An Oregon principal has come under fire for advising parents to teach their children to be less annoying if they're being bullied.
Luke Zedwick uploaded a video to his YouTube channel entitled 'Let's Talk about Bullies', where he said if children are being bullied they are likely annoying.
"In my experience the kids who get bullied are not really good friends," he said.
"They're not good at being a friend. They tend to annoy people, maybe without knowing it, but usually they do know it."
He then went on to advise parents how to prevent their child being bullied by teaching them better behaviours.
"If you find your kid being a target, one thing you could do to help them, separate from the bullying, is you can help them learn not to be annoying."
Mr Zedwick also said he believes bullying should not be eradicated due to the fact it can build character.
"Bullying is really bad, but it also makes kids stronger," he said.
"It's not as if they're not going to face bullying elsewhere in life… I mean, it's good to eradicate bad things, but you can't and so you also need to teach your kids to be strong in the face of evil."
Commenters were quick to criticise Mr Zedwick for his comments and said such views were concerning for an educator.
"The superintendent and/or district needs to seriously re-evaluate your position as an educator. Your mind set regarding who's at fault in the bullying is legitimately concerning.," one person wrote.
"I am ashamed you are an Oregon school principal," another said.
"Find another line of work because you obviously don't really understand what 'bullying' is. You don't blame the kid that is being targeted!"
School district officials said no formal complaint had been laid.
Newshub.
