Kerre Woodham: Is there a way we can regulate weapons in schools?

This morning we thought we'd start with the fact that more and more kids, it seems, are bringing weapons to school,

And we're not talking about the States, we're talking about New Zealand. Figures released under the Official Information Act show that 526 students were stood down, suspended or excluded for using or having a weapon at school last year.

John MacDonald: We shouldn't be in the dark to the reality of bullying

Isn't it crazy that schools don't have to report how much bullying is going on?

The Chief Children's Commissioner thinks so too, which is why she’s saying that it should be mandatory for schools to provide regular, publicly-available numbers.

No wonder some parents feel their school isn’t doing enough about bullying. Because, if you don’t have to report it, it's much easier to sweep under the carpet, isn’t it?

David Farrar: I suspect the bullying has stopped

The Herald reports:

An Adelaide mother who stormed a private school and threatened to “slit” the throat of a student who allegedly bullied her daughter has been forced to face court.

On February 3 the 31-year-old mother burst into a classroom full of 12-year-old’s at St Paul’s College in Adelaide and launched into a violent tirade directed at her daughter’s alleged tormentor.

Dr Michael Johnston: Causes and consequences of school bullying

There are reliable links between being bullied at school, poor attendance and poor academic achievement. New Zealand has serious problems with all three.

While there is strong evidence linking bullying, absenteeism and poor achievement, the causal relationships between these phenomena are poorly understood. For example, it is plausible that being bullied increases the likelihood that children will be truant, with negative consequences for their learning. But it is equally plausible that children who achieve poorly are sometimes bullied for being ‘dumb’, leading to the avoidance of school. (A complication is that both high- and low-achieving students are at greater than average risk of being bullied.)