Best Practices for Preventing or Reducing Bullying in Schools - Report Example

Project: Youth Media Youth Intervention Introduction and history The word bully was first used in 1530s that was used as sweetheart and applied to both sexes from the Dutch word boi, “lover brother” which a diminutive high German boule “brother” the world evolved while deteriorating its meaning where around 17th century it was used to mean “fine fellow” to “harasser of the weak” and latter as “the protector of a prostitute." Bullying is taken as the use of unwanted aggressive force, threat or coercions which are aimed at abusing or intimidating and aggressively imposes domination over others. The behaviour is mainly repeated or habitual. This behaviour mainly is triggered by an imbalance of physical or the social power. Burring can involve verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion and such acts which may be directed repeatedly towards particular targets. The verb bully that is used to mean forcing its way aggressively or by through intimidation, the term may also apply to any life experience where an individual may be motivated primarily by intimidating instead of positive adventures like mutually shared interests and other benefits. The imbalances that sometimes are used as justification and rationalizations for such behaviour include differences in lineage, strength, size and ability, behaviour, body language, personality reputation sexuality, appearance, class, gender religion and race. When bullying is done by a group of people it is then referred to as mobbing. Bullying varies from simple one-on –one bullying to more complex bullying where the potential bully may have his own grouping and followers who seem to assist the primary bully in their activities. Bullying is usually found in schools and workplace. According to researchers, a bullying culture is developed in the context where humans interact with each other which is mainly started and approved by the most influential within the group (Witted, 2005). The LGBT which means the lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender advocates for a safe environment for all youth whether they are straight or LGBT. According to them, all youth can thrive when well supported without considering their sexual orientations which out bulling them. High-level forms of violence which are identify like; assault and cases of murder usually receive the attention from media and the law enforcing officers. However, low forms of violence such as bullying have are not meet by any circumstances. In the recent past bullying has started to attract to be recognised and also recorded as a separate and distinct offence this has been proved by well documented cases that have been recorded over the centuries. Where Virginia Woolf considered fascism to be bullying and wrote to Hitler and the Nazis in 1934 as brutal bullies. However the concepts of gender identity and another transgender identity are found to differ from what is usually described as a sexual orientation. This is mainly because sexual orientation describes an individual’s enduring physical, romantic emotional and other kind of spiritual attraction to another person. Nevertheless, the distinction between sexual orientation and gender, throughout the history which mainly include the gay, lesbians and the bisexual subculture was often perceived as the only place where gender-variant people were openly socially accepted in the gender role and felt a sense of belonging. Connectively, members of the transgender community would often continue in their struggle to be accepted in the society, they are forming movements and taking campaigns to try to educate people on how to accept the LBGT peers among them in the society (Kathleen, 2008). Anti-Bullying Movements In the early 2000s, a cultural movement developed which was fighting against popularity in the English-speaking world that was conceived in Canada in 2000 by an anti bullying activist known as bill Besley. Many other similar movements were founded which helped fight bullying in the region. Connectively according to research there are three different types of bullying which is abuse, physical and emotional which is also described as verbal bullying. Nevertheless bullying in general involves coercion that is aimed at intimidating a subject who is being bullied. Bullying behaviour mainly includes name calling, verbal or written abuse, exclusion from activities, social situation, and may also involve physical abuse. The US national centre for education statistics that carried a research in 2007, found out that approximately 32% of US school children reported being bullied at school by another school going children. Additionally nearly 4% reported being cyber bullied by either known or unknown persons. Bullying In General The institution classified bullying into two categories that are direct bullying and indirect bullying which is also known as social aggression. According to them, direct bullying mainly involves a great deal of physical aggression such as; poking, shoving and, punching and kicking, beating stabbing, pulling hair, scratching, biting scarping pinching, slapping choking and throwing things (Kathleen, 2008). On the other hand, the indirect social aggression involves attempting and socially isolating the target that is achieved through a variety of techniques like declining to socialize with the targeted individuals. Hence bullying other people who wish to socialize with the target, thereby spreading false gossip of the target, criticising the dressing manner of the target or even discriminating the sex preference of the target. The institution found out that there is a significant difference in how bullying manifest itself between the sexes one belong to. Males who are known to be more aggressive are likely to be physically aggressive whereas females. On the other hand, tend to favour exclusion and mockery to bully their subjects, however, the trend has been noted to change as females are also becoming more physical in their bullying. When the target is perceived to be stronger than the bullies or where they think that a physical aggression may cause problems to them such as criminal charges or they may understand physical aggression as immature, the bullies then adopt for exclusion and mockery (Kathleen, 2008). Lesbian and gay youths are more exposed to bullying that the straight sex oriented youths the LGBT suffers more bullying and other negative effects. The LGBT teens in the United States have reported experiencing devastating amounts of anti-LGBT bullying. The study which was conducted by the national survey from the gay, lesbian and straight education network GLSEN concluded that about nine percent teens in the LGBT have been reported to have been verbally harassed at school because other their choice of sexual orientation. Bullies and Their Accomplices Many factors have been found out to be the main motives to bullying this include resentment and envy, the self esteems, of bullies has also produced equivocal results where bullies are arrogant and are also known to use bullying as a tool to hide a shame and conceal an anxiety. Therefore, boost their self esteem by undermining and demeaning others that make the bullies feel empowered. Additionally bullies may bully out of jealousy, the tend to think its the culture of the environment that since they were bullied than the trend should continue as the orientation to be part of the environment hence repeating what was done to them. Persons who are mostly found to be bullies have some personality traits which appear to be in common as personality disorder, depression, being hot tempered, and use of force, addiction to be involved in aggressive behaviours, high concerns with preserving self image and also engaging in obsessive or rigid actions. When these character traits are combined they may cause the bullying behaviour to be more accelerated. Additionally research shows that bullies may be inclined towards negativity that may results in poor performance, in academics. This is mainly because the bully has problems solving problems with others and academic incapability, this behaviour is mainly due to negative attitudes and other beliefs about others, the feeling of have towards themselves which comes from a family environment that is characterised by negative beliefs about others and being brought up in a family environment that is characterized by conflict and poor parenting, where they perceive school as negative (Witted, 2005). On the contrarily, researchers suggest that bullies and thought to have a social standing among their peers, while, on the other hand, targets are emotionally distressed and mainly socially marginalized this makes the bullies like schools are they think that the place they show their strength will never take a sick day off from school. Nevertheless bullies are often known to create the illusion believe that they have the support of the majority present this instils fear of speaking out and airing their problems in protest of being bullied. It has been observed that unless the bully mentality if challenged in its early stages of development in a group it tends to become an accepted norm and continues to be practised within the group that may become an accepted culture in the group. In groups with the bully mentality, where it has been allowed to become a dominating factor in the group situation, abuse and injustice tend to become a predictable part of a group experience where bystanders are mainly found to be unwilling to recognize the costs that silence may have to target alternatively, the bystanders to bullying which are known to watch it happen are often unable or unwilling to help and empathise with the victim no matter how they feel about the bully. The unwillingness of bystanders to expend this type of energies to undertake this risk that bullies rely upon to maintain theyre powered within an institution. The behaviour may make the bullying culture grow given time. Bystanders should, however, stand with a clear communication and vivid expectations by intervening and increasing individual self efficacy to show that bullying is a moral wrong activity (Westhues, 1998). The children who are exposed to abusive behaviour are at high risk of stress related illness which can sometimes lead to long time emotional behaviour problems, loneliness, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem increasing vulnerability to disease and maybe suicide. This is a result of social difficulties that may lead to posttraumatic stress disorder and inability to start and forming relationships mainly in the youth between the ages of 15 to 25 where research shows that about 25 children in the UK commit suicide for being bullied by others. Bulling can lead to adult vices. Research shows that serial killers were frequently bullied through direct and indirect methods as children this is due to rejection and the ridicule they are exposed to when they are children that make them tend to hate everyone. Nevertheless, bullying can also have positive effects on the targets this can be attributed to the believe that bullying can teach life lessons and also instil health and how to manage disputes that will boost their ability to interact with others. Research suggests that if these teenagers are able to stand up for themselves when attacked by enemies where they seek respect from teachers and fellow students if they repay a hostility in kind, which forms. Bullying can also make targets adopt a better social and physical lifestyle changes that can result in high physical and mental health over the long term. Bully target have also been noted to develop health and other coping strategies which include standing up for themselves in a way that it has acted to be re-balance of former imbalances of power, this has been attributed to the targets become a better person. This has stimulated to teaching and of such of such anti bullying coping skills to the would-be- targets and others who have been found to be an effective long term means of reducing bullying incidence rate and other valuable skilful individuals (Kathleen, 2008). It is clearly evident that large numbers do not approve bullying be it to LGBT or any other person, although only very few will intervene on the behalf of the target but most of them will choose to remain as bystanders research shows that 85% of bulling incidents will have bystanders involved either in teasing the victim, enjoying and laughing at the scene created which stimulated the bully or even egging on the bully. This is mainly because when the bully encounters no negative response from observers in encourages continuation of the behaviour. However, there are reason that makes an individual not to be involved to intervene, this include the vicarious satisfaction got in the bullying or the fear of risk becoming the next target when they intervene. Additionally the intuitive understanding that others will be unwilling to help them if the next time they shall be unwilling to assist them if they become next to be targeted will strengthens their motivation to continue more passive (Witted, 2005). Teachers in schools should also take part in the intervention by teaching students the virtue of appreciating other peoples choices in their lifestyles this include their sexual orientation since the LGBT is the most affected in the group. Training in another emotional control, school policy on bullying and other peer counselling programs, the school based school on bullying should also be taken serious where the masterminds should be apprehended and subjected to the relevant authorities (Kathleen, 2008). Since on the surface chronic bullying appear to be simply the action of an aggressor who is perpetrated, upon an unwilling targeted individual whom on a certain deeper level for it is to succeed. A bullying cycle should be viewed as a necessarily which may include a chronic inadequate response on the part of the target or target as insufficient to prevent the bullying cycle from ever repeating itself between the given. Additionally a Campaign should be conducted to try and reduce and also prevent the use of a homophobic slur by non LGBT teens who are mainly involved in the bullying. Connectively education should be provided to teens that their use of homophobic slurs and behaviours which are taken to be harmless and UN acceptable also believed to have fewer consequences though not acceptable in the society. According to research done by gay and lesbian activists show that there are two types of target audience that can be classified as into to two that is the primary audience and secondary audience. According to them neutrals do not participate in overt bullying nor do they stand-up for their LGBT peers, alternatively the secondary supporters stand up and also offer support to their LGBT peers, additionally bullies who participate in either in the name calling or mental and physical harm to the LGBT oriented persons (MacKinnon, 2004). Bulling in educational institutions can occur in any part in or around the school building, however, it mainly occurs more frequently in physical education classes, hallways bathrooms recess, in class while required to work in groups, after school activities and on the school buses. More often bullying in school mainly consists of a group of students taking advantage or isolating one student in particular and also gaining the loyalty of other bystanders who may be in fear to be the next victims targets (Witted, 2005). Additionally bullying can be started by a teacher who may hate a particular student hence placing stunts on them and name calling. This has been found one of the most origins of bully since students will have respect to their teachers and will tend to fear standing up for their own defence. The name then will adopt by the students and used to undermine the subject. Workplace bullying which is more of sexual harassment, but not commonly the verbal bullying as finding in the school, nevertheless unlike in physical form of school bullying. This is because such actions are not illegal or may not be against firm’s set rules and regulations, however, he damage can cause the targeted employee to reduce their morale. Conclusion The work of decreasing and eliminating bullies from an institution is hard which requires many to take part. Since when let to thrive it may form a culture that may have strong and royal followers. Slowly giving time the bad culture should be eliminated by educating the teens on the importance of living a healthy relationship with other while not considering their sexual orientation. The LGBT peers should also learn to accept others and also take part in discussing their orientation with other instead of hiding within group cannons that are supposed to protect them. Reference Kathleen. P (2008,). Save the males culture lights fuses, but confuses." New York Daily News. June 30, 2008. Based on Save the Males by Kathleen Parker, Random House. MacKinnon, C. A.Siegel, R. I. (2004). Directions in Sexual Harassment Law. Yale University. Westhues. K. (1998). Eliminating Professors: A Guide to the Dismissal Process. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press. Witted, K. S.; Dupper D. R. (2005). "Best Practices for Preventing or Reducing Bullying in Schools". Children & Schools (National Association of Social Workers) 27 (3): 167–175 Read More