BULLYING AND ITS ADVERSE EFFECTS IN THE SOCIETY

Recently, bullying has been one of the major concerns in the society.   A week ago, viral videos of an Atenean kid bullying his schoolmates  took the social media by storm. The videos spiked the interest of netizens who gave various reactions to it. What does bullying truly mean? How can we really avoid being bullied? How can bullying really affect society?

      Bullying

·         Is the act of intentionally inflicting harm or damage to a certain person or group of persons who is unable to avoid getting targeted

May include:

v  Physical Bullying (tripping, hitting, punching, pulling of hair, damaging property)

v  Verbal Bullying (insults, intimidation, harsh and vile threats, teasing)

v  Social Bullying (lying, spreading, false rumors, excluding, damaging someone’s social reputation)

v  Cyberbullying (hurtful texts/comments, hurtful posts on social media, images or videos, imitating others online)

                    

Telltale Signs of Being Bullied

Ø  Frequent tears or anger

Ø  Mood changes

Ø  Depression and anxiety

Ø  Feeling ill in the morning

Ø  Lacking the motivation to go to school

Ø  Change in friend groups

Ø  Unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches

Ø  Lack of appetite

Ø  Change in sleeping patterns

                     

7 WAYS A SCHOOL MAY PREVENT/AVOID BULLYING

1.                              As part of the school’s decorum, a student should be taught positive language towards each other and they should also learn to identify bullying language so that it would be easier for them to avoid the onset of bullying. This practice greatly contributes to the building of an environment where bullying will be less likely to occur…

2.                              There should be an established system protocol in a school to cater the bullying issues that may sooner or later happen in the said school. There should be an immediate action to be executed. The school (Guidance Counselor) should meet the children as well as their parents for them to come up with a settlement or a solution anent the matter at hand.

3.                              There should be classroom discussions about the motivation and effects of bullying to sensitive students and to promote self-awareness among their peers, by letting the other students empathize on the bullies themselves, they may grasp a better overview of the bullies reasoning.

4.                              Professional help would be a great weapon to eliminate bullying. With the help of professionals, the youth would be enlightened on how to handle bullies through role playing and other techniques, not only that but this also helps students grasp a more tangible understanding about bullying.

5.                              There should be school events which focus on bullying. This greatly affects the awareness of students nowadays about the repercussions of being a bully and the sufferings of a victim of bullying.

6.                              Schools should have strong and firm repercussions for bullying. The school should not take a blind eye for a bullying case even if the bully is the president’s son. In this manner, school should do what needs to be done no matter how wealthy or politically powerful the household of the bully may be.

7.                              If the school does not have a support system in place, your PTA board should lobby or suggest to the principal that you should have one.

            

10 THINGS PARENTS CAN DO TO STOP BULLYING

1.                              Recognize the signs of bullying

2.                              Understand what bullying exactly is

3.                              Talk about bullying

4.                              Know your child’s rights

5.                              Model positive social behavior

6.                              Teach your child social skills

7.                              The Bystander: Teach the kids to prevent bullying when they see it

8.                              Coach your child on how to handle teasing and bullying

9.                              If your child is the bully

10.                          Get involved and instill parental guidance

                                      

What Kids Can Do

Are you being bullied? Do you see bullying at your school? There are things you can do to keep yourself and the kids you know safe from bullying.

• Treat Everyone with Respect
• What to Do If You’re Bullied
• Protect Yourself from Cyberbullying
• Stand Up for Others
• Get Involved

Treat Everyone with Respect

Nobody should be mean to others.

• Stop and think before you say or do something that could hurt someone.
• If you feel like being mean to someone, find something else to do. Play a game, watch TV, or talk to a friend.
• Talk to an adult you trust. They can help you find ways to be nicer to others.
• Keep in mind that everyone is different. Not better or worse. Just different.
• If you think you have bullied someone in the past, apologize. Everyone feels better.

                               

What to Do If You’re Bullied

There are things you can do if you are being bullied:

• You may look  in front of the bullies face, and calmly ask him to stop…
• If fighting back or arguing seems to be useless, back off and walk away… it is better if you find an older person to stop the bullying…

There are things you can do to stay safe in the future, too.

• Seek the advise of people you trust and do not keep your feelings to yourself… because that may cause depression…
• Avoid places where bullying may occur.
• Stay near adults and other kids.

                        

• Protect Yourself from Cyberbullying

Bullying does not always happen in person. Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that happens online or through text messages or emails. There are things you can do to protect yourself.

• Always be wary of what you post in social media. You never know what someone will forward. Being kind to others online will help to keep you safe. Do not share anything that could hurt or embarrass anyone.
• Don’t let other kids know your passwords. Even kids that seem like friends could give your password away or use it in ways you don’t want.
• Always be considerate of the people who may view your posts online. Complete strangers? Friends? Friends of friends? Privacy settings let you control who sees what.
• Always keep your parents updated about the things you do online and of course who you’re doing it with… it is important for them to so that it is easier for them to understand your every day life…
• If there is something, a post or a message that really bothers and scares you then tell it immediate to an adult you trust,  the worst case is to report it.

                                          

Stand Up for Others

When you see bullying, there are safe things you can do to make it stop.

• Seek the help of your teachers, parents, and family members to overcome bullying…
• Always be kind to the kids being bullied… not out of pity but because of love and sympathy...

Not saying anything could make it worse for everyone. The kid who is bullying will think it is ok to keep treating others that way.

Get Involved

You can be a leader in preventing bullying in your community.

• Find out more about where and when bullying happens at your school. Think about what could help. Then, share your ideas. There is a good chance that adults don’t know all of what happens. Your friends can go with you to talk to a teacher, counselor, coach, or parent and can add what they think.
• Become a role model to the younger kids in the school by being the voice of the bullied… let the other students understand what the bully and the victim is really experiencing…
• Write a blog, letter, or a message to the editor of a local newspaper, or you may also tweet about bullying.

                                     

The Government Strategy Against Bullying and Violence in the Schools

The latest strategy against bullying clearly maximizes on the importance of parents, teachers, and of course, the students to engage themselves on the prevention of bullying in school or out of school. Its theme is “BULLYING IS OUT,IT IS TIME TO STAND UP”. It is divided into four major parts which is: legislation, action, prevention, and of course mobilization.

Young people, parents, school staff, school administrators, elected officials and community leaders are all invited to participate in the said program, a violence and bullying awareness day should also be conducted  each year around October 2 to coincide with the International Day of Non-Violence.

Legislation

On June 12, 2012, the National Assembly passed Bill 56: An Act to prevent and stop bullying and violence in schools, which involves various amendments to the Education Act and the Act respecting Private education. This Bill sets out the duties and responsibilities of the relevant school stakeholders and their partners.

Action

The Action Plan to Prevent and Deal With Violence in the Schools shall be revised and strengthened by the addition of new measures. These would include holding training activities on good citizenship each year in every school and integrating principles of cybercitizenship into courses over the next two years for them to pass the values that will guide young people in their use of new technologies. In addition, the partnerships established through the agreements made between the school boards, organizations in the

 health and social services network, and different police forces will continue to develop and grow, focused on the goal of fighting bullying and violence in the schools.

                                      

 Let us all understand that bullying is really difficult to prevent but can be countered through various measures. So let us all be conscious and be aware of bullying. Let us all “STOP BULLYING”.

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