What, if anything, should be done about school bullying? Why?
School-bullied -- to death - Teenagers - Salon.com
School-bullied -- to death - Teenagers - Salon.com
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What Should be Done About School Bullying?
- Thread starter Sunstone
- Start date
monta
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This is very sad, I remember a similar case here where one of the bullies continued to text the dead girls phone after she was dead, sick behaviour.
The schools and parents need to stay on top of this, children have far too much unsupervised time on the internet, it's akin to leaving them alone in the house with a sign outside saying ''come on in, the key is in the door''
I am not sure what can be done. Certainly, more of an effort can be made in the school environment, hall monitoring, reducing class size, better education regarding bullying etc, but I am not sure that bullying will ever really go away.
One side effect of the technology boom has been the fact that people that become the target of bullying are now more accessible, for longer than they were when their parents were being bullied. Mom and Dad (generally speaking of my age-ish born in the 70s generally) had to deal with bullying, but everybody went home at night, the bullies at worst could call your house. Parents could make arrangements for phone numbers to be blocked, or since the calls were made on a land line, could speak to the parents of the bully to get the calls to stop. Having your own phone line as a teenager was a relatively rare thing, the use of which was subject to more parental screening. Today, cell phones and texting devices are so ubiquitous that I think parents of my generation are not fully aware of the pervasiveness and utility of the devices. Many, not all, but many, teenagers (and younger) have computers in their bedrooms, or cell phones on the charger on the nightstand. Chat-rooms, text messages, twitter feeds, and social networking sites are constantly updating, and resultingly bullies can continue to taunt and torment their victims around the clock. I think that many parents of my generation don't fully realize this. They tend to think, "I was bullied in high school, and yeah, it sucked but I survived" and don't realize that they had a break from the bullying, the name calling, taunts, threats and ostracization stopped once they got home; teens today don't have that luxury. Bullies leave nasty comments on blog posts, send nasty hateful emails, make threats via text message. Teenagers are also just as reluctant to go to an adult authority figure (beit teacher, school administrator or parent) regarding being bullied, harassed taunted or threatened as they were in their grandparents day; teenagers are also just as angst-ridden as they have been throughout history, and still feel that they are misunderstood, un-loved and all alone in the universe (you remember, "no body has EVAR gone through this but me"), this gets augmented by nasty comments via social networking sites.
How to stop or control this? I don't know. Perhaps parents should be more involved in their childrens lives, pay more attention to their moods and activities, understand that peer pressure affects more than the choice to do intoxicating substances, but that it affects the psychological well being of the teenager as well.
McBell
Resident Sourpuss
A
angellous_evangellous
Guest
hmm.
I was thinking that a firing squad would work nicely. Make an example out of a few of kids and then the fear of God should be in parents to actually discipline their kids.
I was thinking that a firing squad would work nicely. Make an example out of a few of kids and then the fear of God should be in parents to actually discipline their kids.
I think penalties may be appropriate - after all, when this sort of behaviour does happen, I think it needs to be dealt with.
However, looking at the problem of bullying as a whole, I think the thing that's most fundamentally needed is to instill respect in students through the schools. I think this approaches two aspects of the problem:
- bullying is an act of disrespect. You don't call someone names or physically assault him for fun if you respect him as a person.
- I think that bullies often become bullies out of feelings of lack of confidence or self-worth. They get into this mindset where their own worth is measured by their place "above" or below others. IMO, bullying is often a way of pulling someone else down in order to push the bully up.
Instilling respect in children addresses both of these aspects: when you value others, you don't want to bully them, and when you value yourself, you don't feel the need to bully.
Now... what's needed for this depends on a lot of things. To begin with, I think it would be difficult to instill respect in a child or teenager unless the classroom is a respectful environment itself. Beyond that, I think it has to be something that's infused into virtually every aspect of what the student learns; I don't think it does much good to just have an anti-bullying assembly and leave it at that.
That being said, though, I think that sports can be a good opportunity to instill respect... as long as they're approached properly. If you emphasize honourable competition and good sportsmanship, I think this can help. Not so much, though, if you have a coach that emphasizes the value of winning over all else.
For instance, the program I'm involved with as a mentor is built around the principle of "gracious professionalism". I think that one of the big things that kids get out of the program is a sense of the value and benefit of mutual respect.
darkendless
Guardian of Asgaard
Repeat offenders in the school environment should lose their right to education.
Kilgore Trout
Misanthropic Humanist
Adult-administered wedgies, swirlies, and purple-nurples.
tarasan
Well-Known Member
no your too kind cattle prods are far more effective, and scary looking.....
no-body
Well-Known Member
The main problem as I see it is that bullying is seen as kind of a right of passage by most adults and those who say anything against it get accused of being namby-pamby political correct sheltering the children parents. Those who get bullied are then traumatized further when and if they do fight back they are castigated by the school system--all bullies have this sixth sense on how far they can push someone and not get in trouble themselves.
The only solution is to teach the children being bullied how to deal with it psychologically as well as making the teachers more aware of children--I swear some of the things kids say and do right under adults noses is baffling. Punishment won't work if people aren't paying attention.
The only solution is to teach the children being bullied how to deal with it psychologically as well as making the teachers more aware of children--I swear some of the things kids say and do right under adults noses is baffling. Punishment won't work if people aren't paying attention.
DallasApple
Depends Upon My Mood..
Seriously they should be put in the in school suspension..if thats not enough outright suspension for a time..if that doesnt work jouvenal hall..or be put in the special education program depending.
Also I suppose depending on the age of the child and severity of the bullying I think criminal charges where they apply are fine with me.
I dont think there is anyone here that would expect an adult to have to be under penalty of law required to attend daily into an atmosphere of harrasment ..verbally and physically..with no protection.Why not just put them in prison...
Love
Dallas
Also I suppose depending on the age of the child and severity of the bullying I think criminal charges where they apply are fine with me.
I dont think there is anyone here that would expect an adult to have to be under penalty of law required to attend daily into an atmosphere of harrasment ..verbally and physically..with no protection.Why not just put them in prison...
Love
Dallas
I don´t know what needs to be done to stop it. But I guess schools not ignoring it and parents that take an active roll in their children lives play a roll.
I can´t read the article. Tears my heart out. I still remember Felicia... I didn´t know her. Just say her in the papers one day, she had hang herself, and decided to never forget her name. She was also bullied until she did it... I think.
I hate bullying with all my heart
.
I can´t read the article. Tears my heart out. I still remember Felicia... I didn´t know her. Just say her in the papers one day, she had hang herself, and decided to never forget her name. She was also bullied until she did it... I think.
I hate bullying with all my heart
.
Erebus
Well-Known Member
Personally I would like to see normal laws applied to bullies... it's that simple. Some of the things that bullies get away with are completely and utterly illegal and these people are of the right age to be prosecuted. It's disgusting that actions that would get anybody else a prison sentence are worth nothing more than a detention in high school.
If you beat the **** out of somebody, force their head in the toilet, harrass, abuse or otherwise torment them, you should be prosecuted just like anybody else. No messing about, no excuses, no mercy.
Made a mess of your life because you just had to make somebody else suffer? Tough ****. Enjoy your stay in prison with some classmates of a similar mindset to you.
Upset that your precious little Wayne has ruined his life at 15 years old? Tough ****. Perhaps a few lessons in basic social cohesion wouldn't have gone amiss.
Oh yeah... Any teacher who tries to downplay, ignore or excuse bullying should also lose their job and face any relevant charges. Illegal behaviour in high schools should never be considered "normal" or "just what kids do" it should be dealt with swiftly and ruthlessly.
If you beat the **** out of somebody, force their head in the toilet, harrass, abuse or otherwise torment them, you should be prosecuted just like anybody else. No messing about, no excuses, no mercy.
Made a mess of your life because you just had to make somebody else suffer? Tough ****. Enjoy your stay in prison with some classmates of a similar mindset to you.
Upset that your precious little Wayne has ruined his life at 15 years old? Tough ****. Perhaps a few lessons in basic social cohesion wouldn't have gone amiss.
Oh yeah... Any teacher who tries to downplay, ignore or excuse bullying should also lose their job and face any relevant charges. Illegal behaviour in high schools should never be considered "normal" or "just what kids do" it should be dealt with swiftly and ruthlessly.
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tarasan
Well-Known Member
i completely agree the stuff some bullies get away with is foul beyond anything, and its dangerous to let them away with it, they are going into a world where they believe they can do horrendous things to people and get away with it.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
There are alternative schools set where bullies (repeat offenders) are sent to. Talk about a tough environment. Bully meet Bully. I agree a lot of this is due that the person bullying does not expect any consequences for his/her actions. I was bullied in my youth and in retrospect, I should honestly have swallowed my fear, toughened up, and fought back. My cousin did that when he was pushed on and on and said there is one kind of language that some people only understand......he wasn't bothered by that bully anymore.
Erebus
Well-Known Member
Absolutely. I've known plenty of people faced with a rather nasty shock after leaving high school when they try to pull their old stunts. It's destructive on so many levels to consider High schools a "no go" zone when it comes to applying criminal justice.
I remember in this book I read. This girl was bullied, they even beat her. The teachers didn´t do anything. She did. With a bat. No one died, he just got a huge headache. And people blamed her for it...
I agree with this! It's not like anyone (well most people) appreiciate the right to education anyways. If they're not going to behave why should everyone else waste their time trying?
Just_me_Mike
Well-Known Member
Answer is home school. It use to be looked down upon, because people though kids wouldn't get any interaction with other kids. There are plenty of ways for kids to interact with other kids outside of school.