Custom «School Bullying is a Persistent Problem» Essay Paper Sample

Thesis statement: The most feasible solution to the bullying problem in United States of America is that the teacher should offer suitable and reliable consequences for bullying.

Bullying is a type of an aggression amongst kids. It is mostly encountered in School playgrounds and in quarters. Bullying happens in the absence of adults. However, it may take place in the presence of adults who aren't in a position to intervene owing to ignorance and more. It has for a long period of time been viewed as a foreseeable segment of growing up.

A learner is said to be bullied if s/he is exposed frequently to unconstructive actions by 1 or more other learners. Bullying may take various forms. First, it may take the physical form. Examples of this form of bullying include hitting, shoving and restraining. Others include poking and pinching.

The second form of bullying involves damaging or stealing the personal belongings of a fellow student. Third, bullying might be verbal. Verbal bullying comprises name-calling and cynicism. It also includes mockery and spreading of gossips. Fourth, bullying can take the visual form. Visual form of bullying comprises of graffiti and gestures. Fifth, bullying can take emotional form. Examples of emotional bullying include embarrassment and making fun of a fellow student intentionally. Sixth, it can take the racial form. An example of a racial form of bullying includes racial slurs. The seventh and last form of bullying is sexual bullying. It includes unwarranted touching and or comments (The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities).

Students who bully do exercise authority over their preys. The authority can take various forms such as strength and even age. It can also take the form of membership in a faction in which the prey may be expelled. As far as the prey/victim is concerned, recurring bullying can result to punitive conduct, despair and low confidence. Additionally, it can result to poor grades, wariness and seclusion. In intense scenarios, a victim of bullying can commit homicide. The bully may be harmed. Specially, those kids who distinguish that they can escape with the aggression are more likely to fall into trouble with the law in their future life. It is important to note that eyewitnesses of the vice too suffer from its effects. The witnesses turn out to be nervous. Furthermore, the witnesses resort to violence once they comprehend that the unconstructive outcomes for the bully behavior doesn't exist (Juvonen and Graham 7). Salmivall states "the vice (Bullying) is more and more perceived as a faction trend" (455). He concluded that "Intercession approaches ought to be aimed at the bully, the bullied and eyewitness (s)" (456).

The Bullying Problem

School bullying is associated with the fatal shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton in the year nineteen hundred and ninety nine (1999). Additionally, it is associated with Santana high School shooting in the year two thousand and one (2001) and more. School bullying is associated with a number of undesirable consequences. First of all, it is capable of affecting negatively the social setting of a particular school. Second, it can fashion an environment of dread amongst the students. Third, it can slow down a students' learning capability. Fourth, bullying can result to other unsociable conduct. Last, as Olweus states "Students who bully throughout grades 6, 7, 8 and 9 respectively have a higher likelihood of being convicted for a criminal act once they attained age Twenty three" (13).

Various researches have been conducted around the United States of America and other countries of the world regarding bullying. The main aim of conducting these researches was to design programs that are capable of spotting and averting bullying conduct.

There is a research that was conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development concerning bullying in schools. In this research, Seventeen percent (17%) of the students interviewed said that they had been bullied from time to time. On the other hand, Nineteen percent (19%) of the students interviewed said that they bullied frequently. The research found that Six percent (6%) of the students had both been bullied and bullied by others. This research also found that One point six (1.6) million students in grades Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten in our Country are typically bullied either once or more per week. Additionally, One point seven (1.7) million school-going kids bullied others from time to time. It was the 1^st research to be conducted on bullying in United States of America (Grills, and Ollendick 64).

The research interviewed approximately Fifteen thousand, Six hundred and Eighty Six (15, 686) students. Specifically, students in both public and private schools were questioned. . It discovered that male students have a more tendency of bullying and being bullied. This is in comparison with female students. Male students experienced mostly two forms of bullying. The first form of bullying is verbal bullying. The second form of bullying is the physical bullying. Contrastingly, female students mostly experienced verbal bullying. It also established that bullying behavior starts in elementary grades. At high school level, bullying becomes rampant.

There is another research that was conducted in South Carolina. This research questioned Six thousand five hundred (6500) middle school students. Twenty three percent (23%) of the students said that they had been bullied frequently. Conversely, Twenty percent (20%) of the students said that they bullied other students (Grills, A., and Ollendick 61).

An organization by the name Smart-Girl conducted a research on school bullying. It questioned students who were aged between eight (8) and seventeen (17). However, the number of students who responded to their queries was Four hundred and fifty one (451). Additionally, these students were aged Twelve (12), Thirteen (13), Fourteen (14) and Fifteen (15) respectively. The graph of the number of responses against ages is shown in Fig. 1 (See appendix I). The study found that scores of students had experienced the various forms of bullying. In particular, Two hundred and fifty nine (259) students said that they were bullied periodically. Conversely, One hundred and sixty eight (168) of them said that they had never been bullied. Six students said that they were bullied constantly while twelve of them said that they were bullied regularly. A chart of the bullying statistics is shown in Fig. 2 (See appendix II). The research also found the various reasons as to why students bully other students. First, some students bullied others in order to seek for their attention. Second, others bullied due to jealous. Other reasons for bullying include anger and family problems.

The study in addition established whether bullying was part and parcel of human development. The results are as shown in Fig. 3 (See appendix III). One hundred and thirty five (135) students agreed to the fact that bullying was part and parcel of human development. It also established the effects of bullying on the victims. The responses are as shown in Fig. 4 (See appendix IV). As much as female students are concerned, the outcomes of bullying are undesirable. As a result, they end up not performing well in school. Finally, it investigated on whether the bullies felt guilty or not. The findings are as shown in Fig. 4 (See appendix IV). Only a small fraction of the bullies said that they felt happy (Smart Girl).

Another survey was conducted by the National Institutes of Health in the year Two thousand and one (2001). It found that Thirty percent (30%) of the students in our country are engrossed in bullying. The survey established that Fifteen percent (15%) of students bullied experienced distress. On the other hand, 8% of the students questioned said that they were ill-treated more than once in a weeks' time (Sheras and Thompson 4). Upon the expiry of 7 minutes, a bullying incident will take place! The survey further found that Sixty one point six (61.6) % of the learners in our institutions of learning are bullied due to their physical appearance. Additionally, one hundred and sixty thousand (160, 000) learners opt not to go to school daily. This is attributed to the fact that they fear being bullied by other students. Bullying is extremely rampant in grades 6, 7 and 8 respectively.

The Department of Education and Justice released a report concerning School bullying in the year Two thousand and one (2001). The report indicated that boys opted to bully straightforwardly. On the other hand, girls opted to bully indirectly (Brehm, Doll and Zucker 11). The report further indicated that male students bully more as compared to female students. Alternatively, male students bully both male and female students. Smith found that female students opt to target their age mates (fellow female students of same age) (25). Specifically, verbal bullying is common among the female students. Nicki and Grotpeter established that female students are more liable to bully in a crowd (28). Additionally, as far as female students are concerned, bullying is frequently simple and complicated to spot (Nicki and Grotpeter 29).

The Best Solutions to the Bullying Problem

Bullying within the School setting is typically a concealed problem which requires concerted effort in order to curb it effectively. Normally, School Principals and Teachers are not aware of how extensive the vice is within their respective institutions. Additionally, teachers can't even distinguish the gravity of bullying episodes that they come across. There are four main ways of reducing bullying incidences within the School environment. First, teachers should review the magnitude of the bullying problem. Information regarding bullying in a particular can be obtained through first and foremost direct observation. Secondly, a teacher can obtained information concerning bullying via dialogue with other members of the staff. Thirdly, student surveys also serve as a vital source of information regarding bullying. This information should be compiled. The outcome is that it can provide first-rate idea of the magnitude of bullying. Additionally, it can provide a good idea of the sternness of bullying in a classroom setting (Batsche and Knoff 24).

Successful evaluation of bullying within a classroom setting requires the following:

First of all, a teacher ought to enter a classroom unpredictably in a less-prearranged state. For example, he or she can visit the class at lunchtime. Afterward, he or she should observe the bullying trends of the students. Bullying symptoms may comprise of shoving and mockery. The tutor should in addition observe other forms of bullying such as visual bullying. Furthermore he or she should observe indirect bullying. Indirect bullying includes gossiping. Next, the teacher should write down the names of students who seem to be architects of bullying. Furthermore, the he or she ought to write down the names of students who appear to be victims.

It should be borne in mind that effective reduction of bullying incidences requires joint effort. Due to this, the teacher should seek for assistance from other members of the staff. He or she should collect information pertaining to bullying from other teacher who intermingle with his/her learners. Once this information is collected, the teacher should write down the names of learners which occur frequently. These names should be noted down as either suspected victims or suspected bullies. Afterward, the teacher should keep an eye of students who are believed to be bullies. This will guarantee that the suspected bullies will not have a chance of bullying other students.

A teacher should generate a straightforward survey regarding the subject of bullying. Afterward, s/he should instruct the students to finish the survey in secret. The survey should be structured in such a way that it poses queries such as "In which place does bullying take place within our school?" The teacher should seek for permission from the school Principal so that he or she can request his/her students to note down the names of certain students whom they deem to be bullies. Additionally, he or she should furnish the students with names of trusted individuals. S/he should inform them that they should converse with these individuals just incase they happen to be preys of bullying (Juvonen and Graham 9).

The second solution to bullying problem is that the teacher should make sure that his/her class comprehends the explanation of the term 'bullying'. This is attributable to the fact that kids may perhaps not constantly discern when their conduct turns out to be uncontrolled. In order to curb bullying using this method, the teacher should generate joint prospects for suitable behavior. Secondly, he or she should create a regular comprehension of the kind of conducts that ought to be described as 'bullying'. In order to realize this, the following ought to be done. First of all, s/he should organize class gatherings. During the gatherings, the teacher should instruct the students to look for regulations for suitable conducts. The set of laws must be restricted. They should not be more than four in number. Additionally, they must be structured in constructive terms. This means that they should state what the learners ought to do. An example of a rule is "Treat fellow students with politeness. Another example of a rule is "Make each student feel welcome" (Wright).

The teacher should generate a joint explanation for bullying with the class. This can be achieved through instructing the students to spot conducts that are bully. The teacher should catalog these conducts on the board. He or she should ensure that the students identify both direct and indirect forms of bullying. Additionally, he or she should inform the students to report any form of bullying to the relevant authority.

The third solution to the bullying problem is that the teacher should tackle the bully. While accomplishing this, he or she should ensure that it is done in a fair way. He or she ought to inform the students that bullying shall not be endured. Henceforth, he or she should act swiftly once a bullying incident occurs. This shall serve as a lesson to the rest of his/her students that bullying shall not be endured. The teacher should keep in mind that most bullies are good at elucidating away state of affairs. Therefore, he or she should advocate for the 'I-centered' decree. It is a law for assessing misconduct. The teacher should inform his/her students that it hurts him or her once s/he spots bullying behaviors. S/he ought to stress once s/he spots any form of bullying behavior taking place (Wright).

Once a teacher observes an alleged bullying behavior, he or she should approach the bully. Subsequently, he or she should lecture regarding the behavior. The teacher should then inflict an upshot. S/he ought to warn the bully. Additionally, s/he ought to make the bully apologize. The discussion between the teacher and the bully ought to be centered on the spotted conduct. S/he shouldn't permit the bully to involve the bullied in the conversation. The bully ought to be imposed a stern consequence if s/he persists to bully. An instance of a severe consequence includes provisional loss of playground opportunities (Wright).

While confronting the bully, the teacher should observe the following: first, the confrontation ought to be done in a private room. However, if the confrontation ought to be done in public, then it should be concise. Henceforth, the teacher ought to organize for a private conversation. Second, s/he should look for a mature person who has a close link with the bully. Next, he or she should instruct the chosen adult to discuss the bullying with the student. The chosen adult must advise the student to stop his/her unbecoming conduct (Wright).

The fourth solution to the bullying problem is that the teacher should offer suitable and reliable upshots for bullying. It should be borne in mind that the association between a bully student and the prey is usually coercive. Additionally, the bully student exercises authority over the prey. Peer intercession is one of the tactics for tackling learner conflict within a school setting. However, it is considered to be fruitless. This is attributed to the fact that the bully may possibly wield his/her authority so as to threaten his/her prey. As such, teachers ought to ensure that the bullies are observed cautiously. Moreover, he or she should ensure that all the bullying episodes are dealt with to the latter (Wright).

There are three main tactics that should be taken into consideration while offering the upshots for bullying to the bully. The first tactic is that the teacher should amass a catalogue or list of suitable behavioral upshots for bullying. He or she should incorporate minor upshots for secluded bullying cases. In addition, s/he should incorporate superior upshots for severe bullying cases. A teacher ought to intercede immediately the moment he or she detects a student bullying a colleague. Afterward, he or she should apply an upshot from the catalogue. A teacher can for instance compel a student who is used to bullying in mealtime to seat away from the rest of his/her colleagues for a certain period of time. On the other hand, if a faction of students engages in bullying, the teacher ought to inflict a punitive upshot on every affiliate of the faction (Wright).

The second tactic that ought to be taken into consideration is the limitation of a bully's movement. For instance, a bully's movement can be limited in an event in which he or she takes advantage of unsubstantiated outings from the classroom so as to bully other students. This can only be realized by demanding the bully to be closely monitored by an adult. The bully ought to be closely monitored while he or she is outside the classroom. The teacher should lift the limitations once he or she is convinced that the student has changed his or her behavior (Wright).

The third and ultimate tactic is that the teacher should prepare for a meeting. This meeting should involve the bully, the bully's parents and the teacher. During the meeting, the teacher ought to discuss information which implies that the bully is bullying his or her fellow learners. Afterward, the teacher should solicit for the parents' assistance so as to curb the vice (Wright).

Students who bully are usually speculators. They bully those students whom they view as feeble or weak in nature. In order for the vice to occur, the bully must have a locality wherein s/he can bully the prey. Examples of places in which a bullying may possibly occur include the bathroom and an isolated corridor. It may also occur at the distant corner of a classroom. These locations are regularly isolated. Moreover, they're badly supervised. However, if teachers and other concerned parties take an initiative of supervising these locations, then bullying incidences are likely to reduce at a high rate. Once a teacher observes a bullying incident, he or she ought to offer upshots to the bully. Therefore, the fourth solution is the most feasible solution to the bullying problem in comparison to the other solutions discussed above. This is due to the fact it offers a comprehensive solution to the problem as compared to the rest of the solutions (Doll 4).