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A Bully-Free Zone
The school bell rings and students rush out of their
classes to proceed on with their busy lives. Hesitant, Jonathan slowly
walks out of his class largely bombarded with thoughts of fear and
insecurity, cautiously scrutinizing the halls hoping to escape the
promised actions of his bully. As Jonathan proceeds through the
corridors, a safe departure from the hands of his oppressor seems
unthinkable. Outside the school waiting is a six-foot tall, two-hundred
pound individual wearing a thick leather jacket. When he notices
Jonathan, he belligerently approaches him with a violent shove and a
crushing blow to the chest. Unable to neither defend himself nor pacify
the situation, the bully quickly steals the money in Jonathan's pocket
with pleasure and satisfaction. Unfortunately, it is this type of horror
that confronts the lives of an often-ignored population of students all
over the country. Bullying is the reprehensible act of causing
intentional harm to others, mentally and/or physically. Although
physical assault occurs more predominantly, bullying can take on many
forms, namely: verbal harassment, such as name-calling or teasing, and
social harassment which includes threatening or exclusion. Ultimately,
this treatment can lead to numerous physical and psychological long and
short-term effects. In order reduce the treacheries of bullying at
school and to fully address the issue, teachers, students, and victims
must be able to understand the bully at a deeper level in terms of any
particular behaviours and characteristics.
A bully is a quarrelsome, overbearing person who
habitually badgers and intimidates others (Random House, 2006).
Individuals who behave in this manner usually do it either to gain power
over another person, be perceived as popular, or to get attention from
their peers or those observing their actions. In fact, Crothers &
Levinson (2004) have identified that most bullies act out of jealousy or
self-insecurities as a result of being bullied previously themselves.
Every child is different and has different things happening in their
lives. Sometimes conditions at home, such as parents divorcing or a sick
parent, or not getting enough attention from friends, parents, or
teachers can trigger characteristic feelings of anger and discontent
towards other students. Research studies have also shown that some
bullies come from families where parents are authoritarian, hostile, and
rejecting, have poor problem-solving skills, and advocate fighting-back
at the least provocation (Batsche & Knoff, 1994). In conditions such as
these, children lose insight of the benefits that come from making
friends or coming to a truce with fellow classmates. If a child is
constantly exposed to violence and abuse at home, a student who has not
been stimulated otherwise will come to think that bullying is normal and
will more likely display very little compassion and empathy towards
those they inflict harm upon.
Furthermore, there is also a clear link that students
who bully at a young age have problems with the law in their adulthood.
Perry et al. (1988) discovered that extreme victims of bullies
usually become the most aggressive bullies. This suggests that one bully
spawns another bully and the cycle continues. In fact, victims of abuse
are often more likely to be disruptive, aggressive, and violent than
their non-abused counterparts (Ma, 2001). It is apparent that bullies
possess several distinct behavioural characteristics; one aspect that
nearly all bullies share in common is how little they resemble one
another. Some are big, some are small, while some are male, and others
are female. This poses an issue for educators because it is often
difficult trying to distinguish a bully by simply examining their
physical appearance. Consequently, in order to fully understand the
actions of a bully, it is appropriate for an educator to know how to get
inside the mind of a bully.
Bullying causes immediate harm and distress to the
student who is victimized and has negative long-term consequences for
the victim’s mental health (Farrington, 1993), which in some cases can
lead to suicide. Students who are excluded by their bully from classroom
activities or threatened to be verbally abused in front their classmates
or physically harmed after school, becomes a major form of social
stress. When a student is bullied, anything that suggests the
possibility of danger becomes a higher priority than anything else on
their mind, since the brain’s main job is to prioritize information
relative to survival first, before all else (Bluestein, 2006). As a
result, students who are bullied usually become less attentive in class,
loss their sense of concentration, and give-up quite easily. In
addition, they are less able to hear what is being said to them or asked
of them in class, and as a result, they tend to do poorly in class
activities, may not complete their homework, and their overall grades
eventually drop. An educator who understands the detrimental effects of
stress and bullying on the student will responsibly analyze the cause of
the problem and provide objective solutions for the student to consider
when in conflict. Indeed, teachers must also take the time to address
this issue to their class wholly – even if it results in less time to
teach the whole curriculum – as a way to prevent further occurrences of
bullying.
In order to effectively stop bullying at school,
teacher intervention is vital. Whether bullying is taking place in the
classroom or out on the playground, teachers must readily observe the
aggressive interactions between a bully and their victim. Unfortunately,
many students report that teachers do not constantly intervene to stop
bullying. One study found that 25 per cent of students indicated that
teachers usually intervened, in contrast to 75 per cent of teachers
reported that they usually intervened (Ziegler & Rosenstein-Manner,
1991). Teachers are usually uncertain about how to respond to bullying
or simply identify mild bullying as typical childhood behaviour.
Nevertheless, teachers often consider direct bullying, such as physical
harassment and threats more serious than indirect incidents, such as
verbal harassment or exclusion. This is deeply a cause of concern
because regardless of what type or form of bullying takes place at
school, serious ramifications are always involved. The saying sticks and
stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt was obviously
inspired by a bully who probably thought name-calling or teasing another
person is not as hurtful as causing physical harm. As an educator, it is
absolutely necessary to emphasize the many forms of direct and indirect
bullying and the long-term effects they render on the student, such as
the risk of developing psychological and psychiatric problems that may
continue into adulthood (Mishna et al., 2005).
All teachers must be willing to address bullying by identifying its
causes, responding to the needs of those inflicted, promoting strategies
that can help victims cope with bullies, and strategies to reduce
bullying within the school. A responsible teacher may consider
investigating the situation by talking to the victim and the bully;
informing their parents to arrange a meeting to discuss any possible
solutions; follow up on the issue by communicating with the victim, the
parents and staff; monitor their classroom behaviour, and finally, if
the problem persists, decide on a justly punishment. To prevent bullying
from happening, a teacher can also emphasize caring, respect, and safety
in the classroom; enforce classroom anti-bully rules; encourage positive
peer relations, and/or setup a student drop box where students can
report bullying incidents. Overall, by incorporating these strategies,
students will feel safer, happier, and help to relieve the anxiety
bullied students face at school.
