10-year-old boy speaks out about repeated bullying, parents say TDSB isn’t doing enough

Ten-year-old Evan Huff-Briedler loves drumming, sports cars and art and his favourite part of school is gym.

But the worst parts are lunch and recess. That’s because he has been bullied repeatedly over the last several weeks.

The bullying started with pushing and shoving, but earlier this month it escalated.

“I had my hat and glove thrown over the fence cause someone stole it and wouldn’t give it back. And when I ran went to talk to them and say why did you do that, they just punched me in the head,” Huff-Briedler said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I had my hat and glove thrown over the fence cause someone stole it and wouldn't give it back. And when I ran went to talk to them and say why did you do that, they just punched me in the head," Huff-Briedler said.

One boy wrote Evan a page-long apology letter and promised not to do it again.

“I hope your bruse (sic) gets better” he wrote, acknowledging “I just sometimes would mess with you.”

But then Huff-Briedler said he was tackled this week.

“I told them to stop a bunch of times. They wouldn’t stop, and then my friend came over and it was like, ‘Stop hurting him,’ and then they didn’t stop,” he said.

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“Then my face smashed against the ice and then I got a big cut.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Then my face smashed against the ice and then I got a big cut."

So far, nothing has happened to the two grade six students, as far as Evan’s mother is aware.

“The story that we were told is that they were going off on their grade six trip to Muskoka Woods, and that it would be dealt with when they got back from their outing. Which to me is unacceptable,” Susan Huff said.

She said she doesn’t believe the problem is at the school level, but with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

The TDSB does have policies in place indicating they don’t tolerate any bullying.

READ MORE: How safe do Toronto students feel? Depends where they study

“This whole business of ‘safe schools’ and ‘zero tolerance’ – I want to know what that looks like,” Huff said.

Neither the trustee or the superintendent for the area were available for an interview.

TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird said they don’t have hard and fast rules regarding the consequences for bullying. He said board staff use “progressive discipline.”

“If, after repeated conversations with students and their parents it’s not ending, we don’t just give up – that’s when suspensions are a real possibility,” Bird said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If, after repeated conversations with students and their parents it's not ending, we don't just give up - that's when suspensions are a real possibility," Bird said.

“That’s the thing, there’s no specific number that I can point to in a policy,” Bird responded when asked how many times a child could be assaulted by a bully before they face a suspension.

Huff-Briedler has his own ideas about how bullies should be handled by the school system.

“Maybe like a three strike rule. Like, first time they get told not to, second time they (should) go to the office and maybe if they do it a third time, they should maybe get suspended,” he suggested.

READ MORE: Reality check: Bullying rates in Canada

He said he is hoping the TDSB will find a way to get the message to the boys that the bullying has to stop.

Huff-Briedler said he would like to just tell them to stop himself.

“If they would listen, but they wouldn’t listen.”