Holly Jones PSY 304 Professor Fryxell BULLYING Bullying can be defined in a number of ways, but the most

common definition is the present participle of the word bully use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants. The recent studies concerning bullying in schools have shown that this epidemic is a serious issue that shows no signs of going away on its own. Each year an estimated 160,000 students stay home in fear of being bullied at school. In addition to this, 4,400 children take their own lives as a direct result of being bullied, making suicide the third leading cause of death for children and young adults. The term bullycide has been coined to refer to suicides as a result of bullying and research shows that suicide rates of children and young adults have grown by more than 50 percent in the last 30 years. (Bullying Statistics, 2009) While the research is mounting in regards to why bullying has become such a problem, especially in the school setting, it is still not entirely clear why some students bully and how they choose their victims. There is much speculation as to how children develop a bullying mindset and the studies show scary statistics in regards to the immediate and permanent mental and physical damage inflicted upon children who are bullied. One thing is for certain the phrase kids will be kids needs to be eradicated from the vocabulary of adults in response to this issue. Children who bully other students do so for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common reasons for bullying include children responding to problems or violence at home, insecurity with themselves, peer pressure, revenge bullying and racism, sexism, homophobia and other differentiating identifiers of others. Problems and/or violence at home can mean a multitude of things. Some studies show that students who live in a single-parent household or live without either of their birth parents are at higher risk of becoming a bully (Rettner, 2010). This is not always the case, but children of single-parent homes or those living without either of their parents may not receive the needed amount of positive attention or the moral/ethical life lessons that parents typically bestow upon their children. Their parents or guardians may be too busy and/or tired from working long hours or multiple jobs while trying to provide for the family at the same time. Some children do not show specific warning signs that would alert parents or guardians to the severity of the issue until it is too late. While some children choose to lash out, either verbally or physically, some children retreat into their own mind and seem to block out everything while inside they are hurting and developing dangerous thoughts and habits. Insecurities with themselves as well as peer pressure is another leading cause of bullying with school aged children. Many students that bully reported feeling inadequate in certain areas of

their life, so they chose to pick on other students who are perceived to be performing even less in these areas in an attempt to boost the bullys self-esteem and gain status among their peers resulting from the negative attention. (Rettner, 2010) Children who bully often have a void to fill and in the school setting, especially in middle and high school when puberty and hormones abound and the struggle to find yourself is ever-present, the emphasis is typically placed upon personal achievements and social status. Racism, sexism, homophobia and other differentiating identifiers in others is often the reason for students to bully others. Children often adopt the opinions and beliefs of adults in their community and society and unfortunately these issues still exists among adults throughout the country and the world. Anything that sets children apart from their peers can be used as a reason to bully, whether it is their socio-economic class, the clothes they wear, their academic or sports performance or lack thereof or religion and culture. Revenge bullying has become a prominent issue in regards to children bullying other children. Seventy-five percent of school-shooting occurrences have been directly linked to bullying as the statistics show that revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings. (MBNBD) The statistics are terrifying and depressing, especially in this category: 1 out of every 20 students has seen a peer with a gun at school, 90 percent of fourth through eighth graders report being victims of bullying, 282,000 students are physically attacked in schools each month, 1 out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying and among students, homicide perpetrators were more than twice as likely as homicide victims to have been bullied by peers. (MBNBD) Cyber-bullying is a major issue now that children are exposed to technology at such young ages and it has been an integral part of their lives since birth for most of them. This can be defined as the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others. Cell phone calls and texts as well as social media websites are the most common areas where cyber-bullying occurs and many students do not tell a parent or trusted adult when cyber-bullying happens to them. Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying. (Bullying Statistics, 2009) Cyber-bullying affects all ages, races, genders, religions and sexual orientations in essence, no one is safe from cyber-bullying. More and more children take their own lives as a result of cyber-bullying each year. Society as a whole as well as constant media reinforcement has fed into the attitudes behind bullying for generations. Now more than ever before young children and teens are faced with very specific perceptions as to what they should look like and what makes them cool according to popular culture. Body image and social status are crucial aspects of both boys and girls selfesteem and no one is immune to the Hollywood-type mindset that America has adopted. Fortunately many famous celebrities are joining the fight against bullying and standing up for the youth of America. Ellen Degeneres (an openly gay comedian/talk show host), Lady Gaga (an

eccentric singer/performer), Katie Perry (singer/performer), Chelsea Handler (comedian/actress/author), Jason Derulo (singer/performer), Kobe Bryant (professional athlete), Justin Bieber (singer), Joe Jonas (singer/actor), Kellan Lutz (actor) and many more famous actors, singers, reality stars and organizations are speaking up to let children know their personal struggles with bullying and why they believe in zero-tolerance. I believe that the most important thing a school can do is to adopt a Zero-Tolerance program regarding bullying. This is definitely easier said than done. Many schools say that they have zero-tolerance, but to accurately enforce such a project requires manpower as well as competency and commitment throughout the entire school staff. This will require collaborative training and policy setting where all faculty members should be present including principals, counselors, teachers, teacher aides, specialists, lunch staff, nurses, custodians and bus drivers. Bullying can happen anywhere and because of a number of triggers so each member of the school staff needs to know the proper ways to address each occurrence as well as know that they have the support of all members of administration. All instances of bullying should be reported and recorded and a policy should be in place pertaining to when and why to notify the parents of both students involved in the bullying incident. This will not only protect the students and the school, but it will help to develop pattern-identifying routines so that schools can begin to recognize when/where/why these issues are happening and assist in adopting and reforming preventative measures. Nearly all schools have a zero-tolerance program in place for violence/weapons as well as drugs. The statistics regarding bullying have shown the prevalence and outcomes associated with this issue and it should be dealt with on the same severity level as violence and drugs in schools. This policy should include any instances of cyber-bullying as well, especially since that will be an easier case to prove and involve parents with. Netiquette should be taught and emphasized in each classroom and in any lesson that works with computers. In the quest for a school-wide anti-bullying policy I believe that it is imperative to involve as many students in as many positive leadership and extra-curricular activities as possible. While an unbalanced focus on sports (or other specific extra-curricular activities) throughout the school has been linked to bullying in the form of players and their friends bullying students who are not as physically inclined, I do still support involving students in these activities because, when adequately taught and supervised, studies have shown that involvement in these aspects of school have been attributed to increased self-esteem, better conflict-resolution skills and peer bonding three major contributors to bullying when found on the opposite end of the spectrum. If the balance between fun, learning and growth is shared with appropriate levels of competition and sportsmanship emphasized throughout sports and other activities these activities can be incredibly beneficial to childrens lives. Not only does it promote positive social interactions and sportsmanship while keeping children active, but it keeps the students off of the streets and guaranteed to be in a supervised setting for longer periods of the day, which will result in less time for students to be exposed to and experience with drugs, alcohol and other negative influences and factors of issues facing our youth. (Nelson, 2010)

I believe that the way to ensure that clubs, groups and teams help fight bullying instead of encourage it is to offer a wide variety of different groups and leadership organizations so that everyone has something that pertains to them. Many schools are now developing Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs that promote understanding and acceptance of GLBT students. Other clubs are being created that support different cultural backgrounds of students in schools. Still more are including Acceptance Clubs where all students are included and encouraged to join to share anything about their lives, cultures and backgrounds that will help to enrich the lives of the student body. The more open and supportive a school is in regards to diversity, the less likely it will be a major issue with bullying. Other school-wide policies and procedures that have been proven to reduce bullying and support conflict-resolution include group assemblies where students are asked to sign the pledge against bullying, incorporating peace treaties for students to sign in an attempt to resolve issues and the implementation of student mentors. One type of group assembly that has proven to be not only a fun, eye-opening experience for students but a successful endeavor against bullying is Challenge Day. Their slogan is Notice. Choose. Act. which encourages children to take responsibility and be accountable for their actions and the effect that they have on others. They utilize a representation of love and support through frequent displays of the ASL (American Sign Language) hand signal for love. Challenge Day requires students who are selected (depending on the population of the school) participate in an all-day assembly led by two professional Challenge Day Ambassadors. They begin the day with a lot of high energy, fun, silly and creative activities that are used as icebreakers to help the students feel comfortable and more open-minded in this environment. The second half of the day is when the leaders begin to share some hardships that theyve endured and to point out that we are all more alike than we are different. The students observe a simple presentation outlining the facts of life regarding what children have been told from a young age that is acceptable for boys and girls as well as the above the waterline activity where students learn that the ten percent of an iceberg that is seen above the waterline is representative of the amount of a person that they allow to be seen, keeping ninety percent hidden within themselves. The leaders point out the contrast between the real and fake aspects associated with this and challenge students to get real. Next they are split into predetermined small groups of 5-8 students, leaders and faculty members where they pull their chairs into a circle so tight that their knees are all touching. This is called the If you really knew me activity. They are asked to close their eyes and think about what they endure every day and just what it takes to be who they are. What do they deal with in school? Out of school? What do they worry about? Each participant then has a few minutes to repeat that phrase and complete it with specifics about their lives, whether it was the difficulty with losing a friend, peer pressure stresses, trouble and abuse at home, school pressures and demands or just anything that is on their mind that people would know if they really knew them.

After these activities the students are asked to stand on one side of the room facing the opposite side. A line has been drawn (usually with colored masking tape) across the floor about halfway through the room. One leader will stand on the side and call out specific situations and if that has happened to the student then they are asked to cross the line and turn to face the remaining students on the other side of the line. Students who did not have to cross are asked to display their support by holding up the ASL hand symbol for love and to think about what the people who crossed feel like and consider if anyone had to cross that line because of them. This activity is called the Power Shuffle and is considered among the leaders as one of the most powerful parts of Challenge Day because students can finally see that they are not the only ones going through tough times and difficult situations. Alternatively bullies get a chance to see the impact they have on others and consider the multitude of outside factors that the bullied students are already dealing with without the impact of the repeated harassment and bullying inflicted once they arrive at school. It is an activity that allows students to really open their eyes and gain some perspective on what it is like to be their peers. Challenge Day has been so powerful and impactful for so many schools throughout America. MTV picked up a TV show based on schools before, during and after Challenge Day titled If You Really Knew Me. Many schools have continued the message spread at Challenge Day through peer-led assemblies and meetings where upper classmen speak to and encourage under classmen to stop bullying in their school and stand up for those who are bullied. Other schools have incorporated a new leadership class/club where students continue to spread the message and hold regular meetings for students going through tough times and encourage them to attend a safe environment with their peers where they can talk about and sort out many issues that they are facing on a daily basis. I would definitely embrace being a Challenge Day Ambassador at my school and work to support any and all clubs/groups that develop as a result of this message. Peace Treaties have been adopted by some administrations throughout the country. This is a policy where students have a chance to verbalize their issues to an unbiased third party and then be forced to listen to the opinion/feelings of the other students involved. This will eliminate any he said, she said issues that are extremely prevalent in middle and high schools. Also, students are then counseled as to how to resolve this issue and are required to sign a peace treaty that outlines the appropriate behavior and the issues addressed in the meeting. I believe that this is a way for students to learn to verbalize their concerns, issues and problems as well as reflect on their behavior and learn to empathize with the other students involved because they are hearing their side of the story and have to collaborate on a solution. All reports of bullying depend on the students willingness to report issues to the appropriate people, which isnt always what happens when a student is bullied. A deeper sense of responsibility and community contributions must be instilled in the students each and every day

to promote a safe environment where students feel comfortable coming to peers and/or adults to assist with their issues.

Works Cited "About Bullying." STOMP Out Bullying. STOMP Out Bullying, 2007. Web. 03 May 2012. <http://www.stompoutbullying.org/aboutbullying.php>. "Bully Facts & Statistics." Bully Facts & Statistics. Make Beats Not Beat Downs, 2009. Web. 03 May 2012. <http://www.makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org/facts_new.html>. "Bullying and Suicide." Bullying Statistics. Bullying Statistics, 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-and-suicide.html>. "THE CHALLENGE DAY VISION & MISSION." Challenge Day. Challenge Day 2002-2012, 2002. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. <http://challengeday.org/>. "Cyber Bullying Statistics." Bullying Statistics. Bullying Statistics, 2009. Web. 02 May 2012. <http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html>. Formica, Michael J. "Enlightened Living." Ego, Insecurity and the Destructive Narcissist. 6 Nov. 2009. Web. 01 May 2012. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/enlightened-living/200911/egoinsecurity-and-the-destructive-narcissist>. Nelson, Rachel. "What Are the Benefits of Having Kids Involved in Sports?" LIVESTRONG.COM. Demand Media Inc., 12 Aug. 2010. Web. 03 May 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/202199-what-are-the-benefits-of-having-kids-involved-insports/>. Rettner, Rachael. "Bullies on Bullying: Why We Do It." LiveScience.com. 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 01 May 2012. <http://www.livescience.com/11163-bullies-bullying.html>.