Essay Sample on Stop Bullying Now: No Place for Bullies in Schools

Introduction

Contrary to popular belief, bullying is not part of growing, and it should never be an accepted part of the academic experience of any student. Bullying has adverse and long-term effects on the victims. Bullying should be treated as a crime because, for a very long time, there have been some extreme effects of bullying, such as suicides, dropping out of school, and psychological effects. The act of bullying has two sides to it: the bully and the victim; between these two, there is a power imbalance where the bully domineers the victim. Through constant humiliation, harassment, intimidation, and aggression, the victim is placed under attack by the bully. Bullying has become a common practice in learning institutions, and the educators fail to notice or address it under the assumption it is usual teasing. A victim of bullying tends to feel powerless and abused. When blending fails to work, and the conditions are unbearable, the bullied might take drastic actions to end the bullying, such as dropping out of school or in extreme cases, suicide.

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The Hierarchy of Bullying: Understanding the Dynamics

Educators and schools have the responsibility of not only educating, but taking care of, protecting and nurturing the students. When there is the failure to nurture the bully into a good person or protect the victim, then the entire education system has failed in its role. With the rampant and increasing cases of bullying, it is time for educators and academic professionals to take charge and come up with solutions to this problem. If not handled, the effects of bullying can be far-reaching for the victim as the trauma and heartache faced might affect even their family

Bullying happens in many ways and varying categories, students today are exposed to an extremely competitive atmosphere for social dominance. Bullying is a result of that struggle, and according to Dr. Dan Olweus, there are seven hierarchies in bullying. The students who want to bully and initiate the action, their disciples, passive bullies, the supporters, the spectators, those who have the power to help but do not, and the defenders (Olweus, 2001). For any prevention program to be effective, this hierarchy must be dismantled, and the student mindset needs to be shifted to a deterring one.

Emotional Impact on Victims: Anger, Vengeance, and Trauma

In as much as students may deny the adverse effects of bullying tactics such as rumor spreading, name-calling, and teasing research shows that this is not the case. Different factors affect bullying, such as gender and age and as expected males are reluctant to admit emotional weakness. A research carried out on an estimated 3000 students proved that 38% of victims felt vengeful, 24% felt helpless, and 37% were angry. Victims of bullying are mentally and emotionally traumatized, and in most cases, this builds up feelings of anger and vengeance in the victim. From the result of the research, anger, and frustration dominate the emotional states of the victims and in fewer cases, sadness (Hinduja & Patchin 2009).

Recognizing Bullying as a Serious Issue: Suicides and School Shootings

Bullying in learning institutions has been ignored for a very long time and mostly dismissed at peer teasing, which is seen as harmless. Ignoring this problem has caused adverse effects, such as teen suicides. According to national vital statistic research, suicide tops the causes of death among the youth from age 15-2 (Anderson & Smith, 2003). Additionally, when the victim is overwhelmed by feelings of vengeance, they are bound to act upon these feelings and in extreme cases, result in school shootings that result in mass deaths. The issue of bullying needs to be recognized and acknowledged as a menace in learning institutions. Educators, Parents, and law enforcement need to identify this problem and work with the learners to shift their mindsets from bullying, being supporters, or just spectators to the act of bullying.

The Need for Cooperation and Comprehensive Solutions

Aside from just recognizing that bullying is a significant problem, there must be cooperation between educators, families, law enforcement, and students. To effectively handle and prevent further cases of bullying, there is a need for an intensive effort among the people involved -a partnership. A comprehensive program that covers all students is more effective and powerful in promoting safety in school and reducing bullying (Espelage &Swearer, 2009) The act of bullying needs to be addressed consistently, if youth organizations, communities, and schools worked together as one with a transparent preventative approach aimed at keeping every level of prohibition in tandem with each other, then the student will receive a consistent message. The message should target to make the students comfortable and confident to confront and report any case of bullying by making them understand from a young age that bullying is unacceptable.

Conclusion

Both the victim and the perpetrators of bullying are adversely affected by the act of bullying. When working on solutions and prevention of bullying, the victim and the bully need to be taken into consideration. Humiliation, anxiety, loneliness, and insecurity manifest in the victim in response to the process of bullying. The state of constant emotional instability in the victim makes it difficult for them to have any social adjustment or focus on their academics. When not taken care of, these responses are bound to cause depression, which might lead to suicidal thoughts or thoughts of vengeance in the victim. As more studies and research is carried out on bullying, tactics used, and potential solutions, an effective and successful approach needs to identify the problem and establish consistent ways of dealing with bullying in institutions of learning.

References

Espelage, D., & Swearer, S., (2009) Bullying in American Schools: A Social-Ecological Perspective and Intervention, 24(1) (pp.657-660)

Anderson & Smith (2003) National Vital Statistics Report.

Olweus, D., (2001) Peer Harassment: A critical Analysis and Some Important Issues (pp3-20) Retrieved from http://www.olweus.org/public/bullying.page