Bullies in School Kathleen Berger 1 Bullying was once commonly thought to be an unpleasant but normal part of child's play, not to be encouraged, of course, but of little consequence in the long run. However, developmental researchers who have looked closely at the society of children consider bullying to be a very serious problem, one that harms both the victim and the aggressor, sometimes continuing to cause suffering years after the child has grown up. 2 One leading researcher in this area is Dan Olweus, who has studied bullying in his native country of Norway and elsewhere for twenty-five years. The cruelty, pain, and suffering that he has documented in that time are typified by the examples of Linda and Henry: Linda was systematically …show more content…
Not only are bullied children anxious, depressed, and underachieving during the months and years of their torment, but even years later, they have lower self-esteem as well as painful memories. 7 The picture is somewhat different, but often more ominous, for bullies. Contrary to the public perception that bullies are actually insecure and lonely, at the peak of their bullying they usually have friends who abet, fear, and admire them, and they seem brashly unapologetic about the pain they have inflicted, as they often claim, "all in fun." But their popularity and school success fade over the years, and especially if they are boys, they run a high risk of ending up in prison. In one longitudinal study done by Olweus, by age 24, two-thirds of the boys who had been bullies in the second grade were convicted of at least one felony, and one- third of those who had been bullies in the sixth through the ninth grades were already convicted of three or more crimes, often violent ones. International research likewise finds that children who are allowed to regularly victimize other children are at high risk of becoming violent offenders as adolescents and adults. 8 Unfortunately, bullying during middle childhood seems to be universal: it occurs in every nation that has been studied, is as much a problem in small
In “Phoebe Prince: Should School Bullying Be a Crime?”, an article written by journalist Jessica Bennet addresses school bullying, the outcomes and the consequences that bullies deserve or not. Above all, this article aims the spotlight on bullying, a 15-year-old who took her own life due to harassment, torment, rumors, physical threats all leading it to being bullied by well-known good students. In any case, the process of being bullied has never been taken into consideration nor importance in the school system or by society in general. “It’s even gotten better over the past decade says Dan Olweus, a leading bullying expert”. However, bullying just does not disappear, it is still an issue that humankind does not have any diligence to the cause
Have you ever been a target of an individual’s cruelty and hatred? It does not necessarily have to be physical, but more like being verbally degraded or publicly humiliated. The effects bullying can have on its victims is something that may last throughout their lives, or something that may end their life(Braithwaite, Hyde, Pope, 2010).We all are well aware of childhood bullying but as evidence shows bullying does not stop on the
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among people of all ages, but mostly school-age children. Society has been aware of bullying since around 1693, but it was not viewed as a real problem until the 1970s. “While overall incidents of school violence, such as assault and theft, have declined in the last decade, bullying is on the rise.” (qtd in Tyre) The percentage of middle and high school students that have been victimized by bullying went up from 14 percent in 2001 to 32 percent in 2009. (Tyre)
Bullies should be help understand their actions. For example, bullies should need to take classes. According to the article called “My Story of being pick on. From bullies to success in life” it says, “In middle school I thought I had caught a break from it all, I had a few friends.Or so I thought, they pretended to be friends In middle school I thought I had caught a break from it all, I had a few friends.Or so I thought, they pretended to be friends ,” (Shawn C.,). This shows that the girls friends gave her a birthday card to make her feel bad so she can commit suicide ,that means that people don’t care about her fake friends gave her. According to the Kid get picked in every grade.article called “Rewarding good behavior as a way to stop
Bullying is said to be a major influence in “incidents of school violence” ( “School Bullying” 2). Bullying early in someone’s life is related to later issues such as suic ide intentions, anxiety, self-esteem, and other conditions that can last into their adulthood. But the victims are not the only ones affected. Bullies have increased health problems and have a hard tim e with relationships. They are more likely to commit crimes at a younger age.
The role of bullying encompasses of what actually takes place in school environments and what goes on in communities, families and agencies where children are violent. The authors looks at “A Staging Paradigm” in which the authors divided the violence in patterns and five patterns: repetitive school disruptions (pattern 1), acute case of child aggressor or victim (pattern 2), highly submissive victim or aggressive young student (pattern 3), child with self-injurious or self-defeating behavior (pattern 4), and truants and dropouts (pattern 5). It was noted that bullies are allow to do what they want because bystanders would not intervene and this creates a humiliating experience for the community and the family not to have a peaceful environment ( Weisbroth 2012).
School bullying and bullying as a whole has become a growing concern. The need for more intervention is more recognized, as incidents of bullying and inappropriate acts towards others occur in places outside of the classroom. This literature takes a closer look at bullying in schools. Olwesus (2013) states “the field of bullying research is to some extent plagued by problems, disagreements, and unresolved issues” (p.752). Whether if anyone will agree on the root of bullying, the fact remains that bullying has to be examined at its very core to remedy the matter before it becomes a bigger concern. There is a dire need for intervention based programs to be set in place to address the fact the act of bullying has lasting effects on the bully and the victim. When intervention programs are put into place to address bullying, the act of bullying decreases due to the gained understanding of the effects.
“I really want the public to be aware of the link between mental health issues and bullying. Whether students are involved as bullies, victims or bystanders, in many cases anxiety and depression may be co-occurring problems” (Swearer, 2010, para. 15). Young adolescents live in fear of being bullied, some even suffer from stress and depression because of it. The mental and physical damages of bullying is an issue that should not be tolerated anywhere or towards anyone at any time. T. Jungert, B. Piroddi, and R. Thornberg (2016) have claim that a person should, “never put someone else down to make [themselves] feel better” (p. 8). It is no surprise when reading that teenage victims who have been bullied suffer from long-term problems as they get older. To learn more about the effects of bullying in adolescents, one must know the correct definition, and go over the different characteristics of victims and bullies, along with the consequences of it.
I never forget what I got bullied by classmates for three years in the middle school. The middle school where I went was small and had two classrooms; there were twenty students in each classroom. Thus, most students knew each other and were friendly. I was friendly with them when I was a freshman. However, when I became a sophomore, some classmates started bullying me every time. For example, team members always hit and shouted at me if my soccer team lost in physical education class: “We lost this game because you acted like a moron!”, and kicked me. Furthermore, some classmates stole my stuff, such as textbooks or school supplies. Thirdly, some classmates hit me since superiority complex to show they were stronger than me because I was short
Bullying takes an immense toll on a child’s life. When being bullied you can leave an individual traumatized henceforth, which can lead to long-term neurosis. Children can incorporate the baleful repercussions of bullying, which generates stress-related problems such as anxiety and depression. Furthermore, bullying causes dreadfully detrimental outcomes for the victims of bullies. Therefore, these outcomes are indistinguishable to those caused by child abuse, as wells as their potency and perseverance tend to intensify when the bullying begins at a younger age (Scarpaci, 2006). Victims of bullying suffer from lower psychological well being, poor social adjustment, also psychological distress. Many victims are targeted because they have low
Bullying has become a national epidemic. Although it was once considered a rite of passage; parents, and educators now see bullying as a behavior that is likely to produce emotional and social problems during the teen years and later in life for both the victim and the aggressor. Being a teenage bully can also be an indicator of future troubles. Bullying is a violation of human rights and is criminal, especially in cases when suicide is a result. State lawmakers are willing to criminalize bullying behavior. However, I believe that throwing bullies in jail might not be the best remedy. In doing so may not be effective in controlling the behavior of students or improve the school atmosphere. I believe both the bully's and the victim's parents
Bullying in school is not a new phenomenon; it is as old as the education system. In texts as ancient as the Bible examples are explicit and evident. Throughout the ages bullying has been a tragic and catastrophic element that seems inevitable as it affects the lives of its victims. The fundamental purpose of a school is to educate and coach children in their emotional, cognitive, civic, vocational, and social development. On the contrary, however, schools are generating cutthroat, cruel, and isolated environments as oppressive social hierarchies are formed to comply with stereotypical gender traits. From ancient times to present day, bullying has always taken place. It may be delivered physically, verbally, and now even
Recent studies reveal that the frequency of bullying is about 30% in young children and adolescents (2). This exhibits that bullying should be looked at on a larger scale, as bullying is more than an act of violence, but a popular trend among young peers. Current statistics have revealed in 2010 alone, 1 in 7 students between kindergarten and grade 12 have reported being bystander, bully, victim or even both (3). Bullying does not only affect the youth, but as children continue to grow and mature so does the root of this hate crime. The bully may find themselves engaging in more criminal acts later in life as 40% of students who have taken part in severe acts of bullying will eventually get involved with more serious crime and attain a criminal record by the time they are 30 (4). As bullying continues to increase among young people, crime rates will continue to grow with them. If bullying is not prevented in the earliest stages of life, the government will have to deal with more than the simple acts of bullying as these people mature.
According to Bartollas and Miller (2011), Bullying is durable and an aggressive juvenile induces fear, distress, anxiety, or harm in a weaker child through physical, verbal, and psychological intimidations (p.50). Bullying is categorized by one or several individuals assertive on a vulnerable peer, primarily to declare control or power. Bullying takes a strong emotional affect on its victims such as depression, low self-esteem, academic failure, and suicidal. The effects appear to be long lasting. Individuals who were bullied when they were younger, especially during middle school has a higher rates of nervousness, depression, hostility, irritability, and drug use as they progress to adulthood. In fact,
Bullying among school children is a very old phenomenon. The fact that some children are frequently and systematically harassed and attacked by other children and many adults have personal experience of it as they are facing it from their school days. Though many are acquainted with the bully/victim problem, it was not until recently, in the early 1970s, that efforts were made to study it systematically (Olweus,1978). In the 1980s and early 1990s, the problem of bullying among school children has received some public attention in Japan, England, Australia, the United States, and other countries. There are now clear indications of an increasing societal as well as research interest into bully/victim problems in several parts of the world (Olweus,1994).