Bullying Persuasive Essay

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When hearing a tragic story of the life of a bullied child, the first thing that pops into many people’s minds are: how could it have been prevented? In many cases, the bullying occurs primarily at school, so why didn’t the teachers see this and step in? There seems to be a prevalent assumption that it is a normal occurrence and “just kids being kids” amongst teachers and parents alike, and this is extraordinarily frightening for youth. Bullying is not a normal part of life, and it’s not simply teasing and messing around with each other. In its true form, bullying is child abuse, whether it manifests as physical or psychological attacks by their surrounding community. Teachers and parents need to learn to recognize and put a stop to this the moment it is observed inside and outside of schools because bullying can cause higher rates of mental health issues, sudden and strong personality alterations, and it also sticks with a person for the rest of his or her life.
One of the biggest reasons why bullying needs to be taken care of before it goes on too long is because bullied children are at a higher risk of suffering from mental illnesses such as depression and generalized anxiety disorder, and suicide. Some individuals have responded violently, and in 12 out of the 15 school shootings in the 1990s, the shooter was said to have conflicts with bullies (“Effects”). Mental illness combined with bullying becomes a major risk factor for suicide (“Effects”). It’s no wonder that bullied adolescents dread coming to school each day, and that needs to change. For example, on September 10, 2013, a 12 year old girl committed suicide by jumping off a tower onto concrete (Liston). She dealt with two years of extensive bullying and stalking by a...

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...cal effects on bullying are extremely severe and should under no circumstances be looked down upon. Schools and communities too often stand idly by while people struggle, sometimes outright mocking the victim, or, in some cases, being told to suck it up. How can we as a society allow these children to abuse one another? Is that what we want people to grow up to think is somehow how the real world works? The real world does not work like school, and the bully and bullied alike are going to run into severe trouble down the line for what they experienced since no one ever taught them any better. Teachers, parents, and the community need to learn the signs of bullying and the ways to effectively handle bullying the moment it is spotted, or only more and more children are going to come out scarred and unprepared for reality, if they are lucky enough to make it out alive.

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