Bully

After watching the documentary Bully this weekend I feel motivated to discuss this topic once again in our class.  Bullying is an issue that continues to plague our schools and as long as we are afraid to discuss the topic it will continue to threaten the safety and well being of students across the nation. 

 

FACTS AND STATISTICS

• The numbers continue to rise every month...
• It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. Source: National Education Association.
  
• American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims. Dan Olweus, National School Safety Center.
  
• 1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying.
  
• 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.
  
• 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.
  
• 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.
  
• 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.
• Those in the lower grades reported being in twice as many fights as those in the higher grades. However, there is a lower rate of serious violent crimes in the elementary level than in the middle or high schools.
• 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying
• According to bullying statistics, 1 out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying.
• Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.

 TYPES OF BULLYING

Bullying can take many forms but it usually includes the following types of behavior:

• Physical – hitting, kicking, pinching, punching, scratching, spitting or any other form of physical attack. Damage to or taking someone else’s belongings may also constitute as physical bullying.
• Verbal – name calling, insulting, making racist, sexist or homophobic jokes, remarks or teasing, using sexually suggestive or abusive language, offensive remarks
• Indirect – spreading nasty stories about someone, exclusion from social groups, being made the subject of malicious rumours, sending abusive mail, and email and text messages (cyber bullying).
• Cyber Bullying - any type of bullying that is carried out by electronic medium. There are 7 types including:

1. Text message bullying
2. Picture/video clip bullying via mobile phone cameras
3. Phone call bullying via mobile phones
4. E-mail bullying
5. Chat-room bullying
6. Bullying through instant messaging (IM)
7. Bullying via websites

SPEAK UP AND GET HELP

 If you, or someone you know, is the victim of bullying - do something.  Find an adult that you trust (a teacher, counselor, parent, coach, aunt, uncle, anyone) and get their help. Or click on the link above.  If you witness bullying, speak up.