Bullying in School
Bullying does take place in most schools in the country, and although most schools will try to assure parents otherwise and even have a policy against it, it somehow manages to continue taking place with or without teacher intervention. The effects of bullying are varied, and range from psychological torment to physical injury, both of which end up negatively affecting students and often leading to poor academic performance and sometimes withdrawal from activities that are normal for students at the particular age the bullying occurs. Bullying may take a number of forms depending on the circumstances that both the perpetrator and the victim are in, but the most common form are physical, emotional, verbal and cyber bullying.
There are a number of ways in which bullying can be dealt with successfully. A breakdown of the issue shows that bullying can best be handled from three perspectives. Using the teachers and school management, research has shown that the school management’s view and response to bullying goes a long way in determining its extent (Sampson, 2010). Secondly, students also need to be informed and sensitized on the negative effects of bullying, and generally convinced to report any incidences that may occur or intervene should they be able to. Lastly parents and caregivers also need to take measures to ensure that their children are protected from bullying. Parents and caregivers need to make sure that they give proper advice to children on how to respond to bullying and in advanced cases intervene themselves to remedy the situation (Olweus, 2012). As a victim of bullying, I know the importance of helping my 12 year old son deal with the issue, and support him fully with any necessary intervention that may be required.
There are various causes of prolonged bullying in schools; the following list gives the most common;
- General indiscipline by some students which prompts negative and malicious behavior towards others
- Unchecked behavior that goes on for quite some time, i.e. as a result of failure to report by the victim.
- A situation where one party has more power or strength than others and chooses to misuse it.
Irrespective of the cause, bullying needs to be stopped. The effects of bullying are far too serious to be ignored and most of them have lifelong repercussions on the victim (Diller, 2012). It is only through a combined effort of society as a whole that the injustice can be brought to an end.
References
Sampson R. (2010). Bullying in Schools. Retrieved from:
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Publications/e07063414-guide.pdf
Olweus D. (2012). Stopping Bullying Behaviors: Advice for Parents and Caregivers. Retrieved
Diller V. (2012). A Solution to Bullying: Where Do We Draw the Line? Retrieved from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vivian-diller-phd/bullying-plastic-surgery_b_1718398.html
