Isaac and the Bully - What Ever Happened?

The last time I wrote, I talked about an incident where Isaac and some of his 'Auslander' (foreigners in Switzerland) comrades had an incident with a local bully. I thought I'd give you an update of what happened the next day.

Elena and I decided that we would both go with Isaac early to school the next day to bring the event to the attention of Isaac's teacher, Herr Hubler. Herr Hubler was very concerned with the event, as fighting is a common issue with foreign kids in the school. We clarified that the fight was between the 3 boys in his class (Isaac and his 2 friends, Da'Rion and Roberto) and a boy from another class. He wanted to know who the other boy was, so Isaac, Herr Hubler, Elena and I all went outside to try to locate the boy.

The boy rolled in on his scooter and Isaac recognized him immediately (I wasn't entirely sure, but I only saw him for a few moments during the post-bus fight). The boy went up to Isaac and said he was sorry. Herr Hubler talked with the boy and the boy's teacher later in the day, and it was decided that, from now on, the Swiss boy would ride in the back of the bus and the other boys would ride in the front of the bus to minimize any possible confrontation (there may have been other punishments or threatened punishments as well, but I'm not sure).

Needless to say, it was quite encouraging that the boy said he was sorry, and the tension seems to have passed. I saw the boy get off the back of the bus yesterday, while Isaac and his friends piled out the front, and all seemed quite calm. In fact, Isaac said the boy helped him build a volcano out of sand one day at recess. At least a truce, if not a turnaround in the relationship between the two. (I shared with Isaac the fact that a good friend of mine in elementary school actually beat me up once before we became friends).

Thanks to all who weighed in with advice about this and the other parenting scenario. By the way, we still often see Luca (the impish spoilsport from Elliot's maiden trampoline attempts) and play pretty nicely with him. In fact, Isaac was teaching him the finer points of throwing an American football the other day.