The Social Issue Of Bullying In American Schools

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 still in fact a major source of predicaments among many children, adolescents, and young adults; in the cases of schools in particular, “[o]ne out of every four students (22%) report[ed] being bullied during the school year” (US Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015, ¶ 1). Concomitantly, one must accept the fact that bullying is a constant problem that requires more solicitude and awareness from the general public in order to further aid in its prevention. Nonetheless, studies conducted by Hawkins, Pepler, and Craig (2001) have also revealed that more than half of

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)

Issue: If you or your child have ever been a victim of bullying then you know how horrible one can feel. There are many emotions and fears associated with bullying, and no one should have to be subjected to it. Bullying can have a lasting effect not only in one’s present life but their future as well. Bullying is very prominent in schools today, and there has been an increase in school shootings, which is the extreme reaction to being bullied. Children need to consider each other’s feelings before they decide to bully or pick on each other.

Bullying is defined as “verbal, physical, or psychological abuse or teasing accompanied by real or perceived imbalance of power” and is usually targets what children perceive as different (Olweus, 1993). Bullying is prevalent across the nation. It has devastating effects on students each day. Bullying is a problem for all students, regardless of race, gender or class. The National Education Association reports that 160,000 children are absent intentionally from school each day because they fear being bullied whether it is an attack or just intimidation by other students. This accounts for 15% of all school absenteeism (Hunter, 2012). Dan Olweus (1993) from the National School Safety Center tells us that bullying includes three parts: (1)

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.

Over the years bullying has been used as an attack mechanism to bring fear upon an individual. Bullying has been described in so many ways such as attacking someone mentally, physically, or emotionally (The Bullies page 17). It has been used to abuse power, psychological, behavior, or physical (The Bullies page 18). Every seven minutes a child or teen is bullied.  Bullying is like a disease it comes in many shapes and sizes, and it can spread really easy. Bullying also comes in many different ways such as physical, verbally, and socially. Bullying is the use of superior strength or influence to intimidate someone, typically to force him or she to do what one wants. Across the U.S over 3.2 million students are victims due to bullying and 4,400

Bullying is an undesirable form of aggression that is mostly seen in kids of school ages in which one of the parties is less powerful. The aggressive behavior is normally repeated over a period of time. It has the power to have devastating, lasting problems. The purpose of this article is to provide a coherent analysis of the most recent research on bullying and to address the issues that still exist even when school-based programs have been implemented in schools since the 1980s.

“Nationwide, one out of four students from the ages twelve to eighteen have been bullied. That is twenty five percent to the teenage/young adult population and these numbers are continuously to rise every day” (Wassdorp, Bradshaw, and Leaf 116, 149-156). Bullying is the action of repeated harmful acts or harassing another in various forms. Many situations fall under one or even multiple of these categories: physical, verbal, indirect, and cyber. What this does is strips the victim down from their identity and leaves them to pity themselves for being the way they are. Bullying is an issue in this nation because it tears apart the teenage/young adult population, and it is causing an increase in risk of suicide among these groups. Bullying is

Bullying has become a major issue in the United States and around the world. What brought the attention to people about bullying is the number of suicides that are committed by adolescents and the stories they share online or live television. Bullying is categorized to be direct verbal, direct physical, and indirect forms. Not every person has an idea how terrible bullying can be and how harmful it is to the victim. Bullying has driven students to commit actions they have never done before such as cutting themselves, suicidal thoughts, health disorders, and bad behavior. Bullying must be taken seriously, because it results in negative effects on its victims and may drive students to commit horrific actions. Lawmakers should draft anti-bullying legislation, students should stand up for one another, and society should work out what can be done to combat this problem.

To deny the existence of bullying throughout the nation, especially within the brick walls of school, is to be ignorant. Bullying is a huge issue that is evident in may schools throughout America. Seventy percent of students throughout schools in America have said that they have witnessed bullying. A total of forty-nine percent of student in grades 4-12 have reported getting bullied at least once a month. Parents have to constantly worry about their child getting picked on while at school. One out of every four students, equalling to around twenty percent, are bullied every year. Around fifty-five million children throughout the United States are attending school this year, many whom are getting bullied.

Bullying in the K-12 system in America is a serious societal issue. Bullying is commonly discussed and argued in our society, and it can be seen on the news and in the media very frequently. The problem with bullying is that it has been around for a long time, yet it is still not being fixed. Schools cannot continue this way because it damages young children and causes issues throughout the life course. As scholars have found, bullying leads to lower academic performance and low self-esteem, which shows the need for change. In a survey of about 50 peers, 43% agree that bullying is an issue, and 35% strongly agree with the statement. This means that more than 75% of respondents agree that bullying is an issue in our country. All teachers,

When looking at the overall school systems throughout the United States, it is acknowledged how common bullying is. As stated within the assignment title, bullying is one of the most serious problems faced in school systems today. Bullying is described in the text as occurring when, “one or more children,intentionally and repeatedly expose another child, who cannot readily defend himself or herself, to negative actions.” (J, 2004). There are many forms of bullying that can transfer into other forms easily as well as combined such as physical, sexual, verbal, gestures, along with other forms. (J, 2004). “You can get bullied because you are weak or annoying or because you are different.” (Mash, 2016). This can be connected back into this week's

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.

It is only in the recent years that attention has turned toward the widespread problem of bullying, especially in schools, and that bullying is identified as a serious problem that merits intervention and research (Coy). Therefore, relatively little effort has been made to overcome or address the problem, which still remains a widespread social vice. This paper purports to illustrate how, despite efforts made to rectify the situation, bullying still remains rampant, and is getting worse.