Many wonder whether or not anti-bullying programs should be implemented in public schools. After the death of high school student Phoebe Prince in South Hadley Massachusetts in 2010, many states have introduced anti-bullying laws. Prince was bullied for months by six other students at her high school before hanging herself at the age of fifteen. After her death the state of Massachusetts set up many state wide anti-bulling prevention programs. Such as the Newton Anti-Bullying, where Dr. Elizabeth Englander member of Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center plays an important role in this anti-bullying program. Newton’s Anti-Bullying program, is implemented in many schools in the state of Massachusetts. This program teaches youth how to identify bullying and how bystanders play a big part in reducing bullying as a whole. Many students in public schools struggle with bullying every day. In fact according to the National Bullying Prevention Center, 19.6 % of all high schools students reported being bullied in the United Stated, and 64% of students said that there was nothing done about this issue. According to Thomas J. Billitteri in the article Preventing Bullying, another heart throbbing story was the death of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. Who jumped to his death after being filmed by his roommate while he and another male were having sex.
At least three people are involved in acts of bullying the bully, the victim, and a bystander. Jeannine Studer, a prevention speaker on bullying notes that bullies often have a destructive outlook toward others, trouble solving conflict, and may come from a broken home. Victims often have a hard time forming relationships, displaying emotion, and physical and behavioral signs of being mistreated. Bystanders may prevent or extend negative behavior, while some bystanders reach out for help, others may side with the bully. This is extremely prevalent in public schools today. Many students instead of intervening, stand by and video or laugh about the situation.
Bulling has become one of the most growing epidemics here in the United States, and as has created many issues regarding the safety of students across the country. Webster’s online dictionary defines bullying as “a browbeating person, especially one habitually cruel to others who are weaker” There are many causes and effects around this issue, some of them are far worse than others. According to Gordon Blood, professor of communications and disorders at the University Pennsylvania, and Tonja Nansel a senior investigator at the National institute of Child Heath and Human Department, the effects that bullying can cause are horrendous, and can ultimately end in a negative situation. As Americans we here of many horror stories such as the death of Phoebe Prince and he destructive nature this topic can crate. Not all adolescents who are bullied commit suicide however, almost all youth who are bullied carry that weight for good amount of the time.
Though there are many effects of bullying, the most common is low self-confidence. Furthermore, a person who is bullied every day in biology class may become withdrawn and quiet, they many also start to shut down and become detached from the world. Bullying is a big snowball rolling down a hill, it affects individuals that are bullied, those who are bully, and those that whiteness bullying”. Every year bullying in public school increases and becomes more of a controversy.
For example, the National School Safety Center informs readers that a recent study shows that American schools “harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims”. Bullying comes in all shapes and sizes however, one pof the biggest causes of bullying stems from an individual’s home life. For instance, if a person lives in an environment where it is okay to cause harm to others, this may cause them to start bulling. Another example, of how home life shapes this topic is the exposure to domestic violence and neglect. Witnessing these traits can cause an individual to reenact what they seen, in an attempt to make themselves feel better.
Another cause of bullying is that an individual might want to be noticed. Many adolescence use bullying to be labeled as “cool”. For example, a student man think that causing others harm is funny and rewarding. Others may bully to become popular and create the attention they do not receive at home. While bullying has no gender role, boys are more likely to bully than girls. However, boys are more likely than girls to report being physically bullied.
While effects from bullying may vary, most individuals struggle with the same issues. Common issues of bullying are anomalous fears and worries. For example, one may become jumpy, and uncomfortable if they are being bullied. When I was a freshmen in high school I can remember being called a beaner and that I should go back to where ever I came from. This behavior may also affect a person’s personality, and could cause one to become fearful of everyday life. For instance, my friend Mayda was bullied to the point that she wouldn’t talk to anyone. It was as if she was in a comma and I was shining lights into her eyes, yet she was unresponsive. Though, many students today have a hard time handling being bullied and therefore stay quit and let the anger build up inside, this can cause an individual to seek revenge.
One of the common cause of bullying in public schools today is revenge. For some individuals being bullied means staying quiet but for others it may be to cause harm on the individuals who created their pain. Many studies have found that those who are bullied are more likely to commit school shooting. For example, the columbine study where bullying was one of the reasons why Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold committed the Columbine Massacre. Although, revenge doesn’t always end in school shooting. It dose end in a negative outcome .
According to CQ Researcher and the U.S Department to Education, the history of bullying can be traced bck to 1887, where a Norwegian scientist F.L. Burk relesed a study called “Teasing and bullying”. In 1970 the Norwegian government and public schools started dissecting bullying and the issues around the topic. However, it wasn’t till the 1980s when the United States began to address bullyinh as a hole. In 1978 Dan Olweus psychology professor at Clemson Uuiversity, released his study called “Aggression in the schools, Bullies and Whipping boys”. After the deaths of three children in Norway, due to suicide, a nationwide alert went out and help launch anti-bullying measures.
As the 1990s rolled around the Internet opened more doors for bullies. In 1993, Olweus released another study called “Bullying at School” and his piece received a lot of attention. In 1999, Dylan Kelbold and Eric Harris gunned down twelve students and one teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado. The two boys reported being bullied, yet nothing was done to prevent this from happing. Now in 2000, while Internet and social networking sites are at their peak, this creates a new challenge for law makers as bullies hide behind the screen. In 2006, when a Missouri teen Megan Meier hung herself due to online bullying, it opened the flood gates, and cyberbullying was brought into the public’s eye. As of 2015, there are many anit-bullying programs and seminars. For example, Carlin Flora Author of The Bullying EPIDMIC IS OVER states that the National Conferene on Bullying held in Florida has great success. Teaching young adults the seriousness of bulling the negative outcomes in can create. According to I-safe, an internet safety education program, teens in grade sixth to eighth are more likely to be involved with bullying. Verbal bullying is the most common among students in public schools, recording about 77% of bullying. For example verbal bullying includes, being called names, creating rumors, and openly degrading another individual. While 77% percent of individuals are being bullied verbally, 14% say it affected them in such a way that some became depressed, and anxious. However, while verbal bullying has been addressed within society, cyber bullying has become a growing issues.
According to a journalist at CQ Researcher Thomas Billitteri, cyber bullying has become more of a growing issues due to the fact that the Internet and social media are progressing every year. According to Billitteri, “Cyber bulling is defined as using technology to harm or distress another individual”. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that “electronic aggression” is an “emerging public-health-problem”. The story of Patrick Halligan, a 13 year old boy who killed himself because he received several texts messages, accusing him of being gay. His father states that “He just went into a deep spiral in eighth grade, he couldn’t shake this rumor.
The University of New Hampshire released a study informing individuals that children ages ten to seventeen, have had some kind of experiences with cyber bullying. For example, one individual said they had received hatful message over facebook and others stated they were repeatedly harassed over texts. This was a startling finding, considering, the rate was up by fifty percent from a similar survey done fie years earlier. While the Internet has both male and female users, girls tend to be bullied online more than guys. In fact seventy percent of all online victims are girls, who have reported some kind of online harassment. Though many people who bully over the Internet are usually introverted, Nancy Willard director of the Center for safe Responsible Internet Use, suggests that those who are “popular” and have “plenty of self-esteem” partcipate in cyber bulling. Those who are in the “crowd” in high school are typically those bully over the Internet, because they feel as if they are superior to others. For example, when I was in 9th grade there was a group we called the “means girls” because they would always leave hateful comments on others facebook page. As a result one of my former classmates attempted to commit suicide. The I-safe foundation states that “well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bulling occurs”.
According to study by Yale University, one of the biggest effect of bullying is suicide, and the numbers only continue to rise. Bully victims are between two to nine times more likely to ponder suicide than non-victims. Teen suicide is the second leading cause for death among youth in the United Sates. Some individuals who are bullied see no way out and therefore, ending their life seems to be the only explanation. However, studies have shown that most adolescents who are bullied do not have thoughts of suicide. Many factors of suicide include depression, and problems at home. Certain groups have increased risk of suicide when it comes to bullying, such as, American Indians, Asian Americans, and the LGB community. However, studies have shown that most adolescents who are bullied do not have thoughts of suicide. Many factors of suicide, there are many myths that lie behind this topic.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Melisa Holt, a counseling phycologist at the University of Illinois says students who were bullied by their peers were 2.4 “times more likely” to vocalize suicidal thoughts, and were 3.3 “times more likely” to report an attempt, than students who reported no bulling. Suicide is one of the biggest contributing factor to the teen death rate. In fact according to Barbra Mantel a University of Virginia graduate, and journalist for CQ researcher, states that “suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 13 to 19 years-old. While mental health professionals can’t contribute one factor to suicide, the National Library of Medicine reports that there is a solid connection amongst bulling and suicide. For instance, those who are bullied are between two and nine times more likely to ponder suicide, according to a study done by Yale University. Another study done in Britain revealed that more than half of suicides are associated with bullying. There is not a type of bullying that leads more individuals to contemplate taking their life. For instance, cyber bulling, verbal bullying, and physical bulling are all factors of suicide.
Though this research suggests that all public schools should implement anti-bullying programs, there are some who disagree. Some individuals believe that bullying is an issue that kids need to work through and that kids will be kids. Children who are bullied need to toughen up and realize that this topic is a part of growing up, and becoming an adult. For instance, many parents also play a huge role in creating misleading information to some children, which in turns allows their children to become bullies. Such as my friend’s dad, who said that if “they” can’t handle being picked on, maybe they should go back to elementary school.
According to a study released by the Journal of Criminology, and Christopher Ferguson a psychology professor at Stetson University, anti-bullying programs may be a waste of time. Fergusons study included seven thousand kids, from one hundred and ninety five different schools. The research concluded that some students who have an anti-bullying programs at their school, still experience bullying, furthermore, the records show that those who attend schools with anti-bullying programs, have a stronger presence of bullying.
Just as Fergusons concludes in his findings, the University of Arlington also states that students who attend schools where there is an anti-bullying programs are five times more likely to experience some kind of bullying. According to Seokjin Jeong, a professor at the University of Arlington who teaches criminology, states that these kind of programs allow bullies to stay under the radar. One possible reason for this is that the students who are victimizing their peers have learned the language from there anti-bullying campaigns and programs, the schools with intervention say, ‘You shouldn’t do this’ or ‘You shouldn’t do that’. However some programs allow students to become highly exposed to what a bully is and they know what to do when questioned by parents or teachers. It seems as if school promote anti-bullying programs because they have to, not because they want to. Jang believes that schools need to look more into “dynamics” of bullying before they start their program.
However, if anti-bullying programs do not work, than why has bullying in schools decreased? Why has the level of awareness in anti-bullying programs spread across the country? The answer is quite simple, because anti-bullying programs do work. For example the Owels anti-bullying program is one of the most powerful of all programs. Dr. Dan Olweus, a psychology professor, wanted to see more done when it came to bullying. The aim of the program was to reduce both direct and indirect bullying, whether it be “verbal, psychical, or mental bullying. This anti-bullying program starts every day off with a meeting , where parents, teachers and students come together and address curtain issues in regards to bullying. Some other parts to this program consist of teachers and facility members meeting regularly to asses and create better relationships between students. Parents and teachers also meet on a regular basis to discuss the levels of bullying. Schools with this program have more supervision over students during break times, and passing periods. Although, one of the most important factors involved with the Olweus program is having “serious discussion with the teacher, the bully, the victim and parent. This organization allows us to jump into another program known as restorative justice.
Restorative justice is a branch off the term “criminal justice”, and has solved many issues around the topic of bullying. Margret Armstrong, a member of the Department of Education, informs individuals that restorative justice is process where instead of being punished for something an individual did, they are to talk though there problems. The wrongdoer is still held accountable for their behavior and support is also provided for the community offended by the wrongdoer. For example, when I was in middle school we had a all girls program, and it really helped bring our school community together. If two or more people had an issue, they would meet in a room with a mediator and talk through their problems. My middle school had almost no bullying, due to the creative program, and the help from our consular.
There are three main components around the “all girls “ program. First, community conference comes into play, this happens when a serious issues has accreted, such as bullying. This is where the “bully”, “victim”, the bullies family members, and a school appointed mediator all come together. The mediator asks a series of question and allows both victim and bully to talk and address issues one at a time. After the problems have been solved, and an arrangement has been made they are to check in and give updates as to how there arrangement is going. The second approach is to have “small groups and individual conferences”. This stage is more just for students and their teachers, to partakes in small restorative activities. I can remember having conferences like this in my classes in middle school. I personally believe that they were geared more towards seeing how students interact with one another, and to see what issues are rising topics among students at my middle school. The third method classroom conferences, where instead of participating in activates, individuals actually sit down in the classroom and discuss growing issues within the school community. Instead of having the teacher in the room, the school brings in a mediatory to be sure the students can voice their opinion without fear of teachers retaliating.
Anti-bullying programs should be implements in all public schools. There is no doubt that this issues causes many horrible outcomes. No matter where an individual stands at any given moment, bullying will always be a controversial topic. Bullying should not be considered a usual part of a child’s school experiences, because the outcome of bullying are often traumatic and long-lasting. As a Country we need to teach future generations about the negative effects that bullying has on an individual. Personally, I think that involving students at a younger age, such as elementary school, will help reduce bullying. If we as a country can get individuals to understand the importance that anti bullying programs bring, it will help heighten students knowledge on this topic and bring more awareness to bullying. Not only does bully have an effect on the victim, but it also affects the person who is bullying. For example, those who bully are five times more likely to end up in jail, and be addicted to drugs, according to the Department of Education. The evidence that bullying has long-lasting academic, physical, emotional, and social consequence is too great to be ignored. Not everyone has been bully or the victim of bullies, but everyone has been bullying, and seeing it, has responded to it joining in or objecting, by laughing or keeping silent, by feeling disgusted or feeling interested. Remember theirs always hope as long as we try.