The Literature On School Climate And Bullying

We flip-flop between ignoring bullying altogether, considering it “normal” and implementing “zero tolerance” policies that don’t address the relationships among students and between students and adults. (Friedman)

Schools are the most well-known settings for bullying. This is the place where students learn and socialize for most of the day. A school is a place meant to feel safe, not afraid. However, studies have shown us this is not the case. More and more students are reluctant to come to school. Why? Their peers may criticize them and abuse of them both verbally and physically. Bullying is more serious than most think. Many people just think it’s a simple hoax that was taken too far but this simple joke can lead to indelible emotional and physical scar that could hunt students for life eventually lowering their self-esteems and even ruining their lives. Schools and teachers have failed tremendously at stopping this.

Bullying at school is a big problem that is found in all the schools in the United States and across the world. Since the late 1990s there have been several fatal school shootings committed by victims of bullying that have brought bullying major media attention. This has resulted in an increase of awareness about the harmful effects on the kids being bullied as well as the bullies themselves. This has brought a large amount of local, state, and nationwide programs designed to try to prevent bullying or to at least try to contain the problem. “In an effort to adequately address the problem, many schools are taking a proactive approach through prevention and intervention, but how do we know if and when such intervention is effective? First and foremost, we must have an accurate understanding of the dynamic and complex phenomenon of bullying across development and as it spans the multiple levels of the social ecology” (Casper, Meter, & Card, 2015, par 2). Many psychologists, sociologists, and school administrators have been publishing research on school bullying. Bullying is a significant threat to many children because it causes psychological problems not only for those who get bullied but also those who do the bullying. Even though bullying is a significant problem the are few solutions that can help prevent or significantly reducing bullying like reporting bullying, know the characteristics, and passing laws.

According to students, schools respond inadequately, if at all, to reported incidents of bullying. When Frank Barone, principal of Amsterdam High School in Amsterdam, New York, asked hundreds of eighth graders if they had ever been bullied, more than half (58.8 percent) responded in the affirmative. Yet when he asked their teachers how many students had been bullied, they put the figure at 16 percent. Clearly, adults don't recognize the extent of bullying that children face every day. This shows that administration can easily miss important warning signs that point to school violence.

These skills and behaviors can be introduced to students in lessons and classroom discussions. Some of the intensive interventions consist of support to both victims and bullies through group therapy and individual counseling. Obtaining parent support for these children is a important component of intervention initiatives. The goals of these programs are to empower adults and children to take the appropriate steps to stop bulling when and where it occurs and to teach children positive behaviors and interpersonal skills. “Effective prevention efforts mobilize a school’s most vital resource- the students- to be a school’s most powerful force in fostering a caring culture in which all students can grow and learn”( Feinberg,2003).

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).

Over the past two decades the US schools have faced serious occurrences of violence. Accordingly, the prevention of school disruption and violence has evolved into an essential and crucial consideration. Beyond the avoidance of toxic violence, it is commonly agreed that on one hand teachers are not able to teach and on the other hand students are not able to learn in an educational institution portrayed by disturbance. A national survey conducted in 2004 declared that parents and educators of secondary and high schools had almost mutual view regarding the necessity of having adequate school discipline and student behavior in order to succeed (Public agenda, 2004). Certainly, schools as educational institutions have the right and responsibility to create an inclusive, effective, and safe learning climate. Nonetheless, there is a tremendous controversy regarding the approaches in keeping inclusive and safe school environment. Instead of traditional ways of dealing with misbehaviour on a case by case basis, analyzing the conditions of each situation, and the repercussions for the overall safety of the school environment, almost each school district in the USA now applies zero tolerance policy that extremely restrict discretion in particular cases, involve law authorities, and designate students from school (Skiba et.al, 2006). These policies generally require out-of-school suspension or expulsion on the first offense for a

One of every five students is bullied each year (Bullying Basics,2017). Knowing that the problem of bullying is a large possibility in their classrooms, administrators’ and teachers’ main goal must be to offer a safe classroom and a positive, supportive learning environment to their students. If they work together to reach this goal, bullying can be

We do it all the time, and our children are even better at it than we are. Parents, teachers, neighbors, bus drivers - we all can do our part to raise children who see themselves as human rights defenders. In doing so, we're not just creating safer schools for them but also passing on to them a more just and peaceful world. Two children in every classroom in America are estimated to miss at least one day of school each month because they feel unsafe. Local governments realize we cannot afford to dismiss youth violence as simply "kids being kids." Anti-bullying legislation has been passed in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. As schools progress with the anti-bullying slogan at least out of all of those kids in the class at least two students are at least going to miss one day of school each month of the school year. Following the implementation of STTP, according to a forthcoming independent study we commissioned, Bucyrus students reported a change in attitude regarding bullying, particularly their awareness of bullying as an issue. Administrators have seen an increase in reports of bullying, and one student described the STTP activities as "helpful not just in handling bullying, but [providing] reasons to be more open-minded about other people." As schools initiated the STTP program more students had an attitude adjustment and had regards about bullying other people. As students get bullied out of all the schools

Hoover, J.H., Oliver, R.L., and Thomson, K.A (1993). Perceived victimzation by school bullies: New research and future direction

Back in the past many have focused on drug and alcohol use in school students along with students carrying weapons to schools, and it seemed as if no one was recognizing the significance of school bullying. For victims of bullying, they go to school every day facing harassment, taunting, and humiliation. Kids today come home and kill themselves or never want to go back to school because of BULLYING. “Studies show that 25-35% of teens encountered some type of bullying in their lifetime (Nansel et al,).” Bullying is a form of violent behavior that happens not only in the schools but everywhere. Kids everywhere have been exposed to bullying in school for generations and ages . Although bullying has always been a factor the consequences for

School violence has turned out to be widespread, its impact has greatly affected students, municipal officials, and law enforcement agencies across the region. This particular offense goes unreported and unnoticed in most schools, however, it is the cause of school shootings. Because bullying is something that take place on the school bus, and on school grounds it must be of importance. School bulling attributes to three-quarters of the crime that is committed on innocent bystanders. This issue is increasing in schools across the nation, therefore you have been tasked to be a part of the solution and not the problem. Each and every student and potential student is threatened by falling victim to this crime unless something is done about it. We seek to find a permanent solution to a consistent problem.

Although forty-seven states in the United States have passed legislations against bullying in schools, many Americans agree that these legislations have not made meaningful contributions to solving the problem. In an effort to provide effective solutions to stop bullying in schools, many people point fingers. Some individuals rightfully claim that students who are bullied at school are denied their right to equal protection under the fourteenth amendment. Some others make a compelling argument that schoolteachers and administrators are not taking firm enough action to stop bullying. However, while a community effort is essential to the solution, preventing bullying is largely the responsibility of parents. Schoolteachers, school

School plays a fundamental role in most people’s lives. It provides people with an education that will allow them to succeed in their future careers. Schools, specifically high schools, make a great effort in ensuring their student’s safety. One of the policies they use to ensure safety is the zero tolerance policy, a one-size-fits all policy which punishes students for anything that the school sees as unsafe. The policy was established in 1990 and covers safety issues such as bringing weapons, drugs, threats, and bullying. According to the zero tolerance policy, both people involved in a bully incident must be punished- the bully and the student who attempts to defend themselves. This causes a significant amount of school dropouts, as the students are often suspended or expelled, leaving a permanent mark on their record, even the student who attempts to defend themselves. Instead of punishing a student for their behavior, school officials should reinforce model behavior and examine the student’s intent before punishing.

School is a place where children should go to learn, educate themselves, make lifelong friends and most importantly they should feel safe. The violence in schools has increased over the years and many schools aren’t sure how to handle this growing problem in an appropriate manner. School violence may come in various forms and some of the most common forms of school violence include physical abuses, bullying, brawl and verbal abuses but the most common forms are physical abuses and bullying. Schools administrators and teachers should deal with each situation individually, they should give a good amount of time and effort into finding a suitable solution to a