Bullying and School Violence in my Area
By Madii
Did you know that since 1992 there have been 250 violent deaths in schools across our country? Did you also know that almost every single shooting bullying has been a factor? (http : //www . njsbf . com/njsbf/student/eagle/winter02-6 . cfm) How about the fact that 160,000 children in America miss school everyday due to the fear of being attacked or intimidated? (National Education Association) 57.4 % of the kids interviewed in Kingston Junior High School have been bullied. 49.2 % have admitted that they have bullied another student. (my school's survey, 2006) These, and other shocking facts are what I found out while researching this project. I was so surprised to find some of these things out.

Have you ever wondered why people bully other people? In the survey sent out, that was a question that was asked. The students came up with a range of reasons that are all valid and true. Some of the reasons students submitted are: for fun, or to be funny or cool. To get attention that they otherwise lack. They are insecure about themselves, and have low confidence, and/or self esteem. "To boost their self confidence by lowering someone else's" –Anonymous survey taker.

What ever the reason for bullying may be, it is known to be a huge problem. 80 % of those given a survey agree. The worst problem students see at our school seem to be the verbal attacks. Verbal attacks can be rumors, threats, and making fun of someone for the way the look, dress, act or anything else that makes that person unique from others. There are other forms of bullying, though. Things such as hitting, and stealing or damaging belongings are bullying, too.

The amount of physical bullying, such as hitting, increases all through elementary school, peaks in middle school, and then decreases in high school. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant all through school, no matter your grade. 77% of students who took our survey say they have witnessed, or remember witnessing bullying. Students identified as bullies by the age of eight are six times more likely to become involved in criminal behavior. (Dan Olweus, National School Safety Center, Westlake Village, CA) In fact, one-in-four (25%) of young bullies will have a criminal record by age 30. (Leonard Eron and Rowell Huesman)

Teachers often worry about the amounts of bullying in school, and feel the need to start a program to decrease bullying. Students would also like to see the levels go down, but think it would not work, because no body would listen or care about any new rules or restrictions that arose. A survey conducted by the American Association of University Women reported that 85% of girls and 76% of boys have been s3xua11y (that's written in that form to prevent being filtered out, i think its an important fact that is not to be left out) harassed in some form, and only 18% of those incidents were perpetrated by an adult.

I found the following statement at: "http : //www . drspock . com/article/0,1510,9600,00 . html". "Effective anti-bullying programs involve everybody in the school community, not just the principal or a couple of concerned teachers. The administration sets a clear standard that bullying is completely unacceptable and enforces it. Teachers make bullying a part of the curriculum and identify bullies early on, before they become set in their ways. Finally, children learn that by taking care of each other, speaking out against bullies, and working together, they have tremendous power.

I believe a program at our school would make an intense difference in all of the bullying that goes on here, and everywhere. I think that if a teacher, or student for that matter, sees, or is on the receiving end of bullying, they need to report it. All beliers should at least get lunch detention. Preceding this new rule would be an assembly that would explain it all. It would say that the "tipster" would remain anonymous and to never be afraid to 'tattle' on a bully. The assembly would also explain that bullying is not just an everyday thing that will be tolerated, but rather a very serious issue. 62.3% of survey takers have confronted a school bully, and over half of the students have not bullied another student. I believe our school is making well-appreciated progress. I think we can progress further if we try and by this time next year my school students will feel like school is a safe place to be, and not have the fear that someone will bully them today, or any time soon. If we can get a program together here at my school, our students will not be just statistics in a future essay on bullying.

Here is a full list of questions asked and their results that I tallied up in percentages from the survey distributed to about 60 students of varying grades at my school.

Are you or have you been the victim of bullying?
Yes: 57.4%
No: 42.6%

Do you think bullying is a serious issue?
A mild problem: 6.7%
Yes: 73.4%
No: 20%

How often do you see others being bullied?
Daily: 39.3%
Weekly: 18%
Monthly: 19.7%
Never: 23%
(77% HAVE witnessed)

Does bullying affect you?
Yes: 44.3%
No: 55.7%
Do u believe that a school anti-bullying program would help your school?
Yes: 33.9%
No: 66.1%
(In the spot provided to explain their answer, almost every who circled no said it was because no one would listen to adults enforcing the rule.)

Have you ever bullied another person?
Yes: 49.2%
No: 50.8%
(Keep in mind some of the students who selected 'no' may not have owned up to their deeds.)

Have you ever confronted a school bully?
Yes: 62.3%
No: 37.8%

What kinds of bullying do you think are problems at your school?
(All answers were forms of verbal abuse.)

What are some reason you think people bully others?

To direct attention away from themselves
For fun
They are insecure
To be cool
To be funny
Low confidence/self-esteem
To get attention

~♥~
[background by VintageChic]





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