A keyword search on the most popular New Zealand news website nzherald.co.nz reports 783 articles including the keywords “Bullying in Schools” dating as far back as 1999 (Alexia Internet Inc., n.d.; The New Zealand Herald, 2014) . In 2013 alone there were 82 articles written using the same keywords, which equates to atleast one being reported every week. In 2012 there were 135 matches or atleast 2 a week. It is safe to say this is a sizable national issue. Not all of these articles reported on national news topics but even some of those who didn't, explained the link the issue has to New Zealand's own problems (Huck, 2012). By looking at these articles we can see why it has been a hot topic for so long. Strong trends in these articles are stories of suicide, self-harm, depression and anxiety disorders. Although these are all very deeply complex topics, we cannot ignore the role bullying in schools plays on those suffering. Students who are bullied generally show higher levels of loneliness, low self-esteem, anxiety and depression, to name a few (Nansel, T.R., Overpeck., M., Pilla, R.S., Ruan, W.J., Kimons-Morton, B. & Scheidt, P., 2001). The impact of bullying can have lasting affects with studies showing frequent victimisation can predict anxiety disorders in adults. Furthermore, there can be negative effects for the bullies themselves who are more likely to struggle with antisocial personalities, substance abuse, depression and anxiety disorders later in life. Additionally, people who are both victims of bullying and bullies themselves have a higher risk of developing anxiety and antisocial personality disorders in their adult years (Sourander et al., 2007). Media More recently media reports appear to be focused on the diff... ... middle of paper ... ... not giving them the resources to deal with bullying, because for the most part schools are under resourced. However, children have the right not to be bullied at school. It has negative consequences for both their mental and physical health, immediately and in their futures. Governments, schools, teachers and parents have an obligation to work collaboratively to ensure that children's rights are upheld. There needs to be progressive change towards resourcing our schools with the tools to help prevent and respond to bullying. Equal rights between adults and children is questionable, the power imbalance that is created has a significant negative impact on a child's right to be free from harm and their right to participate in school. Moreover, as a society we have a moral obligation to reflect on the social pressures we are creating, that our children have to face.
Bullying has become a major problem facing the United States today. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 80% of children are involved in bullying on some level during their time in school. (APA, 2014) The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the statistics. In the United States, a total of 4,080,879 children between the ages of five and 18 have been the victims of bullying compared to 3,892,199 who have reported that they have engaged in bullying someone else. Additionally, 851,755 said that they have been both the victim and the bully. That's a whopping 8,824,833 people in the United States that have been involved in bullying behavior on one level or another. (High, B., 2000 Census)
Over the last decade, bullying has really been a worldwide issue. Bullying is affecting children all over the world and has grown into a huge epidemic. According to the National Education Association, “160,000 kids stay home from school each day to ...
Bullying in school arises as a global issue, and people are becoming more aware of its essence and its consequences. Going to school should be like a second home, a safe, compliant place, but for some student, school can be a social nightmare. Some may view bullying as a harmless act, but it is in fact a dangerous act. Students that have been bullied tend to be emotionally unstable, depressed, loss of interest in school and they have a higher risk of becoming drug addicts and school dropout. Bullying does not only affect the person being bullied, but also the bully himself. Persons who are bullies are usually the ones with the most problems and they use bullying as a mask to hide all their problems. Students who bully are more prone to abuse alcohol and drugs, they usually engage in risky sexual activities and are more likely to grow up as criminal
Bullying in all forms hurts mental health. Adolescents who have experienced bullying in any way are often diagnosed with depression and have low self-esteem. They begin behaving in disobedient ways, doing worse in school, and using drugs and alcohol. Lastly, these kids were found to be more likely to attempt or complete suicide
Bullying can be recognized by a clear intention on the part of one child to cause
Bullying is a problem that thousands of children suffer from year after year. According to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose” (U.S Department of Health & Human Services. n.d, p. 1). Bullying is an issue that has been around for centuries. Although it has been an issue for centuries, it has not been till recently that it has become a huge problem. Bullying is an issue that people should be concerned about. It is an issue that people
Victims of traditional bullying are believed to have long-lasting effects including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, delayed growth and development and poor academic performance (Besag 137 & Maldonado). The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has said that “stressors such as bullying place students at an increased risk of depression and in extreme cases may result in students considering self-harm or suicide” (Besag 137). A study done in 2009 by Matthew Nock, a professor at Harvard University, linked bullying to increases in suicidal thoughts and tendencies in countries across the world. He found that victims of traditional bullying were “between two and four times more likely” to have suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts (Granello 17).
Bullying has been a part of schooling for as long as children have been congregating. To some it seems like a natural, though uncomfortable, part of life and school experience, while to others it can mean terrifying experiences which spoiled and characterized otherwise happy years in school. Dan Olweus, a pioneer in bully behavior research documented that 2.7 million children are affected as victims, and that 2.1 children act as bullies (Fried, 1997, as cited in Aluedse, 2006). With bullying cited as the reason for violent, gun-related crime in the past few years, school districts as well as national governments have put anti-bullying policies in place. Bullying is a complicated phenomenon, involving more than one child demanding lunch money from a smaller child. It is a worldwide epidemic hitting schools everywhere. Virtually everyone has seen or experienced bullying. With technological advances, bullying is even hitting the internet. Parents, teachers, students and governments agencies alike are attempting to put a stop to bullying practices.
...of rule-setting against bullying should be implemented not only on an individual level, but on a classroom and school-level as well. "The school," says Dan Olweus, "has a responsibility to stop bullying behavior and create a safe learning environment for all students." He suggests a curriculum that constantly monitors abusive behavior, promotes kindness, acceptance of differences and educates teachers, school staff, parents and children alike about bullying and response strategies.
Everyone has been bullied or encountered someone being bullied at some point of their life. Whether it would be physically or verbally both can be exceedingly traumatizing and can have a long-term psychological influence on children’s development. Majority people may define bullying in a more physical term; nevertheless that’s not always the case. The act of bullying can occur in several ways and in reality affect the individual in the same way. Bullying is generally defined as repeated, negative, and harmful actions focused at target throughout a course of time, exhibiting a sense of power difference between the bully and the victim (Olweus, 1993; Limber & Mihalic, 1999 as cited from Douglas J. Boyle, 2005). A survey was conducted in the United States estimating that over six million children, about 30% in grade six through ten have experienced frequent bullying in a school environment (Nansel, 2001 as cited from Douglas J. Boyle, 2005). Many people might debate that bullying is something that every child goes through and is simply a part of growing up, although there are several damaging consequences that happens to the child’s brain. Bullying causes the child to feel upset, isolated, frightened, anxious, and depressed. They feel like they reason they are being picked on is because there is something wrong with them and may even lose their confidence feel unsafe going to school (Frenette, 2013 as cited from Douglas J. Boyle, 2005) Anthropologically, sociologically, or psychologically, bullying can be analyzed through different perspectives and several questions can be asked based on the topic:
Bullying is something that is not something new and is actually something that society continues to face. Over the years, bullying has been looked at as being so ordinary in schools that it is continuously overlooked as an emanate threat to students and has been lowered to a belief that bullying is a part of the developmental stage that most young children will experience then overcome (Allebeck, 2005, p. 129). Not everyone gets over the extreme hurt that can come as an effect from bullying, for both the bully and the victim. Because of this, we now see bullying affecting places such as the workplace, social events and even the home. The issue of bullying is not only experienced in schools, but the school environment is one of the best places
Bullying is a devastating issue that threatens the well-being of today’s youth. Those who are most likely at risk are those who; have a learning or physical disability i.g., autism or ADHD, are underweight or overweight, are gay/lesbian/transgendered, or speak a different language. Of course, there are no specific guidelines of who will become victims of bullying. Children who are bullied experience lower self-esteem, greater loneliness, greater anxiety, and more depression in addition to the already stressful adolescent years. The longer the bullying occurs the more profound the symptoms can become. As a low-level, subtle form of violence, bullying creates an unsafe school environment and can lead to more serious types of violence among students (Whitted & Dupper, 2005).
“Researchers have conducted that at least 25% of all children will be affected by bullying at some point during their school years, and many of these children miss significant numbers of school days each year owing to fear of being bullied” (Bray, M., Kehle, T., Sassu, K. (2003). Bullying has become a major problem for our students and our schools. Children are missing educational time and are losing self-confidence because they are afraid or intimidated by other students. We, as teachers, need to reduce bullying in our schools and prevent bullying from being a reoccurring issue in the lives of our students in order for them to learn, grow and develop. Our goal as teachers should be “to reduce as much as possible-ideally to eliminate completely- existing bully/victim problems in and out of the school setting and to prevent the development of new problems” (Olweus, D. (1993).
As a society, we often underestimate the damages that bullying cause on children, not just America but all over, and the ones who suffer are the victims themselves. Victims are damaged with the stigma that they are weak, yet somehow have to fend for themselves against something that they have little to no control over. Whether it is for funding, a reputation or any other reason schools sweep their bullying problem under the rug or turn a blind eye, however they have more potential to end this growing issue. To the schools that think bullying is not their problem, they should know that according to heyugly.org, an anti-bullying campaign, “Approximately, 160,000 children a day stay home from school in fear of being bullied.”They also point out
Although bullying continues to be an issue in our society, but mainly in schools, all we can do is keep educating kids on what is right and wrong, letting them know the consequences of their actions both to its victim and to themselves. Also, parents can be more enlightened on how to raise their kids in healthier way so that they do not grow up seeking for attention or power in the wrong ways.