Introduction
Bullying was considered as a normal phenomenon and people used to consider it as part of child development. In recent years, bullying has emerged as one of much debated issues that affect thousands of students across the United States of America. Considering negative and dangerous effects of bullying, various schools across the United States of America have developed a zero tolerance approach on indents of bullying.Bullying affects personal, psychological and social behavior of students and at the same time, it also affects the school education in aconsiderable manner. Bullying interferes in the American education system and affects all the related aspects. This paper intends to discuss bullying, various related issues, and necessary measures to stop bullying, its causes and effects along with discussing how it affects various associated aspects of the educational system.
There are various ways of bullying and it is done in various verbal and non-verbal forms. Bullies use abuses, name callings, threats in order to bully other students. Gestures, gossiping, spreading rumors are various other ways of bullying students. Hitting, touching and kicking are also used in course of bullying. Physical bullying causes various undesired results and students get hurt sometimes severely. Students who tend to bully others tend to target students who are weak or stay isolated. One technique of bullying is to make targeted students isolated and then bully them.
Bullying and controversies
Various research studies in recent times suggest that bullying is not more a harmless phenomenon and it is very harmful for students. Bullying has claimed lives of various children and this is the main reason why this is one of controversial issues. It has been observed in a number of cases that children are seriously injured in incidents of bullying. Some of school children have even committed suicide because they were being bullied in their schools by other students. Many school children remember painful example of Kirby who committed suicide because of continuous bullying (Jacobsen & Bauman, 2007).
Bullying affects various aspects of children who are bullied and at the same time, it also affects children who bully others. Bullying affects the psyche of bullied children in a considerable manner. Various incidents also indicate how children are severely injured in incidents of bullying and fighting. Bullying also causes heinous incidents of school shootings wherein children open fire in school campus and kill many students. In the light of such heinous incidents and distressing circumstances, bullying has emerged as one of highly controversial issues in recent times.
Bullying and its causes
There are various causes of bullying and there is a need to understand these causes before presenting solutions to the problem of bullying. Children, who bully others, wish to get noticed by others. They want to earn fame by bullying other students. They show-off their dominance and want their schoolmates to behave as per their instructions. It has been observed that students who bully others face a rough life at their home. They learn bullying from their parents and execute it on other students in their schools.
Bullying and its impacts
Bullying affects students in various negative ways. There are various personal, physical, psychological and emotional impacts of bullying on students that affect overall growth of students. National association of School Psychologists of the United States of America suggests that thousands of students miss their school because they fear of being bullied in their schools. Children also learn to make excuses and tell lies for not going school Students who are bullied in their schools are not able to concentrate on their studies. Their learning, as well as, educational performance is severely affected (Felix and McMahon, 2006).
Bullying affects the psychological development of children. Bullying hampers the thought process and develop negative thoughts in minds of students who are bullied. Children who are regularly bullied, lost their confidence levels and they also become unable of facing challenges in their life. Bullying also affects their capacity of taking decisions and become dependent on others for help. Bullying reduces the personality of children to a complainant. They keep complaining about their problems to teachers and others instead of countering the bully who bullies them.
Children who are bullied behave in weird manner. They can be identified by their behavior. Children who are bullied tend to remain isolated, irritated, frustrated, withdrawn or even tired. Children who are bullied may also become aggressive with other students or even at home with their family members. Bullying directly affects children and sometime it affects children in indirect ways. When bullying includes fighting and violence, it becomes graver. Journal Pediatrics says on bullying, “The most extreme consequence of bullying for victims and society is violence, including suicide and murder. The sense of powerlessness experienced by children who are victimized can be so profound that some react with self-destructive acts or lethal retaliation” (Aluedse, 2006, p.41).
Bullying can cause serious health problems in children who are bullied. It has been observed that children suffer from headache, anxiety, sleeplessness, eating disorders, lack of self-esteem and depression like situation. Bullying causes traumatic issues and several victims of bullying suffer from post-traumatic tension and stress disorder. Children who are victims of bullying, are often neglected by their own family who tire of hearing such things but cannot anticipate the gravity of problem because they have not gone through the same traumatic situation.
The health related effects of bullying are direct, as well as, indirect. Children who are bullied physically gain attention of their parents as well as teachers but same attention is not given to students who suffer mental traumatic situation due to bullying. It has been observed in a number of cases that children who are physically injured in bullying gain attention and appropriate measures are taken in order to check their problems but students who suffer mental issues are ignored because their pain is not directly visible.
Bullying does not affect victims only but it affects children who bully others. If their behavior is not improved in their childhood and their habit of bullying others continues, there are chances that they turn into criminals. There are various examples that students who have been bullying others tend to do so in their adult life and involve in various crimes. Children should be stopped in their childhood from bullying others. Students those are bullied in their school life also face the consequences of buying in their adult life.
How to prevent bullying in schools
Children should be taught in schools to behave respectfully. They should also be taught to avoid using foul language and harassing other students. Such learning and training programs should be an incorporated part of their study. Teachers and school management has a duty to ensure that no incidence of bullying takes place in schools. Children spend enormous time in their schools and a majority of bullying incidents take place in schools so their responsibility is more important than others (Hanish and Guerra, 2000).
Constant monitoring is necessary by teachers and school authorities in order to know how students behave. If there is any abnormality in behavior of any student, schools authorities have a responsibility to check the same. School should also arrange for counselling students who are involved in bullying either as a target or a perpetrator. School teachers and authorities have a bigger role in solving the issue of bullying. They should be very active in preventing incidents of bullying in school premises.
There should be an effective medium of addressing incidents of bullying in schools. If a student faces any problems his or her problem should be addressed seriously and proper action in every matter should be taken. Students should be encouraged to report acts of bullying. Stern disciplinary actions should be taken by school authorities to prevent incidents of bullying in schools. Warning should be given for first timers and if they do not improve their behavior and keep indulging in bullying, termination process should be initiated without giving them a second chance.
Parents also have a bigger role in addressing the issue of bullying. They should be able to know about the problems that their children face in schools. If parents observe any abnormality or change in behavior, they should make every effort to know the reasons of change in their children. Sharing and befriending with children is utmost necessary for parents. They should immediately report about bullying incidents to school authorities or even police, if it is necessary. It is important that parents and children have effective communication in order to understand what their child is facing every day at school or in society. Parents should talk to their child in privacy, and try to remove their fear.
Parents should make every effort to make their children confident. They must groom their children in a way who can resist any wrong by whosoever. Children at young age do not understand how they should act in different situations. Parents should inform their child about various incidences of bullying taking place in society. They should also inform their child about how to react to any incidence of bullying. Bullying is nothing but tolerance of intimidation. If such acts are reports and resisted duly, such incidents will seize to exist in future. Parents should attend parents meet regularly and also should try to know what their child is facing in schools, to understand their situation at school.
A continuous watch of child by his or her parents is enough in order to notice any abnormality in the behavior of children and once it is observed, appropriates steps can be taken to solve the issue. Therefore, role of parents at home and role of teachers at school is very important not only in overall development of the child, but also to support child and development of emotional health.
Conclusion
Having observed an overview and succinct analysis of the abovementioned subject, the paper concludes that bullying has several negative consequences. Bullying affects children in various negative ways. It affects them psychologically, physically, personally and socially. Children suffer mental trauma and various other health related problems in their life due to bullying. Bullying affects confidence and self-esteem in a negative manner. Children, who are bullied, become unable to face challenges and odd situations in their life. Their education and learning is severely affected and causes various problems for them. Bullying should be stopped as it is harmful for everyone including students, their parents, school and the American society at the end.
References
Aldridge, J. (2011). What Every Teacher Should Know About Bullying. Childhood Education, 87(4) .
Aluedse, O. (2006). Bullying in schools: A form of child abuse in schools. Educational Research Quarterly, 30(1) , 37-49.
Bullying—Some Causes and Effects. (2003). Retrieved November 15, 2014, from wol.jw.org: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102003602
Felix, E.D., and McMahon S.D. (2006). Gender and multiple forms of peer victimization: how do they influence adolescent psychosocial adjustment? Violence and Victims, 21(6) , 707-24.
Hanish, L.D. and Guerra, N.G. (2000). The roles of ethnicity and school context in predicting children's victimization by peers. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28(2) , 201-223.
Jacobsen, K. E. & Bauman, S. (2007). Bullying in Schools: School Counselors' Responses to Three Types of Bullying Incidents. Professional School Counseling, 11(1) .
