Bullying

Bullying Self Directed Learning Paper - Bullying Bullying is any repeated action against an individual or group of people that is done with the intent to hurt, offend or upset a victim leading them to feel threatened, distressed or harmed in some way. It can put great stress on young people’s lives as it is becoming more frequent within schools with approximately one third of American children reporting being victims of bullying (Newman, 2005, pg-343). Bullying can occur in any setting and is very common in schools. This paper investigates the different components of bullying with a focus on how school counsellors can help prevent the issue and take the necessary steps to reduce the occurrence. It is important to recognize and understand the dynamics of bullying, specifically the bully, victim, and bystander profiles. School bullies usually exhibit bullying behaviours so they will be perceived as popular or tough by their fellow students. Often a bully will have low self-esteem or have been bullied previously and they are acting in such a way to make themselves feel more powerful. Researchers have identified that bullies have certain characteristics such as quickness to anger and use of force, addiction to aggressive behaviours, mistaking others' actions as hostile and concern with preserving self image (Hazler, Carney, Green, Powell, & Jolly, 1997, pg 3-12). If not detected and helped these people will continue this bad behaviour into the workplace and adulthood believing there is nothing wrong with their actions. • Home Page» • Miscellaneous Research Papers BullyIng In School It was a bright sunny Saturday morning. All the neighborhood children were playing soccer at the homeowners' picnic. There was a new kid on the block; a quiet fellow by name of Mustafa. I saw him sitting with him mother the whole time. He never came to play with the other children. I automatically termed him a ‘mama's boy'. So I invited him to play with us. At first he refused. Ultimately him mother convinced to come and play with us and that we were really harmless and that it would be really good for him. What nobody else knew was that I did not invite him to play because I wanted to play with him. I only wanted to make fun of him, and for that I needed him to leave his mother's lap. As soon as he came to play I started to make fun of him. On hearing what I had to say about the innocent kid, all the others joined in teasing him. It was the first time that boy had come to play with us and we made him cry. Now the nickname ‘glue Mustafa' (because he was always glued to his mother) stayed with him for a very long time. Eventually he got fed up. He told the other kids and me on many occasions to stop teasing him. He could not complain to anybody because nobody thought it was really that bad. And so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He figured that the only way he could defend himself was to be part of a gang. And so at the tender age of 14 he was already a part of the ‘Iggypura'. Good morning to you all. I want to tell you about bullying little children in school. Bullying can have a far worse outcome on the student than we could ever imagine. According to Time magazine, approximately 47% of sixth graders admitted to being bullied at least once in five school days. According to news 14 Carolina, victims being bullied may experience isolation and lower grades immediately and in the long run have higher levels of depression in their early 20's and fewer friends. The Role of Schools and Education (Marxist/conflict theorist point of view) When our professor told us the first week that we might find some of the ideas regarding sociology of education a bit on the depressing side, he wasn't kidding. Though functionalists and conflict theorists are essentially the direct opposite of each other in their basic tenets (discussed in earlier blogs), both are similar in that they downplay the role of schools, and thus formal education, in "society." Marxist theory states the function of schools is to slot people in their appropriate positions and make them feel happy and content with it. So, if your father works in the trades, you are more likely to get streamed into the shop classes etc, and the schools will train you for your predestined place in the economy. I'm not saying I agree with the theory, but looking back at my schooling some of it does make sense. The school I went to had a large farming population, and even though it wasn't obvious at the time, it seemed to have worked that way. A majority of those students were slotted away from the academic courses, to which they seemed fairly content with. They knew that school was important for the next few years, but ultimately their place in "society" was already in place for them. Of course, there are always exceptions to this idea. The fact that schools are ultimately part of the superstructure, meaning they are viewed as institutions that regulate behaviour to make economic structures work, is a depressing thought. Because school reform cannot change "society" by making it better or more fair, what does this say about educators' I was raised to believe that teachers can potentially have a huge impact in students' lives through the school system, when in reality it is all based on the economy, because money means power and is what drives "society". It just makes you think, if there's a relatively weak link between skills and knowledge taught in schools and job placements, what really is our role as educators' According to marxist theorists, our role is really about indicating right attitudes in terms of loyalty, compliance, docility, etc. We're more like guides, who help them uncover their predetermined role in society. I struggle with this theory. The last topic I'd like to touch on is regarding Randall Collins' idea of "The Credential Society." In his work, he argues that most educational credentials are useless in "society." And after we watched the youtube clip "5 Minute University" by Guido Sarducci, it got me thinking. Is that really all post-seconday education is all about, to give us the credentials to up our status in "society"' By the time I graduate and pursue a teaching career, will all the money, time, and effort I put into schooling be a reflection in my teaching' Or will it simply separate myself from others in that I obtained a higher GPA and obtained higher credentials' I sure hope my investment gives me more than just a degree. School policies to stop bullying All schools have to have a policy in place regarding how to deal with bullies, this policy is required by law but schools may have different policies. None of the policies have been studied over the long term so it is hard to say if one works better than another but here are some of the policies that schools have to help combat bullying: The support or no blame method In this method the victim of the bully is asked to draw pictures or write a story or poem about the effects bullying has had on them, a meeting will then be held between a teacher and a group of children including the bully. Also in the group will be children who have witnessed the attacks and some that haven’t. The teacher will then show the group the victim’s drawings or story and explain to the group the victim’s feelings and the effect bullying has had on them. The group is then open to discussion to find ways of finding a solution. The principle behind this is not to put blame on the bully in the hope that by doing so they will not feel threatened and is part of the solution rather than the problem. Those in the group who witnessed the attacks are meant to see that by doing nothing they condoned the bullying. The group as a whole are asked for any ideas to solutions to stop bullying and responsibility is put on the group rather than a single person. The group will then be asked to carry out the solutions for a week and then they meet up again to discuss what if anything has been achieved. Counseling between the bully and the victim The idea is to bring the two together in a room with a teacher and let them both talk over their feelings, the victim has a chance to tell the bully the effect bullying has had and the bully can talk about why he/she feels that they act as they do. Circle time This policy is used mainly with younger children, who are experiencing bullying, children are encouraged to sit on the carpet in a circle and talk about how bullying makes them feel. Children are encouraged to listen to each other and to respect each others feelings. Peer group programmes This is a strategy that is widely used in schools and involves choosing pupils who will act as peer councillors, the idea behind it is that the whole school knows bullying won’t be tolerated so children who are new to the school moving up from juniors are assured that the school is a bully free zone and bullying is dealt with quickly. The children chosen as peer councillors undergo training into the various effects bullying has on people and how to care for children who are being bullied. Some schools also have a box system whereby if someone is being bullied but they don’t want to approach the peer group then they can leave a message with their name on it to be collected. Text messaging and e-mails can also be sent and the whole programme is overseen by a teacher.