Making Schools Safer From Bullying

Bullying is one of the leading causes in teen suicide today. People bullied in the past or present have been studied and it has shown that they have a lower quality of life. Though they have a lower quality of life, the have better physical and mental health. (“Seaman” 1). Studies have shown that most bullying happens in middle school and high school. There is bullying in elementary school but it is minimal and less serious (“Bullying Statistics” 1). Most kids refuse to speak up while being bullied in fear that the bully will just taunt them more (“Cyber-Safety Act” 2). Bullying has become a very serious issue regarding our society today.

Bullying, often labeled as just a part of growing up, is a major problem in America’s schools today. Although it is such a hot topic in our country right now, it is also a long ignored problem that only seems to worsen. The complication with bullying is that no one quite understands it, and it is not taken seriously. The definition of bullying is an overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people. In more simple terms, bullying is not a onetime incident; it is repetitive and happens among individuals when there is an imbalance of power. Statistically, every one in six children are bullied, and this cannot continue to take place. Every child has the right to feel safe and have the pursuit of being happy in which bullying completely takes those rights away.

Bullying is an epidemic right now. We area inundated with it. Some instances it seems that bullying is culturally appropriate. We see it everywhere. It is in the business world, Hollywood, schools, over the internet and on the playgrounds, to name a few. Bullying happens to people of all ages. The most heard about is in childhood and adolescence. Bullying comes in different forms. Physical bullying, such as hitting, pinching, shoving or kicking. Verbal bullying such as taunting, teasing or name-calling. Relational bullying is causing damage to someone’s social status or relationships. Lastly, Cyber bullying is the use of electronic communications to send threatening messages. Getting called a name once is not bullying however, to repeatedly

According to the American Psychological Association, “Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words or more subtle actions” (Bullying, 2013). People bully each other for several reasons and there are different outcomes that are a result of those reasons. People can be bullied physically, emotionally, or verbally. Bullying can take place at school or online. Bullying should be a considered a crime, but kids get away with it all the time; furthermore prevention can be used in order to keep kids safe from bullying.

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)

*Bullying is still prevalent today- Bullying, continues to affect an estimated 50–80% of young people. Approximately 16 children each year in the UK commit suicide as a result of being bullied (Side, & Johnson, 2014). In spite of decades of research and more recent guidance by Government, bullying in schools remains a serious concern to young people and educational Practitioners (Side, & Johnson,

The topic of bullying in schools across Australia has a large impact on the children and adolescents that face this issue daily. Bullying is not tolerated in schools as it can lead towards mental illness and much worse, yet this does not stop other students in the school from bullying another class members. However, when bullying does occur schools do have policies about how they handle the matter for it is the schools duty to keep their students safe. It is believed that being bullied can make a person stronger mentally in the later years of their life, however this may not always be the case as seen in the article from nineteen hundred. Bullying should not be taken lightly, the parents and teachers need to realise that issues like these do

Understanding the notion of bullying is undermined by an individual’s point of view, life experience, and personality. What some people declare as bullying others shake off as a typical behavior of kids. Whether the bias also has a base in gender or age the issue that needs to be dealt with is the damage done to the victim and the mental health needs of the perpetrator. The question regarding bullying is about norms and responses to violations of the norms. How students and adults interpret the actions, reactions, and feelings are tied to the level of open communications that exist. Adults often believe it when the student says ‘I’m fine’ because they want to believe it. Students are quite skillful about saying what they think adults want to hear. This lack of communication at home and school leaves a student who is being bullied isolated and vulnerable.

Are schools doing enough to address bullying? In the text, it states “The National Center for Education Statistics reported in 2013 that one of three students are bullied either in school or through social media. Students in schools imagine suicidal thoughts and the schools or parents are not doing enough to stop those thoughts. Imagine if your child brings suicidal thoughts into their head and ends up killing themselves because of someone who bullies them. Schools are not doing enough to address bullying because most of the schools don’t have clear procedures or policies for investigating bullying and the zero-tolerance policies can motivate teachers or administrators to over-discipline children.

Everyone has witnessed, caused, or experienced bullying in some way shape or form throughout their lifetime. There are four different forms of bullying: cyber, verbal, physical, and emotional. All bullies have the same impact on their victims no matter what form of bullying they choose to use. All victims experience the same emotions. Bullying laws need to be more specific. Victims need to be protected and stricter, more specific bullying laws will do that.

The current definition of a “bully,” is listed as “a blustering browbeating person; especially: one habitually cruel to others who are weaker,” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Over the past 15 years, the term “bullying” has changed from a word that describes what was once perceived as children and teenagers making and playing harmless jokes and pranks on each other, to a word that describes the relentless harassment and sometimes violence that individuals are subjected to at various life stages. Despite the fact that bullying can affect and involve more than just students, it is most prevalent among the school age population. Unfortunately, this also means that there are deep rooted ties to violence and suicide amongst youth in America. There are many contributors to such behavior, some of which have only yet to be explored as we are at the forefront of what is considered to be the digital age. However, bullying is not a new age idea exclusive to the 21st century.

Many people do not realize how serious bullying has become. If you look at statistics suicides due to bullying have increased over just a few short years. This has become a very big problem for not only the victim but the bully as well as it affect both of them. School bullying is mentally destructive to not only the victims, but bullies because of the harmful words, harassment, and physical violence involved as well as the consequences for the bully.

While the definition of bullying is disputable, it can be widely understood as repeated aggressive behaviours towards an individual(s) with the intention of physical, mental or emotional harm for one’s own personal gain (Spears et el 2008, p. 6). Bullying has long and short-term effects on an individual such as alienation, engagement in violence, decline in attendance and academic performance and a higher chance of developing a mental illness (Spears et el 2008, p. 8). Recent research indicates that’s one in four Australian students are bullied in school (Baker, 2015). This demonstrates that the issue of bullying is prevalent in Australian schools. Research indicates that bullying effects not only the perpetrator, but also the victim’s

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Many children in school are victims of bullying whether it is physical or mental abuse. Bullying occurs more in school amongst each other peers and outside of school as well. Bullying in the past was more physical abuse but now with technology advancing, bullying has become a mental abuse. Cyber bullying has become more popular because of how easy it is, by just having a phone or computer with internet you can send a direct message to the other person in seconds. It has a greater risk factor of suicide thoughts or action in children and teens than any other form of bullying. Many people believe that bullying is something the

A bully is a person who uses their strength to intimidate another person. Bullying is a major cause to homicides, suicides and youth violence. Both school bullying and cyberbullying have increased significantly. In recent statistics one out of four kids are either cyberbullied or school bullied. 77% of the children that are being bullied are hurt mentally, physically and verbally. 14% of those children being bullied have a severe reaction to the abuse. There are four effects from bullying and they are psychological post-trauma disorders,revenge, self destructive behaviors, and alcohol or substance abuse.There are also various short term effects to bullying, low self-confidence, depression, suicidal thoughts, school problems etc…Adults will sometimes think that the kids can figure out on their own. The truth is they cannot figure it out on their own, they need support. While only one out of four children report the are being bullied, these might be the children who receive help. Children who are bullied and do not receive help might try to do something drastic. Bullying is being widely supported , by talking about it and having campaigns for bullying. There should be no school bullying or cyberbullying, the effects are hard to live with.