Chris Watson

Professor Elizabeth Cuddy

22 March 2017

English 102

Anti-Bullying

How does school bullying affect children, teens, and adolescents across the globe?

Bullying has a negative effect on a persons self-esteem as well as a persons ability to

communicate with peers. While the primary targets of bullying are students in school, bullying

can also have a negative effect on teachers, parents, relatives, and faculty members affiliated with

the student. Being the common victims of bullying, students in lower school, middle school, and

high school tend to grow up with many social problems. Adults involved in the students life

become responsible for guiding the child through the process of a dealing with bullies. While

some people believe that children who go through bullying will eventually push through it on their

own, the best way to combat bullying is to get responsible adults involved so that victims of

bullying will not remain victims.

Part of the solution to preventing bullying is being able to identify bullying. So, what

exactly is bullying. The act of bullying comes in many different shapes and forms. To generalize

bullying, it is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or

perceived power imbalance (stopbullying.gov). Bullying can come in the form of verbal abuse,

physical abuse, or even social abuse. Verbal abuse is defined as saying something inappropriate,

threats, or name-calling. Social abuse is defined as spreading rumors, making someone an outcast,

or dragging someones name through the dirt. Physical abuse is probably the easiest form of
Chris Watson

Professor Elizabeth Cuddy

22 March 2017

English 102

bullying to identify. It involves physically attacking someone or making physical contact with

somebody in an inappropriate or abusive manner. Physical abuse includes derogatory hand

gestures, spitting on someone, and damaging the belongings of others. With this information, it

will be made easier identify bullying when it first occurs. However, this brings up the question:

how and why does bullying even begin to occur?

Many different factors can make students a target for bullying. According to Michael E.

Bratsis, senior editor of KidsHealth in the Classroom, one of those factors include health-related

issues, and these issues can put teens at risk of being bullied at school. A study found that among

251 families with children ages 8 to 17 being treated at Mount Sinai's Food Allergy Institute,

"31.5% of the children and 24.7% of the parents reported bullying specifically due to food

allergies, frequently including threats with foods, primarily by classmates (Bratsis, 3). A survey

of 361 teens at weight-loss camps showed that 64% of the adolescents said they had been bullied

at school (Bratsis, 2). It can also be noted that mental health issues, such as epilepsy, and emotional

issues, such as bipolar disorder, can cause bullying. These issues are common among children.

However, there are other factors that can cause bullying.

Another factor that can cause bullying is the lack of social skills. Common bullies often

have aggressive personalities and often act on impulse. Common victims of bullying are perceived

as shy and weak, making them easy targets for bullying, as they lack the confidence and assertive

attitude to defend themselves. Victims of bullying usually has poor social skills when interacting

with their peers. While some bullies may often have trouble with social skills (P. K. Smith, 1991),
Chris Watson

Professor Elizabeth Cuddy

22 March 2017

English 102

some bullies are socially skilled at manipulating a situation to their advantage. With these facts

taken into account, it is important to know how to combat bullying.

Being able to resolve the issue of bullying is often left up to the adults. Over the years,

school bullying has become a serious issue to the point where law enforcement and government

officials have to become involved. When it comes to common bullying, teachers and school

faculty members can address the issue at hand. When an adult sees the act of bullying occur on

the spot, they can intervene immediately, as students cannot oppose the authoritative adult. While

this solution can solve direct bullying, indirect bullying, such as social bullying and cyberbullying,

require an intervention among the students. Interventions can answer the question of what the

real issue between a pair of students is. Bullies may often have a deeply rooted issue that caused

that person to begin bullying another person. Often times, it is never an excuse. When it comes

to cyberbullying and physical bullying, the police are forced to get involved, because when

bullying escalates to that point, crimes are being committed through the internet as well as

domestic violence. That being stated, it is always important to be able to prevent bullying.

One method to prevent bullying is to begin an anti-bullying program. Young people who

have gone through bullying prevention programs have reported about a 20 percent decrease in

bullying and in being bullied (Antibullying Strategies, 3). Another method is to teach students

how defend themselves when they encounter a bully. Self-defense also includes having confidence

and assertiveness.
Chris Watson

Professor Elizabeth Cuddy

22 March 2017

English 102

In conclusion, Bullying prevention is important in helping a child grow and learn how to

interact with peers. No one deserves to become a victim of bullying. In the same regard, nobody

has the right to become a bully.

Chris Watson

Professor Elizabeth Cuddy

22 March 2017

English 102

Bibliography

"Antibullying Strategies." Gale Student Resources in Context, Gale, 2016. Student Resources in

Context, Database

Bratsis, Michael E. "Preventing bullying at your school." The Science Teacher, Sept. 2013, p. 80.

Student Resources in Context, Database.

Rigby, Ken. Bullying in Schools and What to Do about It. Melbourne, Vic.: ACER, 2007. Print.

Sharp, Sonia. Smith, Peter K. School Bullying: Insights and Perspectives. Routledge. Nov 1,

2002. Print.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Stopbullying.gov. Washington D.C. Web. 4/8/17