The Case Against Bullying in Schools

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Turning on the news, I see a clip of two boys. The smaller of the two walks up to the other boy, a big boy, and punches him in the face. Finally, after much taunting, the older boy snaps, picks up his tormentor and throws him to the ground.

Rewind to April 20 1999 and the tragedy of the Columbine school shooting. One of the two shooters, Eric Harris stated in his suicide note, “Your children, who have ridiculed me, who have chosen not to accept me, who have treated me like I am not worth their time, are dead.”

Experts report that bullying is a serious and widespread problem which can lead to school shootings and suicide. Not only that, but it is dangerously underrated as schools and adults are not taking the problem serious enough.

Day after day throughout the country, kids wake up terrified to go to school, knowing they will be the victims of teasing, taunting, name-calling or physical abuse.

“…we all want our children to …learn in an environment that is free from violence and fear. For far too many children, that is not the reality.” (Fox 54).

School bullying has likely existed as long as schools themselves. The consequences of such bullying were once limited to name-calling and occasional schoolyard fights. In recent years, however, school bullying has taken a more serious turn; more and more frequently, bullied students are turning to violence as a solution—either through suicide or through deadly acts carried out against their persecutors and other students.

Schools are not doing all they can to have a true “Bully Free Zone”; moreover, they are going about it in the wrong way. Let us look at some of the ways schools are responding to the bullying issue.

Zero Tolerance began as law calling for expulsion fo...

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...t more than physical traits. Typical victims tend to be timid, bashful, and lacking confidence in themselves. If an adult knows their child is being abused at school, they should contact the principal or person in charge immediately. Having a number of people aware of the problem will push along the attempt to fix it.

Lastly, let us go beyond "it gets better" and provide real resources to make it better.

Works Cited

Morgan, Pat. “Victims Should Fight Back Against Bullies”. Bullying. Ed. Beth Rosenthal. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008, 78-84. Print

Hughes, Juliette. “Schools Do Not Do Enough to Stop Bullying”. Bullying and Hazing. Ed. Jill Hamilton. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008, 40-44. Print

Fox, Dan. “Adults Need to Protect Children from Cyberbullying”. Bullying and Hazing. Ed. Jill Hamilton. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008, 54-58. Print

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