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Bullying is any form of excessive and unwanted aggression towards another person (Rosen, DeOrnellas, & Scott, 2017). It is a severe problem in schools across the nation. The behavior occurs repeatedly or has the potential of happening many times. Students who are victims of bullying suffer from a lot of mental and even physical problems. In high school, bullying has become a common phenomena. It mainly occurs when one student attacks each other by kicking, hitting, abuse or even spitting at on another person with the aim of humiliating him or her. The overall result is mental stress, loss of self-esteem and in extreme cases it may lead to suicidal tendencies (Dublin City University; University of Malta, 2016). This calls for both the school administration, the government, parents and the society, in general, to come up with the following ways to deal with this vice.
Sensitize Students on What Amounts To Bullying
This ranks as the first step to discourage this kind of errant behavior. Bullying occurs at all stages of education. Thus, the school needs to have a clear policy on what amounts to harassment and what steps need to be taken in case they encounter such behaviors. Bullying mainly occurs when there is an imbalance of power. The less powerful students succumb to the aggression activities of their peers. If a clear policy on the definition exists together with the steps which need to be taken if such issues arise, then no student will feel intimidated by those purported to be more powerful.
Minding the Language
Bullied students need to be treated with a lot of care. Since they are already undergoing a lot of humiliation, it is advisable for the teachers to avoid calling them names which can cause them further damage. Thys they need to refrain from referring to them as victims. This kind of behavior might reinforce these actions and make them feel less powerful. Moreover, this needs to extend to other students who are also supposed to avoid using such terms (University of Delaware, 2018). The effect if this is that the bullies will lack the support of the learning population and will be forced to stop their unacceptable behavior.
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Setting Clear Rules
The whole learning fraternity needs to be aware of the various consequences in case they break the rules and start harassing their colleagues. However, for these rules to communicate the intended message, they need to be repeated from time to time (Marsh, 2018). Bullying is a dangerous vice and cannot be taken lightly. The regulations should enforce the sense of respect and safety among the students. What is more, they need to apply to everybody, every time and in all the situation.
Reward Positive Behaviour
On top of always pointing at errant behavior, it is good to complement punishment with other forms of activities. Rewards will play a crucial role in encouraging positive behavior. There needs to be a code of conduct why entail good and acceptable behaviors (Cataldi, 2015). Students who adhere to these rules and regulations need to be rewarded in front of other students. Students will tend to compete in a bid to get these rewards.
Moreover, those who receive the awards will try as much as possible to engage in positive behavior to get rewards time and again. It is worth noting that there is a need to have clear guidelines on how to qualify for these rewards. It is better to keep on always insisting on good behavior rather than condemning bad behavior. The school management also needs to understand the critical cause of bullying and deal with the root cause.
Open Communications on Schools
For a long time, teachers have maintained a lot of authority over the students. The overall effect is that learners fear to share her experiences with the teachers. Thus, some of them might be suffering from harassment and fear or report. To end this, teachers need to be friends with the students. This creates an avenue of trust and students will be more willing to open up and share their experiences (University of Delaware, 2018). In case they notice abnormal behaviors among some students, it is the best time they start unearthing the causes of deviation. This needs to go hand in hand with responding to their issues in a bid to learn students’ problems.
Encourage Empathy
Students need to be taught how they can approach issues from different perspectives. As such, they need to understand the importance of having different views on various issues. In most cases, bullying will occur when some students feel that others are wrong on a particular aspect. Thus, they tend to bully them to submission (Marsh, 2018). However, if they are taught on the need for embracing people with divergent ideas, different backgrounds, and different identities, they can easily relate to each other. This also extends to showing learners on the importance of viewing issues from the point of view of their colleagues. When this is achieved, friendship can be cultivated, and students will become more tolerant of each other.
Encourage Interaction among Students
The school or the classroom needs to have a sense of community. In such a setting, students are in a position to undergo each other better and cement a friendship. Moreover, there is a lot of work to be done by the attackers. They need to create an environment where students can freely express themselves in case they witness any bullying behavior (Dublin City University; University of Malta, 2016). In the classroom, teachers have the duty of ensuring that the learners get enough confidence to express themselves and get heard. If they raise any concerns, these issues need to be addressed immediately. That is not all. Outside the classroom setting, teachers should encourage students to engage in activities such as sports, discussion groups which will create excellent opportunities for positive reinforcement.
Engage in activities to fight the vice
Professionals and teachers need to be a little more creative and come up with more engaging strategies. An example of such a strategy would involve acting or writing plays which cover all the aspects of bullying (UCLA School Mental Health Project, 2019). The plays should involve all the students so that they can understand the adverse effects of the vice. Moreover, these actives need to run throughout the year. On top of being entertaining, the students can learn more and practise the teachings of the play in their day to day academic lives.
Counseling and Guidance
Victims of bullying suffer from low self-esteem, decreased motivation and can even be tempted to commit suicide. This calls for the teachers and parents to step in as quickly as possible to identify the vice. If such an incidence has been noticed, the victim needs a lot of counseling and moral support from the whole learning fraternity and the teachers (CATS College London, 2019). Teachers can even take an extra step of visiting a professional counselor to guide them on the way forward. Bullies need to be punished appropriately and be educated on the need for refraining from such activities.
Changes in the school calendar
Bullying is threatening the peaceful coexistence of the students in many learning institutions. Thus, it cannot be underestimated (UCLA School Mental Health Project, 2019). One of the best measures learning institutions can take is having a special day dedicated towards anti-bullying. In this particular day, students will be sensitized on this vice, review the progress of the various measures meant to curb the vice as well as coming up with new ways to ensure that the vice is completely eradicated or the learning institutions.
Empower the learners
Teachers need to encourage students to be always strong and confront any bully. Whether it is at school or home, students need to be courageous enough to face the bully and discourage him or her. Moreover, learners need to be taught how they can have the right mindset when it comes to bullying (CATS College London, 2019). As such, there is a need for always encouraging them to refrain from making hurtful jokes and engaging with malicious actions meant to damage the reputation of their colleagues. Teaching them how to behave responsibly at all times puts them in a better position to refrain from bullying others as well as handling the bullies.
All in all, bullying among students is on the rise and presents a significant threat to a safe learning environment. Majority of the learners are falling prey of this dangerous activity out of ignorance and peer pressure. As a result, a majority of the vulnerable learners are suffering which is negatively impacting their school grades, social lives, and health. Various measures need to be taken to minimize this behavior. Parents and teachers who spend considerable time with the learners and encourage openness should carefully monitor their learners’ activities. Enlightenment on the adverse effects of this act is very crucial in promoting the responsible behaviors among the learners.
References
- Cataldi, L. (2015). Bullying: How to Detect, Handle and Prevent Bullying in Schools.
- CATS College London. (2019). Anti-Bullying Policy. Retrieved from CATS College London: https://www.catseducation.com/ugc-1/1/3/0/Anti%20Bullying%20Policy.pdf
- Dublin City University; University of Malta. (2016). How to Prevent and Tackle Bullying and School Violence. Retrieved from Office of the European Union : http://nesetweb.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AR2_2015.pdf
- Marsh, V. L. (2018, October ). Bullying in School: Prevalence, Contributing Factors, and Interventions. Retrieved from Rochester University: https://www.rochester.edu/warner/cues/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/bullying_FINAL.pdf
- Rosen, L. H., DeOrnellas, K., & Scott, S. R. (2017). Bullying in School: Perspectives from School Staff, Students, and Parents. Palgrave Macmillan US.
- UCLA School Mental Health Project. (2019). A University Student’s Perspective on Bullying Prevention in Schools . Retrieved from UCLA School Mental Health Project: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/bullyingpers.pdf
- University of Delaware. (2018). Bullying At School: Recommendations For Teachers And Parents. Retrieved from University of Delaware: https://www.education.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Bullying.pdf
