Bullying in Schools Paper
Bullying is mean spirited and unwanted intimidation by another student. Bullying can come in many different forms but the result is an imbalance of power where one student suffers physical and verbal attacks as well as social exclusion. The bully repeatedly focuses in on their victims and subjects them to continued harassment and false rumors. Bullying causes the victims extreme emotional damage and lifelong pain but occurs most commonly in the school setting. In order to ensure that bullying is prevented the educational system will need to become more proactive and create programs and services designed to educate, reduce, deter and punish bullying.
Types and Extent of Bullying
The three types of bullying experienced by the youthful victim in the school setting consist of verbal and physical assaults as well as social exclusions. The types of verbal threats the victims of bullying suffer are name calling, false gossip, lewd sexual comments, taunts, and threats to cause harm. Physical assaults include hitting, kicking, pushing, tripping, pinching, and spitting on the victim. Social exclusions includes the bully taking steps to isolate the victim from peers by leaving them out of social events or gatherings and talking rudely about them to other peers. Other students will fear the bully and go along with their mean spirited actions. The victim will be isolated and the bully will take steps to embarrass the student in front of other peers. The bully will spread malicious rumors and make rude comments to the victim.
Adolescents are extremely sensitive to rejection and the opinions of peers, both of which can serve as catalysts for revenge (Booth, 2011). The result is the bullying becomes escalated and the victim takes revenge on the bully or physical altercations occur. Bullying is a major problem in society. While bullying occurs most in the school setting there are other places where bullying occurs. Bullies target victims using social networks and will bully them at social events. Victims of bullies are harassed and attacked on school buses and on school playgrounds as well as in the victim's neighborhood. While bullying can happen anywhere it is most prevalent in schools making it the responsibility of educational systems to take steps to see it stopped.
In 2001 in a report conducted by the Bureau of Juvenile Justice Statistics it was discovered that 20% of all students will be bullied while in high school while the number creeps up to almost 30% when dealing with school children from second to sixth grade (DeVoe, 2009). This comes to one in seven students from kindergarten to twelfth grade being victims of bullying. Over half of the students surveyed have been witness to bullying in the school setting and over 70% find bullying is a real issue in their school as well as the report found girls where far more likely to be the bully over males. The survey also reported than one in twenty students will have observed a student carrying a gun while almost 300,000 students each year are physically attacked by another student (DeVoe, 2009). Most importantly bullying has been blamed on at least 75% of all school shootings.
Impact of Bullying and Profile of Bully
Bullying causes the victim both short and long term consequences. Victim of bullying suffer severe emotional consequences when being targeted for bullies. They are afraid to go to school, feel anxious, and have lowered self worth. The victims of bullying become depressed and lack social confidence as well as will avoid social gatherings in fear of being ridiculed or teased by their bully (Boyd, 2005). The bully makes the victim feel worthless and in some cases they will commit suicide in order to avoid the torture they experience at the hands of their bully. Bullies also commit violent, physical acts against their victims which can result in lasting consequences for the victim.
The victim of bullying becomes socially isolated from peers and in some cases instead of avoiding their bully the victim will seek revenge. Because the victim experiences continuous and prolonged cruel treatment from their bully they become angry at the failure of the school, adults in their lives, and peers who failed to stop or assist them with the bully and as a result bring a gun to school and go on a killing spree. Bullying is harmful and causes victims to drop out of school and turn to substance abuse in order to mask their pain as well as engage in other harmful behaviors.
The youths that are most likely to become bullies are the ones experiencing problems in their home life or have feeling of insecurity and lash put on students they perceive as weaker than them. Bullies are impulsive, aggressive, and fail to experience empathy for the pain of their victims. Many bullies come from homes where their parents or guardians display similar behavior and in some cases have been targets of bully's themselves. The bully is more likely to engage in juvenile delinquent behavior and is often truant form school.
School Anti-Bullying Strategies
In order for bullying to be stopped in the school setting and to prevent acts of school violence by victims of bullying bent on revenge the school will need to educate students and develop programs. While programs are essential so is providing training for personnel on the proper response to bullying behavior. One prevention program employed in schools is School resource officer (SRO) programs. The SRO is in place to provide students and staffs a place to report cases of bullying and actively responds to any reported cases. The SRO educates staff members and students on bullying and is aware of any potential warning signs that could alert them to potential bullies or victims of bullying. Because school shootings are a real threat in the school setting it is essential that the SRO identify victims in order to give them the tools to vent their emotions and find alternative measures for dealing with their pain. The SRO can also address the bully and takes steps to assist them in correcting their behavior.
Bullying prevention and intervention programs are developing in schools across the country the more society recognizes the extent of the problem and the need for effective solutions. One program is "Let be Friends" which encourages children in grades kindergarten through second grade to develop friendships with all children despite any differences. The children are taught to embrace the unique differences of their classmates and too treat all students kindly and fairly. Bullying programs for middle school students include Stand U Speak Out where students are encouraged to report their bully and stand with peers that are being bullied. Programs for high school students include education programs such as Ignorance is no Defense for Bullying where students educate other students on bullying.
Role of Law Enforcement and Community Policing
While the educational system is responsible for developing the necessary processes to stop bullying law enforcement also plays a role in ensuring bullying does not occur. Law enforcement officials are responsible for working directly with members of the community in order to make positive changes. A mandatory reporting law could assist police in be alerted to incidents of bullying in schools and require school officials to report these acts. First law enforcement can support new policies in society that make bullying both in person and through the use of social networks punishable by law and then enforcing these laws to ensure the bullies are punished. In order to deter this behavior the culprits must be punished to deter future offenders.
Community oriented policing is an approach taken by policing organizations where police officers work closely with community members in order to develop solution to crime and social issues. Law enforcement also supports community programs that develop in society aimed at preventing or reducing the bullying problem. Law enforcement can collaborate with schools and teachers in order to make public appearances to stress to children the consequences of bullying and to support the schools efforts to implement anti-bullying programs.
Police officials in the community can conduct research on the extent of the bullying program and create relationships with students and school officials in order to ensure cooperation during incidents of bullying that occur in the school. Law enforcement can also create a reporting system where bullying can be reported anonymously. Police agencies partner with community programs, such as Bullying Prevent Program and D.A.R.E, to assist in changing the attitude, behavior, and perception of youths and provide them with the tools to avoid bullying behavior and support peers being bullied.
Law enforcement is responsible for partnering with school officials and sharing information with school on the best practices for preventing, reducing, and deterring bullying. Law enforcement needs to make educator and students ware of state laws and support efforts to establish bullying programs. Police officer deters bullying through providing a presence and actively engages in training process for the SRO officer and other pertinent personnel. Without support from the community and law enforcement educational system will not be successful in stopping this growing problem in their schools.