This Dad Worries

CNN reports on bullying, and it's a story that hits me in my heart.

Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, 11, was tormented by bullies at his middle school, and he hanged himself to put an end to it. His mother testified before Congress about the problem, which involves about 30 percent of students nationwide, on either end of the behavior.

In dark moments I worry about my boys having to confront bullying behavior. Schools can only do so much. The rest is up to Lisa and me to teach them how to resist it and be strong. And of course I want them to tell us before it gets to unbearable.

I was bullied occasionally through both elementary and junior high schools. Being short, smart, and Jewish won me few friends in a predominantly Italian and Irish Catholic community. I never had to deal with the relentless bullying that drove Carl to take his own life. But I remember the name-calling, the anti-Semitism, the trippings in the school hallways, the threats.

Luckily, so far I've seen nothing that leads me to think that Max is anything but well-regarded by his classmates. Perhaps it helps that he plays in a band, and seems to know everyone by name.

Eli hasn't started school yet, but he is one fearless little boy who is still learning boundaries of appropriate behavior. Putting up with the relentless "abuse" from Max has made him pretty tough.