Cowardice asks the question: is it safe?
Expediency asks the question: is it politic?
Vanity asks the question: is it popular?
But conscience asks the question: is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a
position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular –
but one must take it because it is right.
Martin Luther King
Bullying in Schools
Typically, bullying is thought of as aggressive behavior on the part of one child,
directed toward another; however, playful tussling or normal childhood conflicts
can be characterized the same way, resulting in mislabeling and
misunderstanding of the problem.
Bullying is “verbal or physical behavior designed to disturb someone less
powerful” (Santrock 372)—“the most malicious and malevolent form of deviant
behavior widely practiced in our schools” (Tattum 7).
Bullying can be recognized by a clear intention on the part of one child to cause
physical or mental pain or anguish to a fellow child, with no reactionary basis for
this intention.Why does bullying occur?
“Bullying is not about anger, it is about contempt. It is an excuse to put someone
down so the bully can feel up.” (Coloroso 3)
Contempt has three characteristics:
o A sense of entitlement.
o Intolerance toward differences.
o A liberty to exclude.
Bullies therefore feel it is their right to feel better than someone who is different.
This belief is frequently the result of environmental factors, such as home l...
Bullying is an ongoing form of aggression characterized by intent, repetition and an inequity of power (Ma, Stewin & Mah, 2001). It is expressed through a variety of methods including physical, verbal, cyber, and relational. While it can be either overt or covert it is usually proactive, since bullies tend to seek victims without provocation (Beaty & Alexeyev, 2008).
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)
Not only is it already hard to be a teenager, but having to deal with constant teasing and harassment is just something no one needs. There is a point in life where bullying can become so terrifying that students will rather stay at home than have to face their bully. Darnell “Dynasty” Young is a 17 year old gay teen who has gone through every possible way to stop his bullies from harassing him. His mother has tried everything but hasn’t been able to put a stop to it. Until one day, Young’s mother bought Darnell a stun gun. His mother told him to bring it to school and when the bullies began to torment him to take it out. He did just that, he did not actually shoot anyone he just waved it up in the air to intimidate his bullies. He not only got suspended but he also got arrested, yet the six boys teasing him and calling him names received no punishment whatsoever. (CNN) Young is one of the many kids that go through this type of abuse in a place where they should feel safe. This is an example of the school failing to do anything to prevent this kind of behavior, even after the parents try to intervene. This is also a great example of parents failing to implement high behavior standards by enforcing them to retaliate. Parents should be there to advice a peaceful way of resolving this in a non violent way not give them the weapon. By implementing prevention programs such as activities that help fight bullying can ultimately lead to the end of this horrific thing some kids face each day.
The three important components to bullying are as followed; bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions, bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time, and bullying involves an imbalance of power and strength (Olweus1). At one point in time, bullying had meant a push on the playground, or a mean slur, however bullying has progressed from then. Bullying can be described as the systematic abuse of power (Smith3). Kids take it upon themselves to hurt, and bring down others, which is not justification whatsoever. It is hurtful, and spiteful. Regardless of your personal feelings about someone, ...
Schools want to violate your civil rights! Cyber bullying has been getting much attention recently and schools are being criticized for not taking action. There are three main reasons why schools should not limit students’ online speech: it violates our civil rights, it is exaggerated in size, it may result in more face-to-face bullying.
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.
When someone first thinks of bullying, their perception of the bully may be someone who chooses to be mean or cruel to another due to their own low self-esteem. This concept however is one that may not be true at all. In fact, according to Jaana Juvonen, a professor of developmental psychology at UCLA, who has published multiple books and articles on this subject, a bully usually has a very high self-esteem and is usually from the group that one would consider being the “popular crowd”. [Lin]
Bullying is a growing concern in a society where status and exercising power over another human being are increasingly important in developing one’s social circles. Dan Olweus (Norwegian researcher and founder of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program) defines it as an “aggressive behaviour that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power. Most often, it is repeated over time” (Violencepreventionworks.org). School victimization is an especially delicate matter that has only really been in the public eye for the past half century, as more and more researchers and psychologists pointed out its short- and long-term negative effects on targeted individuals. It has since been widely investigated and numerous programs have been developed in an effort to address and prevent the many forms of bullying that exist today. The negative effects of such an abusive behaviour are various and can greatly differ from individual to individual. However, there are three main consequences that can be associated with school bullying, which are: school avoidance, depression/anxiety and even suicidal attempts.
Being a teenager in today’s world can be tough. Adolescence is about friendships and fitting in. Bullying is a problem and can affect that. Students should reach out to those that don’t have friends and help them. Kids that don’t fit in also need to make an effort to do so. If bullying is stopped, which it can be if we tried hard enough, teens would feel much better about themselves. Will you make an effort to stop bullying and help those that don’t fit in?
No matter where you go, bullying is just around the corner. There’s no certain age for anyone to become a bully. Movies make it high school the biggest place for bullies to be created; but in the real world, that’s not the case. Bullying is a serious issue and can happen anywhere at any time to anyone.
Bullying is a behavior that can happen repeatedly if the victim doesn’t take a stand, this then will encourage the bully to repeat the offense. Bullying involves physical and verbal acts to harm the victims. Physical bullying victims suffers unnecessary kicking or pushing or even physical assaults by more than one or two people. Verbal bullying is another way to harm the victims of this type of bullying involves using offense or racist word to offend the victim. According to (Wolke et al., 2013) there are various reasons behind the cruel nature of the children who like to harm others.
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).
In recent times bullying has become a national issue, notwithstanding the fact that it has been in existence for many years. Traditionally, bullying has been seen as horseplay, but with the increase of harassment in schools and suicides; parents and schools are now forced to take action to prevent bullying in schools. Bullying is an unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance which has the potential to be repeated over time. Strategies to prevent bullying in schools are grouped into identifying the causes of bullying, creating policies and rules, building a safe environment and educating students and staff.
Children are bullied for thousands of reasons, none of them are valid (Hile [pg. 26]). There aren’t any causes that puts a child at risk of being a bully or being bullied by others. It can happen anywhere in any city, town, or suburb. It also can depend on the environment, such as upon groups of gays, ...
Bullying does not have a standard definition. Bullying can be anything from calling someone else names, beating them up just for the fun of it, to texting or messaging them on the internet or any mobile device. Any person can be the victim of bullying, not just children. Bullying causes many issues, physically, emotionally, and mentally, not only for the victim, but for their entire families as well. Bullies have many different reasons as to why they start bullying someone else. The actions done to the victim leaves them with only a few options on how to stop being bullied. How they handle it is always different.