Bullying

BULLYING : HOW CAN IT BE PREVENTED

Bullying is a term used to describe a form of harassment perpetrated by someone who is in some way more powerful , physically or socially than his peers or the people in the immediate environment . While there are those who say that bullying is something that children will soon outgrow , there is no denying the fact that bullying has become prevalent in most schools all over America today

STATE RANKINGS

BULLYING IN AMERICA (Voluntary Surveys submitted from 5 /11 /2000 to 12 /31 /03

41 Illinois

12 ,419 ,293 9 39 .3184

15 Indiana 6 ,080 ,485 18 10 .6081

45 Iowa 2 ,926 ,324 36 10 .2926

6 Kansas 2 ,688 ,418 35 3 .8961

28 Kentucky 4 ,041 ,769 27 9 .4490

23 Louisiana 4 ,468 ,976 34 9 .4966

The Figures On Bullying

61 .6 of students who are bullied are picked on because of their looks or speech (U .S . News World Report , May 7 , 2001

Of the students who are bullied , 55 .6 report being hit , slapped , or pushed (U .S . News World

Report , May 7 , 2001

In a 1994 survey , it was reported that 22 of all teenaged students had been in a fight in the past year

34 of those fighting were boys while only 11 were girls (Harvard School of Public Health

Given this alarmingly high rate of bullying , the relevance of coming up with methods by which to deal with this social problem becomes more and more apparent

However , to be able to formulate a process by which bullying can effectively be prevented it necessary to first examine bullying , its elements , types and causes . Only through an understanding of bullying can parents , teachers and schools properly come up with the necessary steps to reduce or BULLYING

Main Elements of Bullying

The bullying has been identified by researchers as possessing the following characteristics or elements : aggressive and negative behavior , repeatedly carrying out of the behavior , existent in a relationship with a great imbalance of power and the behavior as being purposeful (Hazler 1997 . When these characteristics exhibit themselves in any relationship that a person has with another person , it is highly likely that there is bullying . The aggressive and negative behavior can often be manifested in other factors outside of the relationship between the bully and the victim such as in the classroom or in the manner that the bully interacts with people in authority as compared to the interaction among his (bully ) peers

Bullying is not a single and isolated occurrence . A single case of abuse or aggression , be it physical or mental , is often not a case of bullying as it may just be the result of flaring tempers ' or minor disagreements ' among school children (Hazler 1997 . Bullying involves constant aggression over a period of time

In relationships where there is a great imbalance in power between the parties , bullying is most likely to occur . The more powerful and aggressive person has been found to...