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Essay / The Problem of Childhood Bullying
When the word “bullying” appears, it usually focuses on children targeting or harassing their peers. The definition of bullying is when an individual or group of people intentionally and repeatedly causes harm to another individual, whether through verbal, physical, or emotional abuse. Bullying affects those who are bullied, those who bully others, and those who witness bullying. Bullying does not just require one child to carry out its intention, it can usually involve groups of children motivating each other to bully the child. “Bullying statistics show that no action is taken in around 85 percent of bullying cases; either the incidents are not reported or the school does nothing. (Berlatsky 26) Children spend the majority of their time in school for about 8 hours, so if you send your child or someone you know to school where they should be safe and secure, why should the is the percentage rate so high? Bullying is much more than teasing, jokes, or “kids being kids.” This could include name-calling, spreading rumors, or physically hurting someone. Bullying can damage a child's self-esteem from a young age or cause them to seriously think about harming themselves. The child may feel like he is not good at everything he does, although he may be without even knowing that the bully has already put in the child's mind the view that it is not. When children are constantly put down about something, they come to believe it is true. Being a victim of bullying is not the victim's fault. Children often feel fearful, hurt, or worthless and need encouragement to discuss the situation they find themselves in. When children encounter the problem of bullying, they should talk to people they trust, such as their parents, school administrators, and others. who provide the necessary assistance. Although this is sometimes not the case, teachers' time is often busy, struggling to meet the ultimatum of their daily obligations or responsibilities. School officials' primary and only concern during the day is their classroom, making it difficult for teachers to be alert to acts of bullying within their classroom. Sometimes the teacher doesn't think anything bad about bullying. They grow up with the idea that “kids will be kids” or believe that experiencing the situation helps children toughen up. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay A bully is described as a person who needs to feel more powerful than others. At any cost, a bully will find a way in his mind to think that he is better than anyone else around him. For example, a bully will take out their insecurities on others by putting that person down to make them feel inferior. One of the insecurities can be weight, not feeling intellectual, not having supportive parents/guardians, being unable to understand those who are different from them, etc. Bullying can be difficult to identify in a school setting because it doesn't always look the same, meaning the methods tend to be drastically different between male and female harassment. “It is perhaps not surprising that boys are more likely to be victims of violence andgirls from being victims of social exclusion,” he said. (Tom Bennett) Girls tend to rely more on social/verbal bullying, while boys tend to lean towards physical bullying. Boys bully by using their masculine power over the victim in an attempt to gain control, they fight and use the physical threat of physical violence to torture the victim. Girls who bully participate in social harassment, harming a person's social reputation or social acceptance. Forms of "attacks" by bullies are rumors, teasing, gossip and insults which are less likely to be witnessed on school grounds. Girls resort to less physical violence and more verbal violence, so social attacks are difficult to recognize. Comparing the statistics of female bullies with those of male bullies, females have a higher percentage because their form of attack is more discreet than males due to their physical nature. One of my personal references, Caitlyn Morra, a 14 year old girl who at the time was 11, became a victim of bullying. Caitlyn had been a friend of my little sister since kindergarten in 2011, a smart little girl who didn't seem to have any problems at school or at home. Her mother was the type of parent who had to make sure she did well in school, as she got along well with all the teachers throughout the years as well as the parents of the students Caitlyn interacted with. The elementary days and years for this little one seemed easy, just like any other child would. What child doesn't love elementary school and all the activities and fun that comes with play? Until she got to middle school, the middle of sixth grade to be exact, things started to change, she was hesitant to go to school and found an excuse not to go. Caitlyn's mother noticed these changes, Caitlyn became calmer, didn't want to go out (shopping, going to the movies, skating, etc.), didn't eat as much, and wanted to move schools. Caitlyn's mother decided to make occasional visits to the school to make sure everything was okay with her daughter and to see if the problems were coming from the school. The hesitant behavior that Caitlyn exhibited at school as well as the drastic changes she was developing were a red flag to Caitlyn's mother. During one of her pop-up visits, she realized that her daughter wasn't out interacting with other students during recess, so she went to one of the teachers to find out why wasn't- she not outside with other children during social playtime. The teacher told the mother that the teen said she was "just having one of those days" and didn't want to go out during recess. Caitlyn's mother seemed alarmed since Caitlyn was already giving her mother excuses for not going to school. Caitlyn refused to tell her mother what was happening at school and would tell her, "It's okay mom, don't worry about it" and go straight to her room. At this point, Caitlyn's mother knew something was wrong, but in order not to overwhelm Caitlyn with questions and worries, she would keep her distance while monitoring her. A few months had passed, Caitlyn would continue to exhibit this type of behavior, one afternoon in February 2018, Caitlyn was home alone, her mother had walked down the street to a grocery store when she was returning, she didn't couldn't believe it. what she had stopped seeing. Caitlyn had attempted suicide, she had left a written message for her mother to read but luckily her mother wasarrived on time. Caitlyn's mother quickly admitted her to the hospital to make sure no harm was done, but she needed answers as to why her daughter would want to do such a thing to such a young age. Caitlyn's mother went to the school to ask about friends Caitlyn would hang out with and if she had any enemies, the school administration would tell her nothing was happening and had no idea the why Caitlyn would want to do this. A classmate of Caitlyn's knew about the situation, witnessed it, and consulted with Caitlyn's mother about her daughter being bullied at school. She was being bullied at school by a group of 5 kids, the kids shamed and insulted Caitlyn, the other students at school knew about it but no one wanted to come forward to the school authorities. school. Caitlyn's mother asked to meet the children's parents and confronted them. She asked their children to stop the bullying and explained to them the consequences her daughter would face. Caitlyn's mother didn't want her daughter to hurt herself and go through what she was going through, so she made changes in Caitlyn's life to keep her safe and out of danger. Caitlyn has been admitted to a center since her experience and is doing well. Caitlyn's mother visits her daughter daily and hopes that Caitlyn will grow up with high self-esteem and forget the hurt she suffered during the two dark months for her. To date, Caitlyn has improved her well-being and has not thought about her bullying experience or the incident she faced. This is an example of bullying among young people, how with simple "name-calling" children feel entitled and think it is okay to put others down. The school administration should have taken more action on the problem and become concerned whenever they notice a change in a student. This is important because children spend the majority of their time in school, the administration must ensure that a child feels safe for the 8 hours they spend in the environment, this is supposed to be a school safety zone. School officials should be accessible so that children feel free to talk and open up to a teacher, counselor, yard leader, etc. about the situation they encounter. Bullying can also affect children with disabilities and special needs, another problem children face. in primary school. “Although only 10 U.S. studies have been conducted on the link between bullying and developmental disabilities, all of these studies found that children with disabilities were two to three times more likely to be bullied than their peers without disabled.” (Disabilities: Insights From Across Fields and Around the World; Marshall, Kendall, Banks & Gover (Eds.), 2009) A child with a disability or special needs is an easy target for bullies because these children are already victims of their problems health. they therefore become vulnerable and easy to target. Children with special health needs are often bullied into having their medications taken away, meaning they are thrown away or hidden and exposed to allergy products by their bullies. Children who need medications like their asthma inhaler or Epi-Pen should have them with them or a school official easily accessible at all times, as they may be needed at any time. Having a special need for medication is not the only way to be bullied by children. When.