Picking Brains with Ed Knaak

Head of Security for Greece Central School District. Former police officer. Father. Board member for Monroe 1 Boces. Lover of cookies. These are the credentials that led me to sit down with Ed Knaak to discuss the struggles schools face in dealing with bullies.

Ed and I talked for hours about everything from federal education regulations to his own experiences with students.

There is one thing that was clear throughout our talk: since students are forced to be in school 8 hours a day during years when they are trying to discover and understand themselves and the world, schools need (and according to all I have spoken with, want) to help students learn and practice life skills.

We both agreed that we get nowhere by playing a blame game as to who is supposed to handle or fix these issues. Students, educators, community members and parents all have a place in helping manage the issue of bullying. If any one party is not present for the other, we risk losing the momentum that some people are putting into the fight. Everyone must stand up.