Bullying in America’s schools is a serious issue effecting school age children from kindergarten, up to 12th grade. Recently, suicides by victims of bullying have received mass media attention. As a result, the issue has stayed on the radar screens of parents and school administrators across America. The issue has become so serious in fact, that it’s a matter of life and death. Bullying has evolved from merely the burly, overgrown kid in the hall picking on the younger kids and stealing their lunch money, to relentless taunts and physical assaults combined with unrelenting emotional abuse. (Dawkins, 1995). The victim can be either an individual or a small group. In some cases, the abuse is so severe and embarrassing, that day-to-day life becomes what seems, for the bullied, too difficult to bear. Frequently, the bullied end up attempting suicide. Sadly, many attempts are successful, but thankfully, not all are successfull. So what do we do? What can parents, schools and other significant presences in children’s lives do to curtail / stop bullying? This paper reviews past findings on school bullying, describes the bully triad, and reminds readers of the need for the scientific process, critical thinking and non complacency.
In 2010, Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi, jumped off the George Washington Bridge in New York shortly after his roommate filmed Tyler kissing another man and posted it on a social media website. Phoebe Prince, 15, had just moved Immigrated from Ireland, to the U.S. in the fall of 2009. It was there in an American high school in Massachusetts, that she fell victim to vicious bullying by her classmates. Phoebe took her own life on January 14, 2010. 15 year-old Amanda Cummings of Staten Island, NY walked in front of an oncoming city bus with a penned suicide note in her pocket. The common thread among these untimely deaths is that all of these children were taunted and bullied by their schoolmates and no one did anything to stop it. Social Psychologists have been studying peer relationships and relational aggression among children for quite some time. Having a friend or asocial group of friends is an essential component of emotional development. (Brown, 2004). Friendships give children new ways to see the world and different tactics for taking on the world. These relationships become more and more important as the child progresses from Kindergarten thru elementary school and on through the upper grades. (Brown, 2004). It is through these interactions and relationships that the child forms a sense of self. (Hill, 1986). Friendships assist children with practicing autonomy and developing creative thinking skills. (Hill, 1986). Children differ with how much weight they place on the importance of making friends and having a social circle. Recent studies show that whether or not a child is accepted by his or her peers has a lot to do with whether or not they become a bully or a victim. (Kupersmidt & Dodge, 2004; Ladd, 2005). Additionally, acceptance has a lot to do with whether or not the student is academically successful or not. “Children who have few friends, who are actively rejected by the peer group, or who are victims of bullying are unlikely to have the cognitive and emotional resources to be able to do well in school.” (Juvonen & Graham, 2001). The bullied are suffering emotional damage and are at times, experiencing physical symptoms of bullying as well. Some children that have been victimized, develop real physical aliments that lead to frequent lateness and or absenteeism. (Nishina, Juvonen, & Witkow, 2005). “It is not difficult to imagine a chronic victim of bullying who becomes so anxious about going to school that she or he tries to avoid it at all costs.” (Nishina, Juvonen, & Witkow, 2005). An estimated 40-80 percent of school-age children are said to have experienced bullying at some point during their
