Running head: BULLYING

Bullying Zack Schmidtke WRT 1020 - Monday

Running head: BULLYING Abstract

The recurring problem of bullying is growing each and every day. Being bullied can lead to lifelong, negative psychological effect, social coping problems, and can lead to withdrawals from schoolwork. If bullying is not slowed down or put to an end, it may keep expanding. Also, the number of victims may increase or the victims may start to become bullies themselves. Solutions, such as programs at schools, can help to lead to the reduction of bullying in schools. Also, parents who teach their kids how to stand up to bullies in certain situations can also help their children. Other solutions, such as disciplinary actions can also lead to the decrease of bullying. However, the fact that some kids may never change and break their habit of bullying may be a flaw to this solution.

Running head: BULLYING Bullying Seventy-seven percent of students claim to have been a victim of bullying, according to bullyingstatistics.org. Bullying is one of the most important and fastest growing problems in the world as we know it today. A bully is someone who is overbearing and quarrelsome who picks on younger, smaller, and weaker people. Bullying usually affects children and teens, but it can also happen in the workplace or at home for adults as well. Although many people say bullying

is something that can never be stopped, we can prepare to slow down the growth of bullying and eventually stop it by setting up programs at schools to prevent bullying and teaching young adults how to stand up for themselves. The growing issue of bullying is one of the most talked about issues in the country. Bullying can have many effects on people. For example, being bullied can lead to life-long negative psychological effects. In this case, someones life can change forever just because one person decided to be cruel and pick on them. In other cases, being a victim of bullying can lead to social coping problems. People need to have friends and social well-being in order to be connected and a part of the human race. If someone is unsociable, it may lead to depression, or even worse, suicidal thoughts. Victims of bullying can also become withdrawn from school work and their grades. This is a huge problem because someones future and potential life could be ruined just because bullies have nothing better to do than harass younger, weaker, and smaller people. These arent the only problems that victims of bullying can encounter. Possibly the worst effect that victims of bullying may endure is the fact that they may turn into bullies themselves. Being harassed and picked on may be just enough to push a person to the point to where they start searching for someone who is weaker than them so that they can carry out the same actions on that person that was brought about onto them by their bully.

Running head: BULLYING However, there can be consequences if the problem of bullying does not find a solution. One consequence will be that the number of victims from bullying will increase. Also, bullying will start expanding more around the world and become larger throughout schools and maybe even jobs because nowadays bullying is becoming the norm. Along with the expansion of bullying, the act of malice can become more violent throughout the upcoming years. For

example, bullies are going to see that just harassing and making fun of someone is not enough. In this case, bullying can lead to more physical violence along with the verbal violence. These consequences have school officials and parents worried about the future for their children. Parents and officials should not have to fret over their kids going to school or going out with their friends, but today, it is what they will have to deal with until solutions are set forth and enforced harder than ever before. Because of the potential problems and consequences that can come with the increase and expansion of bullying, solutions need to be brought forth and talked about to stop the issue of bullying. There are two kinds of solutions that can be produced for the growing problem of bullying: a solution for schools and a solution for life at home. At home, parents can start to teach kids how to stand up for themselves. Parents can teach their children how to stand up to a bully and not let them push you around. Also, parents can teach their kids how to defend themselves in certain situations with bullies. Kids that stand up for themselves can learn to be brave and courageous when a potential bully problem happens to them. In these instances, being prepared can prevent a bullying encounter because now the person does not seem weak and vulnerable. When a bully recognizes this, they will not find it fun to harass that person. At school, bullying can be prevented by setting up anti-bullying programs that teach kids how to avoid situations involving bullies. School officials should make these programs a

Running head: BULLYING requirement at both private and public schools. By setting up programs about anti-bullying, it will be able to show bullies the long-term effects they can present on other people, and hopefully, will persuade them away from bothering younger, weaker people. Teachers and mediators for these programs should be trained on the concepts and effects of bullying and

maybe even take a class. Also, teachers should be notified that these programs are going to need a lot of time and effort in order for them to work. These solutions could potentially be the problem solvers of bullying in the world today. So, these solutions are definitely worth all of the time, effort, and money. Parents and school officials jobs are to protect their loved ones and children they watch over. They can do this by helping to prevent the spread of bullying and eventually, put an end to all of it. However, schools may have to squeeze their money a little more because money for the programs and salaries of new teachers is going to be needed. Now, there are people who have an objection to the prevention of bullying. Some individuals believe that trying to prevent bullying is not worth all of the time, effort, and money. Individuals say there is always going to be bullying because it is just how some kids are raised and treated in their own particular life. In many cases, these people may be correct in what they are saying because in reality, bullying is going to be around for a long time. However, by setting up all of these programs and different tactics to prevent bullying, it will put a scare into a lot of bullies and most likely lean them away from creating these malicious acts because no bully is going to want to be involved in groups and sessions. People may also argue that not all bullies are going to listen to these anti-bullying programs and that is why there are also alternative solutions to the prevention of bullying. One of the alternative solutions to the end of bullying at schools is that disciplinary actions should be in effect to bullies. For example, schools should have a policy that comments

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whenever a person mistreats, or bullies, another individual, they will either be given a detention, a suspension, or an expulsion. Faculty should be introduced to these rules and should be informed to enforce them whenever it is necessary. Bullying is not a small issue and should not be taken lightly by faculty. So, a school official should also inform the faculty that there will be no free passes. By presenting students with information about the disciplinary actions that will follow an interaction between a bully and an individual, this will help stop the increase and spreading of the gruesome act. Actually, just by forming disciplinary actions, should help stop bullying altogether at schools. There is a flaw to this solution, however. It could turn out that some kids cannot change, whether it is from the way they were raised or not. If this happens, then that child may have a long life ahead of them of discipline and misfortune because they may never break their bullying habit. The prevention of bullying and retaliation does not start at schools, however. In fact, it starts at home. Another alternative solution would be that parents should teach their kids empathy and forgiveness. By teaching children the acts of empathy and forgiveness, they may actually be able to help the bully with their own life problems. In most cases, bullies are presented with hardships in their own life, whether it is at home or in their heads. Someone with empathy and forgiveness will be able to understand the bullies emotions and realize that maybe there is something else going on in his or her life and be able to forgive them for their actions. All in all, bullying can be slowed down and potentially terminated by enforcing these solutions and alternative solutions. Bullying is not a small issue in todays world and should not be treated like one. The act of bullying is cruel and wicked and should be stopped throughout the

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country and world. As citizens in todays world we need to enforce anti-bullying and protect our children and adults in the world today.

Running head: BULLYING References Bullying Statistics. Bullyingstatistics.org. 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-statistics.html