School bullying Essay Example for Free

School bullying Essay Bullying is the use of force or coercion to abuse or intimidate others. The behavior can be habitual and involve an imbalance of social or physical power. It can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion and may be directed repeatedly towards particular victims, perhaps on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexuality, or ability.[2][3] The victim of bullying is sometimes referred to as a target.( Wikipedia), also according to stopbullying.gov bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems , and another statement from childparenting.com bullying is intentional aggressive behavior. It can take the form of physical or verbal harassment and involves an imbalance of power (a group of children can gang up on a victim or someone who is physically bigger or more aggressive can intimidate someone else, for instance). Bullying happen in different places but according to Wikipedia Bullying is a common occurrence in most schools. According to the American Psychological Association, approximately 40% to 80% of school-age children experience bullying at some point during their school careers.[16] Regardless of the grade level, socioeconomic environment, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, bullying can happen to anyone. However, various studies point out that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are more bullied than students from higher socio-economic background. Most children experience bullying at some point in their academic careers. The following is a list of statistics that illustrate the severity of bullying within classrooms:[16] * 20-40% of bullying victims actually report being bullied * 70% of middle school and high school students experience bullying in school * 7-12% of bullies are habitual and pose a serious threat * 23% of 9th graders have carried a weapon to school recent ly[18] * 5-15% of students are constantly bullied * 27% of students are bullied because of their refusal to engage in common sexual practices * 25% of students encourage bullying if not given proper education and support in anti-bullying techniques[15] Due to the low numbers of students who actually report incidents of bullying, teachers need to have a certain level of awareness that will thwart any potential problems. This awareness starts with understanding bullying. Bullying can happen in school, so it is the responsibility of students to protect their classmates and to show everyone the dignity and respect they would like to be treated with. The first line of defense in bullying is in student’s own behavior. But when that fails, it must be brought to the attention of someone in authority, like a teacher. The concept of someone in authority failing to address the problem is simply not acceptable. This is why you must speak to a teacher you trust and know will do something to stop the bullying. There are different kinds of bullying; one of those is verbal bullying. Verbal bullying mostly happen in schools. In many cases, verbal bullying is the province of girls. Girls are more subtle (and can be more devastating), in general, than boys. Girls use verbal bullying, as well as social exclusion techniques, to dominate others and show their superiority and power. However, there are also many boys with subtlety enough to use verbal techniques for domination, and who are practiced in using words when they want to avoid the trouble that can come with physically bullying someone else.( bullyingstatistics.org). Examples of this are name calling, insults, teasing, and intimidation, homophobic or racist remark. In the Philippines, it is common to have a group of friends and teased those people who are isolated. One example that shows verbal bullying happens in schools is the news regarding the teacher who bullied her disabled students, the today shows reported the incident and the recorded tape said: Wilt, who did not respond to requests for an interview, can be heard on the recordings alongside Chaffins calling Cheyanne â€Å"lazy† and â€Å"dumb.† â€Å"Cheyanne, are you kidding me? Are you that damn dumb? You are that dumb?’’ Chaffins can be heard saying in one instance. â€Å"Oh my God. You are such a liar. You told me you don’t know. It’s no wonder you don’t have friends. No wonder nobody likes you because you lie, cheat.’’ On the other hand, the more serious and dreadful regarding the issue of bullying is the physical bullying, About 42 percent of kids have been bullied while online with one in four being verbally attacked more than once, 80% of the time, an argument with a bully will end up in a physical fight, 43% fear harassment in the bathroom at school. Physical bullying mostly happens between boys. It is usually their way of getting their anger out. Physical bullying can be pinching someone on the arm, to kicking someone in their stomach, and everything in between. Physical bullying is also stealing or destroying someone else’s property. According to Wikipedia.com, cyber-bullying is defined as: â€Å"when someone repeatedly makes fun of another person online, or repeatedly picks on another person through emails or text messages, or uses online forums and postings online intended to harm, damage, humiliate, or isolate another person whom they don’t like.† Online bullying, termed â€Å"cyber-bullying†, happens when teens use the internet, cell phones or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. Cyber-bullying researchers, Hinduja and Patchin define cyber-bullying as â€Å"willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text†, and recently updated the definition to account for cyber-bullying through internet that occurs without actual text, such as videos being uploaded from â€Å"You Tube† for example. In schools, bullying may take the form of repeated name-calling, physical abuse, and continually making fun of diff erences. In the workplace bullying may be characterized by harassment, scapegoating, name-calling, physical abuse, or unfair work pressures. Although people who bully exude a tough exterior, they are often motivated by insecurity, feelings of social rejection, lack of control, and stress. Stressors that can motivate a person to bully include poor academic or work performance, an unsupportive peer network, and strained parental relationships. Commonly, people who bully have been the victims of abuse and express their anger by directing it toward others. Bad behavior frequently gets more attention then good behavior; the need for attention may influence a person to act out and bully another individual. According to abs-cbn news site, In a study led by Plan International and Unicef on Violence Against Children in Public Schools in 2009, it revealed that 4 out of 10 children in Grades 1 to 3 and 7 out of 10 in both Grades 4 to 6 and high school have experienced some kind of violence in school. The study also said that verbal abuse is the most prevalent form of violence experienced by children at all school levels. This includes being shouted at and being cursed, ridiculed, teased or humiliated. It also revealed that children experience violence both from their peers in school and from school personnel. Reccie Oliveros, a volunteer for Volunteers International for Development, Education and Service of Young People and Women (VIDES), has for many years dealt with children who have been bullied as well as the bullies themselves. She said some signs that your child is being bullied are when he or she becomes iyakin, biglang tumatahimik, may fear sa mukha, ayaw ng manood ng mga violent shows. Yung iba ayaw ng pumasok sa school. Oliveros said parents should talk to their children who are victims of bullies. Tanungin ang anak, baka may nasabing di maganda, may nagawa na di sinasadya. Tapos kausapin ang teacher at tapos hikayatin sila na dalawin ang pamilya ng batang bully, she said. Oliveros said the bullies usually have problems at home like parents who are absent all the time. Insecure sila. Kulang sa atensiyon. Minsan nam-bubully pag walang pumapansin sa kanila, said Oliveros. Social factors also contributed in bullying, In two studies, McKown and colleagues had a total of 284 children, ages 4 to 16 years old, watch movie clips and look at photos before judging the emotions of the actors based on their facial expressions, tones of voice and body postures. Various social situations were also described and the children were questioned about appropriate responses. The results were then compared to parent/teacher accounts of the participants friendships and social behavior. Kids who had social problems also had problems in at least one of three different areas of nonverbal communication: reading nonverbal cues; understanding their social meaning; and coming up with options for resolving a social conflict. A child, for example, simply may not notice a persons scowl of impatience or understand what a tapped foot means. Or she may have trouble reconciling the desires of a friend with her own. It is important to try to pinpoint the area or areas in a childs defici ts and then build those up, McKown explained. When bullying continues and a school does not take action, the entire school climate can be affected. The environment can become one of fear and disrespect, hampering the ability of students to learn. Students may feel insecure and tend not to like school very well. When students don’t see the adults at school acting to prevent or intervene in bullying situations, they may feel that teachers and other school staff have little control over the students and don’t care what happens to them. The effects of bullying are so devastating and profound that over the last few years at least 37 state laws against bullying have been adopted. There have also been civil suits brought against schools and school systems over bullying incidents, some with damages in the millions of dollars. It is important to realize that, like sexual harassment and racial discrimination, some forms of bullying are illegal actions. Bullying is a serious issue that will impact the school experience of all children involved. This is why it must be taken seriously and effective measures to prevent it must b e put in place. Van der Kolk, McFarlane, and Weisaeth (2007) state, â€Å"Trauma in childhood can disrupt normal developmental processes. Because of their dependence on their caregivers, their incomplete biological development, and their immature concepts of themselves and their surroundings, children have unique patterns of reaction and needs for intervention.† Many of the children who are affected by traumatic stressors such as bullying can have their developmental processes and parts of their brains affected by the traumatic events (Ziegler, 2002). Many psychologist said that bullying is related to the person’s view of him/her self according to Tammy Wilgenbusch, a clinical psychologist with University of Iowa Childrens Hospital, said that at this age, children are developing their personalities and independence so they may be more likely to take their insecurities out on or try to wield power over others. By later adolescence, they have a better sense of self and are less likely to take insecurities out on others, Wilgenbusch said in a statement. Bullying is a negative or aggressive act that is systematic and ongoing that can be instigated by one person or a group of individuals, Wilgenbusch explained. Meanwhile if bullying can cause a stress and anxiety, it has a lot of tendency lead to suicide attempts. The statistics on bullying and suicide are alarming, suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University. According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying. The correct definition to this question is bullycide is suicide caused from the results of bullying. Children and teens who are bullied live in a constant state of fear and confusion in their lives. Many feel the only way to escape the rumors, insults, verbal abuse and terror is to take their own life. Bullycide is clearly a serious issue. Bullying has been a major topic since last year in mainstream media news and has become a problem everyone is taking awareness on — more than ever these days. Kids and teenagers are scared to talk about the issue they are facing. It even happens with high school students, where according to U.S. News studies done by the National Center for Education Statistics states that, only a quarter of high school students speak out on being bullied. There are various things that a parent or teacher can do to teach their children and their students about the effects of bullying. Information on the facilities and action that can be taken to educate the young can be found in the Scholastic article, â€Å"Bullying and Teasing: No Laughing Matter† that explains the issue to parents. From my own personal experience with bullying for nine years, victims are set to believe students/kids become bullies because of their insecurity and issues at home, which they cast on the victims; which usually turn out to be the school â€Å"underdogs.† From my own experience, I noticed that when victims, such as myself, approach a counselor or someone else for help in school, we hear the bullies are trying to take their own rage and aggression due to insecurity or personal problems at home out on the victims. Serious action and consequences however are not being taken by counselors, and/or deans until the situation of bullying goes to the extreme, forcing the school in jeopardy of getting a bad reputation for bullying. Even though the idea that, bullying is wrong can be taught through anti – bullying organizations, and advocates against bullying, we also have to realize there are problems that the perpetrator is facing and needs help with. Therefore, while helping the victim, the perpetrator should also be helped. With so much awareness on bullying by mainstream media news, there have been various organizations that have made it their mission to put an end to bullying. A couple of years ago, anti-bullying organizations, including STOMP OUT Bullying and Champions Against Bullying took a stand to bring awareness to this problem. However, the effects of bullying, like Ty’s case, has brought more awareness to this problem which is making organizations come together to teach the youth on why bullying is wrong. Therefore, and organization made up of 52 other organizations was created in April 2011 called â€Å"Be a STAR Alliance. Be a STAR Alliance was founded by the Creative Coalition and World Wresting Entertainment (WWE) to educate children on bullying. Even though some might take what WWE is doing as promoting bullying when they are doing their wrestling shows, they strongly continue to advertise what they do is being done in a safe environment by trained professionals and should not be done at home, school or anywhere else. Ironically, the WWE is promoting bullying through wrestling but they are doing this to entertain fans through wrestling not to promote bullying. As a victim of bullying, I have joined the Be a STAR Alliance organization and its partners to bring awareness on bullying as well as to end it. Be a STAR Alliance has a pledge they encourage members and others to take to put an end to bullying through their Public Service Announcements (PSA). The way to put an end to bullying is to educate young students who will form the next generation. If they get educated to not be a bully from their youth, then they will know how to show tolerance and respect to their friends, peers, and anyone they meet in their lifetime. That is exactly what the goal of the alliance is. Be a STAR stands for Show Tolerance and Respect; hence STAR is capitalized due to the value of the letters for this organization. At the same time, there are steps and help for both victims and perpetrators that need to be strictly enforced in a school environment. With bullying on the rise, more student, parents, and educators are encouraged to take a stand by organizations like Be a STAR alliance to put an end to bullying. Hopefully, with more people and organizations standing up to stop bullying, everyone can put their foot down to end this problem once and for all so the effects of bullying stops short of death or suicide for children, as in Ty Smalley’s case. Bullying behaviour is seen all over the world and almost in all sections of society. It might start at an age as early as preschool and might intensify in the transitional teenager years. There can be various reasons behind this kind of aggressive behaviour. Often the victim is shy and introvert and weak in built as compared to bully. On the other hand, bullying is a behaviour which does not necessarily demand a great built. A bully tries to attract the attention of others in a negative manner. It can be correlated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Similarly children coming from aggressive or disturbed family background showcase the bullying behaviour. Sometimes bullies just gives around what they have been through as retaliation. The affected child is most of the times submissive and docile in nature. It is extremely hard to identify if the child is facing bullying at school or community. Generally the affected children don’t talk with their parents about the incidences. They are either too scared or feel embarrassed to admit such behaviour happening to them. But parents might notice a quite withdrawal of the children from daily situations. The kid may repeatedly complain of false aches and avoid going school. Frequent crying or getting upset often over trivial matters is also sign of bullying. Any kind of unexplained bruises or abnormal behaviour of the children must be checked and investigated thoroughly. On identifying the problem the foremost thing is to build confidence in the child. It is important to make him understand that he is listened to and his feelings are respected. Pay attention to each and every detail the child narrates. Sometimes it is hard to identify the gravity of the situation and any loose thread may lead to serious consequences. School authorities, or teachers, or counsellors at school may be approached regarding the matter. If necessary, parents of the bully can also be approached but it is always advisable to do so in front of counsellors only. Bullying is a serious matter and should be strongly dealt with. Even if the child has not yet faced any such situation it is important to explain him such prevalent behaviours in the society and ways to tackle it. If left unattended, this childhood problem can have serious effects on the personality of the child throughout his life. Recent shootings at various schools in US are thought to be an expression of physical bullying only. This is enough to explain the gravity of the situation and early remedial measures should be taken. Bullying is a serious problem that can dramatically affect the ability of students to progress academically and socially. A comprehensive intervention plan that involves all students, parents, and school staff is required to ensure that all students can learn in a safe and fear-free environment. â€Å"When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.† ― Chris Colfer