Over the last few days, Patch has received dozens of comments regarding the .
Majority of the readers agreed that it was poor judgment on seasoned teacher and wrestling coach John Rosi to have allowed the activity in his class. However, there were some disagreements on whether actual bullying occurred.
One reader MJ said: “Holding a chair over another student face and standing on his legs while he screams for you to get off is not horseplay. This was a dangerous situation, and the young man could have asphyxiated.”
Another reader Gretchen also wrote: “This is horrendous. Any kind of mistreatment of a person of a group or organization could be labeled a 'hate crime', mistreatment of animals is punishable by law. So why is bullying of a peer in school considered 'blowing off steam'?”
On the other hand, some readers had a different view.
GHMom said: “I know the boy involved and have witnessed his interactions with other kids. From my heart of hearts, I believe that he was a willing participant in what was going on in this video and routinely instigated and engaged in similar “horseplay”".
Another reader, Janine, wrote: “The child instigated the “horse play” and was not initially bullied or harmed by the incident in any way. It was not a wise choice for the teacher to allow the “horse play”or to participate but it however it only lasted a few minutes, at the beginning of class, then Mr. Rosi restored order and the students did their work. No one was traumatized.“
Readers, tell us what you think: How do you define bullying?
