Define Bullying in School
School bullying occurs when a student in a position of power uses this power to abuse his peers. According to Lord Acton's dictum of 1887, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Little has changed since Lord Acton made this pronouncement. Bullying at school is still a matter that should concern parents and educators who aim to provide a safe environment where children can receive a quality education. If the issue of bullying in school is left addressed, both victims and bullies alike are deprived of vital growth opportunities as a result.
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Intentional Oppression
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Bullying involves an imbalance of power between a powerful aggressor and a powerless victim. Bullies abuse power in order to instill fear in their victims. Such abuses of power are not accidental, but rather are intentional. Additionally, bullies often gain satisfaction not only from possessing more power than their peers but also in engaging in systematic victimization of their peers.
Physical Harassment
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Bullying in school may be expressed in the form of physical aggression. Such physical acts of aggression need not include violence in order to constitute school bullying. For example, if one student simply pounds his own hand with a clenched fist to intimidate another classmate, such menacing conduct constitutes physical harassment since the threat of physical violence is imminent.
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Emotional Harassment
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Ostracization and verbal bullying are examples of emotional harassment. Name-calling, social exclusion and malicious gossip are common means by which emotional harassment is perpetrated in school environments. Unfortunately, bullying at school may involve not only children but also adults. In certain instances, teachers themselves are guilty of engaging in acts of emotional harassment by means of favoritism, sarcastic comments or by disparaging students as they talk with their colleagues.
Prevalence
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During early adolescence, instances of bullying may involve as many as 29.9 percent of students, according to a 2001 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Both female students as well as male students report experiencing school bullying. While bullying at school occurs at all grade levels, early adolescence is a period during which researchers report an alarming spike in instances of bullying.
Ramifications
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Bullying at school that occurs within a child's formative years is prone to undermine his self confidence and adversely affect his academic progress. While bullying within a primary school environment may seem to be relatively harmless, the truth is that when left unchecked such behavior can produce tragic consequences, both in the lives of victims as well as the bullies themselves. Victims who habitually suffer from school bullying are vulnerable to depression, and may eventually engage in self-destructive acts including suicide. According to Walter B. Roberts, author of "Bullying From Both Sides," bullies may not fare much better. Individuals who continue aggressive patterns of behavior into adolescence may encounter legal worries if they are charged with violating state statutes against interpersonal violence. In many cases, young adults are sentenced to suffer adult-like penalties for such violations.
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References
- Photo Credit Bullying mires burdens victims with feelings of isolation. "Locker", by Steven Fernandez: Flickr.com
