School Bullying Problems
There is no getting around it; every school has its share of bullies. At least one person per class enjoys tormenting others--the typical bully. But there are other types of school bullies as well. Some people in the more popular cliques are cruel to others who are not so popular. Students who tend to thrive and enjoy academics are often treated cruelly by others. A few of the more common problems associated with school bullying are detailed below.
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Physical Bullying
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The most common type of bullying, this image tends to come to mind when one thinks of a school bully. Images of being stuffed in a locker or beaten up both represent types of physical bullying. Physical bullying can include violence (such as hitting and pushing), physical intimidation (such as cornering a student), and destruction of property (school work, lunchboxes, backpacks) all fall under the category of physical bullying.
Verbal Bullying
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Verbal bully has more to do with ridicule and name-calling than anything else. Verbal bullying can traumatize young people, and it needs to be addressed quickly. Verbal bullying can be as simple as teasing someone or as severe as spreading vicious rumors about someone. Because of the passive-aggressive nature of verbal bullying, it tends to be the weapon of cliques: popular groups teasing the science club, athletes making fun of the goth/emo group (at the high school level), and others. This type of bullying needs to be monitored and dealt with as soon as possible in order to prevent escalation between the parties involved.
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Financial Intimidation
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"Gimme your lunch money." Essentially, this is an offshoot of physical bullying. The difference is that this is a more mafia-like tactic, where someone feels threatened unless he or she gives the bully money or some other form of compensation. This is a hard problem to detect, as it usually does not involve physical harm or verbal abuse, but rather it involves the threat of physical harm and retribution. This type of bullying may well be on the rise in the years to come, due to the recent economic recession.
Cyber Bullying
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For anyone who hasn't heard, a young girl who committed suicide not long ago had been harassed and bullied to that point by others from her school. The bullying occurred on MySpace and FaceBook, two of the most prevalent social networking sites in the world. We have all seen the warning commercials about cyber predators looking for young victims. It is critical to address the possibility of bullying and intimidation occurring on these networking sites. Cyber bullying includes harassing and/or intimidating emails, text messages, instant messages, and threatening or abusive websites and blogs.
Prevention
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In order to prevent your child from being the victim of abuse and bullying, watch out for:
-Missing pieces of property, such as clothes, books, and lunchboxes
-Complaints of fear or panic surrounding normal situations ("I'm afraid to go to the park")
-Chronic medical issues such as headaches and nausea suddenly keeping a student out of school
-Sudden drops in school performance, especially in areas that the student once enjoyed and excelled at (chess, science, speech, drama, art, music)
-Random "injuries" incurred during school hours becoming frequent
Dealing with School Bullies
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A number of options are available to parents and victims of school bullying. The option to "Tell a Teacher" has become obscured over time as people have grown up in a "Do It Yourself" culture. Here is a list of ways to deal with school bullying:
1) Talk about The Problem--One of the most dangerous aspects of being a bully's victim is the psychological impact it can have. To prevent the issue from escalating and creating more problems, a simple option is to talk about what's happening. This practice can go a long way toward preventing problems in the future. Friends, family, pastors, and youth groups are all excellent outlets.
2) Take It to a Counselor--School counselors are there to act on behalf of the students. They can bring bullying issues to the school administration's attention. School nurses can also act in this role.
3) Mediation--This involves having a principal or other administrator take each party aside in order to try to resolve the conflict. Removing a bully from his or her area of operations can send a loud message that he or she is not the ultimate authority on campus.
4) Talk to Parents--Victims of bullying must let parents know what has been happening. Parents of bullying victims can help by working with other parents in the neighborhood. Other youngsters have probably been bullied as well. Maybe their parents have thought of some good solutions. Building strong communities can go a long way toward preventing bullying from affecting your children adversely.
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