According to an article from
dosomething.org, each year over 3.2 million students are victim to bullying
(“11 Facts About Bullying”). Every day children ranging in age from six to
approximately 18 are being bullied in schools both public and private. According
to a Clemson University study that surveyed 524,054 students and 1,593 schools
across the nation over the last two years, 17 percent of children, grades three
through 12 reported that they had been bullied two to three times a month if
not more (Carroll). The problem is that the bullying in schools elementary
through high school continues to go unnoticed and unpunished by the adults in
the school. Although bullying can happen outside of school, reports say that it
is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack
or intimidation by other students (PEP). Anti bulling programs need to be
enforced in schools because every day a child’s life is in danger due to a
bully. The schools top priority should be to ensure that the students attending
have a safe learning environment where they do not feel fear. In an article
from Time Magazine, John Cloud agrees: “Bullies can be anywhere, but there is no
place they show up more than in schools” (“When Bullying Turns Deadly: Can it
Be Stopped?”). Students should not have to fear attending school on a daily
basis because of a bully.
With the
installment of anti bullying programs in schools, awareness would be raised
about bullying and students would be more aware of the affects it has on the
victims. An article from parents.com states that “since 2010, federal funds and
grants have been provided to 11 schools with deep-rooted bullying problems, and
the grants also include a survey for students that gives them a voice
to address bullying openly” (Huang). The number of schools in the United
States, both public and private together exceeds 132,000. To only have anti
bullying programs in 11 schools is obscene because that leaves millions of
children still ignorant to the affects of bullying on others. Anti Bullying
programs would be a valuable addition to schools and their students. My own
experiences with bullying have opened my eyes to this very issue. My cousin who
is now a sophomore in high school has been bullied for the past two years
because of her weight. She is on the cheer leading squad and is extremely
intelligent, however, her peers feel it necessary to constantly say outrageous
things to her about her weight. This has lead to a very rough journey for her
in the past two years. She has fallen victim to an eating disorder along with
feeling the need to work out excessively. If the students that were bullying my
cousin knew the effects it is having on her, I believe that they would stop.
Fig. 1. This image explains that
people who use hurtful words as a form of bullying hurt their victims just as
much as physical bullying can hurt (Behance).
Bullying
can lead to a decrease in the victim’s educational process. According to an
article from dosomething.org, approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day
because of bullying (“11 Facts About Bullying”). Attending classes in school is
a necessary condition for the success of the students learning in each subject.
When students do not attend their classes multiple days of the week, they are
more likely to do poorly in them due to the fact that they will not know the
material of the courses. In an article from The Huffington Post, it is stated that
those who are bullied also suffer academically. The results of the study
mentioned in the Huffington Post article state that: “students who reported
being bullied in tenth grade saw a slight decrease in GPA by twelfth grade” (“Bullying
Victims See Lower GPA's, Particularly High Achieving Blacks and Latinos, Study
Shows"). The study showed that black and Asian students had a 0.3 decrease
in GPA, and Latinos had a 0.5 decrease in GPA (“Bullying Victims See Lower
GPA's, Particularly High Achieving Blacks and Latinos, Study Shows"). In today’s
society, education is an extremely important asset to obtain. Unfortunately,
learning is far more difficult for those being bullied due to the affects on children’s
psyches according to Terri Baltz, author of “Psychological
Effects of Bullying in an Educational Setting,” an article from examiner.com.
In extreme cases, however, students will drop out of school altogether. According
to the article “Bullying Statistics,” one out of every ten students that drops
out of school does so because of repeated bullying (PEP). Thus, anti bullying programs would not only help raise
awareness of the issue at hand, but would also allow victims to be relieved of
the stresses of bullying and focus on their studies.
It is common for students that fall
victim to bullying to reach a breaking point, which can lead to a dangerous
rebellion against those who bullied them. According to an article from
a4kclub.org, 87 percent of students surveyed said that shootings are motivated
by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them” (“Bullying Statistics”). In
instances of gun violence in schools, the shooter puts not only the targets in
danger, but the other students around them as well. School shootings are often
portrayed in television shows and in movies. In the show “One Tree Hill,” there
is a character named Jimmy who is a victim of bullying throughout the high
school years of the series. In his last episode, he brings a gun to school and
causes mayhem among the student body. In the end one student is shot as well as
himself. Although statistics say that revenge is the strongest motivator for
school shootings, the student behind the gun is often just as scared as the
students being threatened by it. According to the article “Bullying
Statistics,” one out of 20 students have seen a student with a gun at school
(PEP). I believe that anti bullying programs in schools would prevent bullying
and therefore would keep schools safer as there would be less victims wanting
to take revenge on those who bullied them.
The most prominent issue with
bullying is that it often leads to the suicide of the young victims. The
numbers for youth suicide are shocking. According to an article from
nydailynews.com, “one in six high school students has seriously considered
suicide, and one in twelve has attempted it, according to the semi annual
survey on youth risk behavior published by the Centers of Disease Control and
Prevention” (Neal). The young generations that are attending school now are the
people of the future. This world will rely on the youth to be educated and
intelligent and able to continue to advance our society for the better. Yale
University did a study that showed bullying victims are about five times more likely
to consider suicide than non-victims (Young). With such a high suicide rate,
brilliant young people are dying every day. This is not a problem to be taken lightly.
The article continues: “Overall, the suicide rate among teens has climbed in
the past few years, from 6.3 percent in 2009 to 7.8 percent in 2011 numbers
which reflect the trend gaining national attention as more teen suicides are
reported as a result of bullying” (Neal). This is a problem that needs the
attention of schools around the country. If the bullies of today were educated
on what the outcome of their bullying could be, they would be less likely to
continue victimizing people.
Fig. 2.
This image shows the extreme lengths that victims of bullying go to, to make
the terror stop (Web Design Burn).
Despite all of the horrible outcomes
as a result of bullying, some argue that although bullying does exist, it is
just “kids being kids.” The children being bullied are far too sensitive, which
can often times make bullying seem worse than it actually is. In fact, some will say the anti bullying
programs are the problem, rather than the solution. According to an article by
Kenneth Wangner, he believes: “Government mandated anti bullying programs
provide a disservice to our youth by discouraging self-authorization and
empowerment in the face of oppression” (Wangner). This is a prime example of someone
who believes that anti bullying programs will not fully stop those who are
determined to bully. Michael Josephson, author of an article called “We Don’t
Need Anti Bullying Programs 712.5,” states that: “Instead of anti bullying
programs, we need a pro-kindness strategy” (Josephson). He continues: “We need
to create a culture of kindness, encouraging a spirit of generosity and love
where differences are accepted and celebrated rather than targeted”
(Josephson). Using the strategy that Josephson mentions would cut the need for
the anti bullying programs that many people find to be highly ineffective.
Anti bullying programs do have a
high success rate. According to another article from the Huffington Post,
author David Crary states: “There's been a sharp drop in the percentage
of America's children being bullied or beaten up by their peers, according to a
new national survey by experts who believe anti-bullying programs are having an
impact” (Crary). The people that believe anti bullying programs are counter
productive are wrong. I believe this because although they may not help every
one, the programs do help a high percentage of the students. In a study done by
the US Department of Justice, they found that the percentage of children that
had been physically bullied over the past year has declined from 22 percent in
2003, to under 15 percent in 2008 (Crary). If adults involved in the school
systems were to continue to allow students to feel “empowerment” by bullying,
there would be more drop outs, more school shootings, and more suicides among
the young generations. This is yet another reason why the people of the
opposing argument are wrong in their solutions to bullying. Lastly, in the same
article from The Huffington Post, Crary describes one of the more successful
anti bullying programs, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. He states: “It
is a comprehensive program that includes forming an anti-bullying committee,
training staff to intervene immediately if they observe bullying and meeting
with students and parents when problems occur” (Crary). As these examples show,
anti bullying programs can be effective in most schools that attempt them.
Creating
anti bullying programs through the schools of the United States would greatly
help the victims to feel safer in their learning environment. According to
Secretary of education, Arne Duncan, “The fact is that no school can be a great
school until it is a safe school first. A positive school climate is
foundational to start academic achievement” (Duncan). Duncan is correct in his statement;
the youth of today is what our society’s future relies on. The young
generations are the future and in order for them to be successful they need to
have the best possible educational experience. Bullying often gets in the way
of this. If more adults in the school systems step up to fight to have anti
bullying programs in their schools I believe that they will be a success. Although
some people may argue that anti bullying programs do not work in the school
systems, using the programs are more helpful than not enforcing any kind of
information on the issue at all.
