Bullying has many forms; physical, verbal, psychological, social, sexual and

cyber ("What is bullying and harrassment?," 2011). Victims are given many
strategies from a variety of people which fall into one of three categories;
passive, aggressive and assertive ("Bullying Actions and Victims Response,"
2008).
We all would have seen or heard about the Casey Heynes Vs Richard Gale
incident, which for those of you who havent is about a victim standing up to a
bully. The bully, Ritchard Gale 12, verbally and physically abused Casey Heynes,
16, approximately five times before he retaliated. He threw himself at the bully,
picked Ritchard up off the ground and threw him to the floor, leaving him with a
grazed knee. This fighting back approach is not uncommon with 63% of
students using this and 75% of these thinking this is an effective means of
response (Black, Weinles, & Washington, 2010). However it has been proven by
Dr. Jodie Lodge in a 2006 study that victims who respond aggressively are 2.6
times more likely to be bullied (Horin, 2011).
Who agrees with Casey? Hands up who thinks that bully got what he
deserved? *Quickly count and say ____ agree with Casey* Casey Heynes is a
criminal. He broke Australian Law when he picked that 12 year-old off the ground
and dropped him on his head. According to the Criminal Law Consolidation Act
1935, Casey committed aggravated assault causing harm which has a penalty of
up to four years imprisonment (). Ritchard Gale could have died, being dropped
on his head could have easily broken his neck and Casey Heynes would have
been facing man-slaughter or even murder charges. Ritchard Gale is a criminal.
He broke Australian Law when he hit Casey in the company of others ("Law
Handbook Online," 2008). Richard committed aggravated assault which has a
penalty of up to three years imprisonment ("Law Handbook Online," 2008). Both
of these penalties apply to adults. As juveniles Casey and Ritchard could face
formal police cautions and be required to pay compensation to the victim, carry
out up to 75 hours of community service, or apologize to the victim ("Law
Handbook Online," 2008).
This isnt just hypothetical as well. There have been instances where bullies
have been prosecuted and victims paid compensation. In Massachusetts 15
year-old Phoebe Prince hung herself due to constant bullying. Six teenagers
have been charged with felonies ranging from statutory rape, violation of civil
rights with bodily injury, harassment, stalking and disturbing a school assembly
(Eckhom & Zezima, 2010). In 2009 David Gregory was awarded approximately
$470, 000 by the Supreme Court of New South Wales ().
Bullying has implications for students mental and physical health with bullying
victims more likely to have higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression and illness
(Rigby, 1998). This higher risk of mental health problems is reflective studies
which have found children who are bullied two to nine times more likely to
experience suicidal thoughts than other children (YaleUniversity, 2008).
This is commonly known though but bullies are also impacted on negatively by
bullying. It has been found that one in four people who were aggressive and
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bullies as children will have a criminal record by the time they are thirty
(Heusmann, Eron, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1984). It has also been found that
children who bully are more likely to drop out of school, use drugs and alcohol
and engage in criminal behaviour (Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 1985).
It must be remembered that bullying isnt just isolated to the classroom or play
ground but within the workplace as well. Bullying has always been around and
been a problem. Although were looking at the educational contexts today we
have a video that shows bullying in a historical context too *show a history of
bullying 0:09-1:50*. This may seem irrelevant, genocide was in the distant past
but its not. Genocide is still happening with genocide wars currently waging in
Sudan, Burma, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and
Somalia ("Areas of Concern," 2011).
References:
Areas of Concern. (2011). Genocide Intervention Retrieved 1/05/2011, from
http://www.genocideintervention.net
Black, S., Weinles, D., & Washington, E. (2010). Victim Strategies to Stop
Bullying. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 8(2), 138-147.
Bullying Actions and Victims Response. (2008). Eyes on Bullying Retrieved
30/04/2011, from http://www.eyesonbullying.org/pdfs/responses.pdf
Eckhom, E., & Zezima, K. (2010). 6 Teenagers Are Charged After Classmate's
Suicide. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/us/30bully.html?pagewanted=all
Gottfredson, G., & Gottfredson, D. (1985). Victimisation in Schools. New York:
Plenum.
Heusmann, L., Eron, L., Lefkowitz, M., & Walder, L. (1984). Stability of aggression
over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20(6), 1120-1134.
Horin, A. (2011). Biffing bullies is a long shot. Morning Herald. Retrieved from
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/biffing-bullies-is-along-shot-20110318-1c0j0.html
Law Handbook Online. (2008). Legal Services Commission of South Australia
Retrieved 11/04/2011, from http://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/
Rigby, K. (1998). The Relationship Between Reported Health and Involvement in
Bully/Victim Problems among Male and Female Secondary Schoolchildren.
Journal of Health Psychology, 3(4), 465.
What is bullying and harrassment? (2011). BullyingNoWay Retrieved
30/04/2011, from http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/chillout/bullying.shtml
YaleUniversity. (2008). Bullying and being bullied linked to suicide in children,
review of studies suggests. ScienceDaily Retrieved 1/05/2011, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717170428.htm

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EDUC1120 Teaching and Educational Contexts

Critical Essay
Victim of School Bullying is Web Hero

Word Count: 1063 words

Kate Sheppard
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Introduction
In recent years, bullying is a perennial hot topic within the media. Bullying has
physical implications for the victim however; the psychological impact can have lifelong
repercussions. Its impacts are also felt by family, friends and communities and often
demands a response from the Education Department to attempt to prevent it occurring. The
internet has recently enabled new methods of reporting news

Background
On the 14th of May 2011 Ritchard Gale, 12, physically grabbed Casey Heynes, 15, by
the shirt, verbally abused him and punched him five times before Casey retaliated. Casey
picked Ritchard off the ground and threw him to the floor. The fight was recorded on a
mobile phone and posted on YouTube. This film gained widespread notoriety and has
sprouted facebook pages, support videos, media attention and even a Casey Heynes Anti
Bullying Day. The day following the incident, the Daily Telegraph printed an article
Victim of School Bullying is Web Hero (McDougall, 2011). It describes the original fight,
the response by the school and education department and the opinions of Caseys father and
classmates. The article was quickly picked up by the media and triggered extensive
coverage.

Heading
The words in the Daily Telegraph articles heading were chosen to portray the victim
with positive light. The word victim is defined as a person who suffers from a destructive or
injurious action or agency ("Victim," n.d.). This word implies innocence, persecution and no
guilt. . Cross (2009) states that approximately one in four students are affected by bullying
therefore the next part of the heading is one 25% of people can relate to. By using the phrase
Victim of School Bullying the author is telling the reader that Schooling bullying is a
destructive or injurious action which a web hero has had to suffer. Hero is defined as a
person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is
regarded as a model or ideal ("Hero," n.d.). The authors intention was to sway the readers
to agree with the victim and to think he had done the right thing, even before the article had
been read.
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Photo
A photo was included with the article. It depicts the victim throwing the bully to
the ground in their schoolyard with a girl watching in the background. The photo is titled
Shocking school fight video and described as Mobile phone footage shows a fight between
two boys at a Sydney school with one boy being thrown to the ground (McDougall, 2011).
This language is quite objective compared to that of the title, as it is describing the events
factually. It also acts as a link to the original video so the author allows the reader to interpret
what is shocking about the photo and video; the lack of teachers, the bullying, the violent
response or that no one intervened. Combined with the title, however, the author intends for
the reader to find the bullying, lack of teachers and lack of intervention shocking.

Relation
This article relates to educators, students and parents in different ways. Educators and
students are related to most directly. There was a breach of duty of care by the educators
which may affect the school and possibly individual educators of Chifley Colleges. Their
will also be a personal impact for the educators which would involve the sense of
responsibility. It is possible that other bully victims will follow Caseys example which could
endanger educators and students. This situation has shown the consequences of these sorts of
fights; suspension. Also had there was a high risk of serious injury in the way the fight was
carried out.

The article also relates to parents. Parents want their children to be safe and

secure at school but sometimes this isnt the case. This can then be very distressing for the
parents. Feelings of worthlessness, helplessness or bad parenting come into play for not
noticing earlier.

Perspectives
Throughout the article there were several perspectives present which were included to
provide a broad understanding of the issue while still sympathising with Casey. The
objective description of the video allows the reader to interpret the video freely while
providing the facts of the event. By including the response of Chifley College the reader is

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exposed to the consequences laid down by the school. The article also included quotes from
classmates and Caseys father which emphasise the sympathy towards Casey.
A complete spectrum of perspectives, however, was not provided. Ritchard, his
parents, and bullying experts are some of the perspectives not included. These may not have
been included as they did not appear to coincide with the authors intended meaning.
Ritchard and his parents appeared on Today Tonight telling their side of the story. Ritchard
explains that he spent a majority of his schooling years being bullied as well and responded
with bulling behaviour ("The Bully Hits Back," 2011). His parents explained how they
hadnt raised their son to be like this and how hes been demonized by the story ("The Bully
Hits Back," 2011). This would have drawn away from the authors intended image for Casey.
Bullying experts perspectives werent included as Caseys image of innocence and heroic
would have been diminished through the statistical information surrounding Caseys fighting
back approach. For instance, It has been found that victims who respond aggressively are
2.6 times more likely to be bullied (Horin, 2011).

Implications
This incident and all the positive feedback Casey has been receiving due to it will
likely inspire others to stand up to their bullies physically as well. This will impact
negatively on their future, overall demeanour and teaching them an ineffective, inappropriate
way to assert themselves. Ref?
As well as this it is likely that Casey and Ritchards futures will be affected. The
reputation of being a bully will likely follow Ritchard whereas Casey may be seen as the boy
who will fight back. Facebook, Google and YouTube are becoming popular for employers to
gain information about applicants. This video will be returned from any search with the
name Ritchard Gale and Casey Heynes. And

Conclusion
Bullying is a difficult and complex issue. It is upsetting that the bullying was allowed
to go on for so long, but it must be acknowledged that stopping bullying is incredibly
difficult. There is also the question of who is responsible for the education and policing
around the issue. This being said Casey should have been taught better methods of retaliation
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than violence. For me it has always been common knowledge that violence is never the
answer but through this assignment I have learnt statistically that it isnt.

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References:
. The Bully Hits Back. (2011) [Television], Today Tonight. Australia.
Cross, D., Shaw, T., Hearn, L., Epstein, M., Monks, H., Lester, L., et al. (2009).
Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study. Perth: Child Health Promotion
Research Centre, Edith Cowan University.
Hero. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged Retrieved 11/05/2011, from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero
Horin, A. (2011). Biffing bullies is a long shot. Morning Herald. Retrieved from
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/biffing-bullies-is-along-shot-20110318-1c0j0.html
McDougall, B. (2011). Victim of school bullying a web hero. The Daily Telegraph.
Victim. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged Retrieved 10/05/2011, from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/victim

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