Girls are mean!

From a young age I was told at every opportunity that girls are mean, and on many levels this is a very true statement.  Growing up I never went to a school for more that 2 years, this made making friends difficult at times.  Being the new kid I was often the target of very mean and hurtful rumors and comments.  At one school in the 6th grade, in the course of a day I went from being the new kid that everybody liked and wanted to help show around, to a slut of the worst kind.  

Bullying is not an easy thing to deal with but its even harder when you don't know what form it will come in.  Bullying is nothing new and we have been dealing with it as a culture since the beginning, the invention of the Internet has both helped and hurt the efforts to shut down bullying.  On one hand bullies also know how to use the Internet as well if not better than most parents, which is where the problem of cyber bullying comes in.  On the other hand there are now support pages and pages with types on how to sight and prevent bullying.

On one bullying support page says that "Recent bullying statistics admit that half of all bullying incidents go unreported." Which in my experience is true, I never told anybody that I was being picked on at all, I just learned to deal with it myself.  Not everyone has the same view of the world as me, and not everyone lives with the knowledge that in 2 years they will probably be going to a different school.  This leaves bully deception up to parents and teachers.  I believe that this is the only way to stop bullying.  Some kids are going to be to scared to come forward and a lot of times those are the kids hurt worse.  Bully prevention needs to be a community project, and the symptoms of bullying need to be watched for and action must happen when they are seen.  I think if bullies were more afraid of being caught and of the punishments than maybe it would help prevent it more.  Kids can't deal with bullying on their own and with their innate trust of the adults around them could benefit from being watched a little more closely.

Bullying changes children's lives

A second grader was in school one day and had to go to the bathroom. The teacher let him go and two other boys went after him; they were in fifth grade. The two boys held him by his shirt, pushed him up against the wall, and bullied him. If the second grader ever told, they would kill him. The second grader was my brother. “Bullying includes a wide variety of behaviors, but all involve a person or a group repeatedly trying to harm someone who is weaker or more vulnerable,” says firstfamilyaid.org. The major questions are: does getting bullied change a person and what should be done about bulling? “Bulling can have devastating long term effects on its victims,” says bullystoppers.com. Bullying helped my brother start drinking in sixth grade, chew tobacco in eighth grade, along with taking pills, and smoking pot. When I asked him about being bullying when he was younger, he said he had to grow up and be stronger and cooler than everyone else; he had to be the one picking on others. About 90 percent of people from fourth grade to eight grade report being bullied. This does not say about younger children because these go unreported many times. Schools are becoming more aware of bullying and trying to prevent children from getting bullied. Teachers are now telling students about bullying and making a social norm to stop this act. When adults become aware of what’s going on, rather than look the other way, they help the children. Schools are also starting groups where they pledge not to bully and when they see a child left out, they go play with that child. Although bullying will always be around, the awareness will change children’s lives and they can have a better childhood.

Bullies

“How the hell did you make the cheerleading squad? You’re ugly”. Those are words that I will never forget. That was just one of many emotional blows I received during my years at school. It hurt like hell. It warped my self-image. It is something that still lingers behind my confident smile.

Sadly, this is something many children experience every day by certain peers. In every school you have them, on every playground they lurk – bullies.

The word bully may bring an image of a physical attack or the stealing of lunch money - which those certainly fall into the category. But it is the day-to-day emotional abuse that makes this problem not only hard for adults to spot at times, but also create long-term damage.

According to the government website “Stop Bullying Now!”, the most common form of bullying comes in the form of mental abuse. From name-calling to rumor spreading to isolation of the target. This sort of mental attack can have an affect on a child’s academic achievement, physical health and emotional stability. They are found to have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.

So what can be done about it? Many schools have prevention programs for bullying. This is something that should be incorporated in all schools. In these programs teachers are trained to identify and respond to bullying situations, prevention is incorporated in classrooms, and one of the most important strategies is parental involvement.

My heart goes out to those who are tormented by their peers. I know what it does to you. Somehow, I made it out ok. But it has the ability to destroy. Bullying can’t continue to be swept under the rug. It must be known for what it is and all those involved need to be educated on how to prevent it. It may just save a life.

Schools need to be more involved in preventing bullying

Many children and teenagers wake up every morning and dread going to school. This anxiety is not because of a test or project they have to do, but because they are endlessly harassed and tormented by their peers.  Recently, bullying has gotten worse with all of the new technology available. Now, bullies are not just limited to hallways and schoolyards; they can also act viciously from the comfort of their home computer.   

Although schools make an effort to prevent bullying, it is still not enough. Many schools claim to have a "zero tolerance" policy on bullying and even have guest speakers come in to speak out against bullying. However, these programs do not always work. In my high school, there were many issues related to bullying, so the school had people come in to talk about bullying. The lecturers were people who either had been bullies or victims of bullying in the past. Their stories were inspirational; however, many of my peers sat there yawning and rolling their eyes. The students who appeared unhappy to be there and were outwardly disrespectful. Obviously, the programs are not having an impact on children and teenagers who are bullies.  

Many times, bullying incidents go unreported because the student is afraid his or her tormenters will seek retaliation. This is why schools need to put in place a system where students can anonymously report anything that happens. Also, harsher punishments need to be enacted to set an example so that students will be discouraged from bullying. Schools should also try to monitor the online activities of students. Even though it is often difficult for schools to punish students for that type of issue, schools should still look into it to make sure nothing happens in the school from that incident. If schools take these steps, it will decrease the chances of students feeling so helpless about bullying that they commit suicide.

Bullying in Schools

Bullying in school is a very delicate issue, as a set of rules are not enough to contain it. Solving the problem of bullying is far more complicated, considering that a true solution involves a profound education in children from the part of teachers and parents, rather than instructing them with policies and laws.

The National Youth Violence Prevention Center reports that over 5.7 million children in the United States are directly involved in bullying, either as victims or as bullies. These events can lead victims to extreme acts, such as suicide. Bullying is mainly experienced in grades 6 to 10, and it can have a lasting effect even as adults; according to the National Youth Prevention Center, 60% of children who were bullied in grades 6-9 had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24.

Bullying occurs during the ages in which children develop their character, and I believe this is a factor to be taken advantage of; as children mature and begin relating with their peers, adults should shape them by teach them respect and social skills. Bullying should not be left to mere rules or norms, young children cannot learn the severe consequences of their actions through punishments; teachers and parents must be directly involved, developing a personal relationship with the child and informing them about the wrongness of these actions, and what damages they could cause.

Getting Out of Hand

Bullying. About 30 percent of today’s youth experience it at school. Young children are committing suicide because of this serious problem. It’s getting out of hand and it’s going to take a group effort to put a stop to it. Parents, teachers and the entire school system will have to work together to ease the problem.

According to safeyouth.org, children and teens whose parents provide little emotional support are at greater risk for engaging in bullying behavior. Studies have shown that children who were the targets of bullies at a young age are more likely to suffer from higher levels of depression and lower self-esteem than others as adults.

Research has also found that bullying is more likely to occur in schools where there isn’t much adult supervision during breaks and in situations where teachers and students don’t really acknowledge the fact that there’s bullying, according to safeyouth.org.

Teachers and parents need to get involved. When there is a school-wide commitment to end bullying, it can be reduced by up to 50%. Adults need to be doing more. Parents should talk to their children and teachers should be proactive. One approach that has proven to be effective is raising awareness about bullying, increasing teacher and parent involvement, forming rules, and providing support and protection for all students.

The only way any method can work is if everyone is involved. All faculty and staff of the school, as well as everyone in the homes of the children have to be involved to see results. Parents, teachers, and students will all have to communicate with each other in order to cut down on this problem. It won’t change overnight, but if everyone works together, the situation can be improved.

Not so innocent anymore.

Across the country hundreds of thousands of kids are playing in the playground during recess. Jaheem Herrera is not one of them. Jaheem hanged himself in his closet after coming home from what seemed like an average day at school. Just came home, showed his mother his report card with A's and B's and went upstairs. Later that night his mother called him down and received no answer. When she went to his room to investigate she saw her 11 year old son hanging in the closet. He was only 11 and it seemed like life has just began.
Jaheem isn't the only one to end his life early because of bullying. Teens and pre-teens across the country tragically end their life while dealing with depression caused by bullying. Between 1995 and 2004 more than 3,000 children between the ages of 10-14 committed suicide, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Children seem to get get meaner every year. Children get made of fun of for the simplest things, being overweight, not wearing brand name clothes, or looking different.
And it doesn't stop here. Kids across the nation are being cyberbullyied. They no longer have to deal with just insults at school, but insults on the internet. The internet age is a beautiful things and it keeps us connected. But not for Megan Meler. After multiple insults from who she thought was a boy she committed suicide. The person that posed to be this boy was a mother of one of Megan's peers. She was only 13 and had great things going for her. Where does it stop?
I had my share of being insulted and through the years I learned to ignore them over time. But not everyone deals with their troubles that easily. Kids get pushed around, insulted, and put down in front of others. After looking through many cases of teen suicide most kids have been physically abused and most have been labeled as being 'gay'.
Although the schools try to prevent these actions, most either fail or just try to ignore the problem. What we need is heroes. People in those classrooms that will stop this from happening. I, along with almost every other student that has been in high school, can safely say that we have seen someone being bullied, insulted, and being prayed on for being different. But almost never has anyone stepped in and said stop. We just stood along and maybe laughed or just pretend it isn't happening.
We need the average day hero. We need our peers to step up and end this. It would be impossible to eliminate all the bullying in every school but through proper education maybe one day we can all feel somewhat safer that our kids or siblings are not living in fear from day to day.