school officials are looking for a building. A charter school is publicly funded, but has more autonomy and flexibility than most traditional schools.
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Providing such a school for misfit kids who've been abused is not a solution. A leper island isolates them, but it doesn't cure the problem. In fact, it would serve to stigmatize them even more.

I think the focus should be on the abusers. Put them in a school for bullies. Single out the abusers and label them as social outcasts. Typically, bullying goes unchecked because staff doesn't want to confront the fact that they lack control of the student population. It's too much of a hassle and easier to ignore; or as in this case, the simplest solution is to ship the victims out.

In effect, a school is being established for losers. The claim is that this offers these kids a safe environment. At what cost to their self-esteem? It seems like a high price to pay.

Moreover, I believe that once the outcasts are removed, the remaining bullies will find NEW targets. Bullies need to bully. It's a mistake to think that bullying behavior will go away simply by isolating the kids currently being abused.

It's possible that this alliance school will only serve to create even more kids suffering from harassment.

Not dealing with the problem of bullies reminds me of appeasing tyrants and terrorists. It doesn't work. It doesn't solve anything.