[berettafan]

Agree with POP and Stomach on what should be the guiding light here.

Told my 9yr old you NEVER start it else you suffer my wrath. Also told him to respect himself and if anyone ever hits him you hit back hard enough that he doesn't want to do it again.

Also told him to avoid people that don't respect themselves. Not something he'll understand entirely right now but eventually my hope is it helps him avoid a lot of crappy situations in his life.

Seems a school should be subject to civil liability if they order a child not to defend himself and said child gets a beating from a bully. The school, by punishing kids for defending themselves, is taking the responsibility of keeping bullies at bay. When they fail they should pay.