Stop Bullying

Abstract

This paper explores articles that report on bullying in schools. It shows the affect it has on students and schools. There are articles on the outcomes of bullying. It shows what we can do to make our schools safe from bulling. We will be talking about the pros and cons of Zero Tolerance, and what it means in schools. There are article that explore bullying behaviors among US youth and cyber bullying led to teen's suicide. We will explore what schools can do to end bullying to make schools safer for teens.

In the past many have focused on the abuse of drug and alcohol use in school aged students along with students carrying weapons to schools, 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. Studies show that 25-35% of teens encountered some type of bullying in their lifetime (Nansel et al, 2001). Bullying is a form of violent behavior that happens not only in the schools but everywhere. Kids have been exposed to bullying in school for generations. Even though bullying has always been a factor the consequences for the victims have become more severe and sometimes fatal. The violent behavior within school disrupts the learning process and creates a negative atmosphere for the students, staff and everyone involved. There has to be an answer and a solution for what we as educators and members of a community can do to minimize and stop bullying.

According to Dan Olewus, creator of Olweus Bullying Prevention Program bullying is defined when a person is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself. When looking at this definition of bullying it is important to notice that there are three components. The first component of bullying is there must be aggressive, unwanted negative behavior, the negative behavior has to be repeated over a period of time and finally there has to be an imbalance of strength between the two individuals involved. There are many forms of bullying some of which include verbal belittling regarding religion, race, looks, or speech; hitting, pushing or slapping; rumors; and sexual comments or gestures. Pansy, nerd, dweep, and loser: these are just a few of the horrible slurs that school bullies direct toward their not accepted, vulnerable peers. These malicious words can quickly grind down the self-esteem of their victims. However, words are not the only tool the bullies use against their victims. Physical violence towards the weak and emotionally unstable is a common theme in many schools, and can pose a grave threat to those students who cannot readily defend themselves.

Physical bullying can result in many dangerous outcomes. The bully themselves create physical harm to their victims and even in some cases the victim has a breaking point and retaliates in a violent way. Unfortunately some students and faculty do not feel like their schools are safe because of the types of bullying that occur. In the past there have been devastating acts of school shootings that haunt the minds of many. One of the more devastating examples of bullied victim retaliation is of the kids from the Columbine shooting, where two kids who were bullied went on a murderous shooting rampage killing the lives of many at their schools and taking their own. According to the United States Secret Service and Department of Education's school violence report, "as more violent acts occur, not only in their schools and other schools around the world, more kids are becoming afraid to go to school". Schools need to become a safe haven for students not a place of fear. As educators we need to develop a plan to minimize the bullying and let students know they are safe when they cross through the doors of the school.

One of the first questions asked about bullying is why would someone bully another person? Some people believe bullying and aggressive attitudes towards one another are normal behavior for children. Dr. Howard Spivak of the new England Medical Center disagrees, he says bullies or a people being bullied are people who show indicators that something is wrong, and children who experience either or both need help (Spivak & Prothrow-Stith, 2001). While looking through research, one conclusion that can be drawn about kids and teens who bully, a common denominator is they come from a bad home environment. Signs and evidence pointed to individuals who bully have been verbally or physically abused at home, which causes anger and sadness to build inside of them. If this is the case these "bullies" are looking for a way to take it out on someone who will not fight back.

Which brings up the next question about bullying, what makes someone a target of bullying? The victims of bullying tend to be the exact opposites of their bully. Finding the victims of bullying, or even potential victims of bullying, tends to be easier to find then the bullies themselves. People who are bullied are often shy and quiet, with few friends and little social support at school. They may be physically weak or lack confidence in their physical abilities therefore they rarely stand up to bullies. Most victims do nothing to provoke the harassment, their lack of physical strength and social abilities do it for them. There is on subgroup of bully-victims called the "aggressive" victims. These victims are usually impulsive and socially clumsy. They often have reading and writing problems and show characteristics of attention-deficit disorder (ADHD). Their behavior tends to bring out negative reactions from other students. James D. Unnevern found in his study, "Bullies, Aggressive Victims and Victims: Are They Distinct Groups?" aggressive victims were less proactively aggressive but more reactively aggressive than pure bullies (Unevern, 2005). They were also substantially more proactively aggressive than pure victims. What that means is the "aggressive" victims react in a negative way to how people are treating them rather than being the instigators of the bullying. Bullying occurs at any school age starting from lower education and into the high school years. Researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development found 30 percent of 6th through 10th graders are involved in bullying at school and frequency of bullying was found to be higher among 6-8th graders compared to 9-10th graders, and more prominent among boys compared to girls (Langdon & Preble 2008).

Who are bullies? Bullies can be anyone. Within a school building a bully can be an administrator, a teacher, a staff member and both male and female students. Most studies have shown there are more boys bullies