Bullying

Bullying in

Schools

What is bullying?Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions. It involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time. Bullying typically includes an imbalance of power or strength. Bullying can be physical, mental, emotional.

Types of bullying

• Verbal bullying including derogatory comments and bad names

• Bullying through social exclusion or isolation• Physical bullying such as hitting, kicking, shoving, and

spitting• Bullying through lies and false rumors• Having money or other things taken or damaged by

students who bully• Being threatened or being forced to do things by students

who bully• Racial bullying• Sexual bullying• Cyber bullying

Are you the bully…

Or the victim?

Bullying Statistics

• 1 out of every 4 kids in schools are bullied• 77% of kids are physically, verbally, or mentally

bullied • 8% of children miss one day of school per

month in fear of bullies• 1 out of 10 of students who drop out of school

drop out due to repeated harassment• 1 out of 5 kids report to being a bully or doing

some bullying

Effects on the person being bullied

• Have higher risk of depression and anxiety, including the following symptoms, that may persist into adulthood: – Increased feelings of sadness and loneliness– Changes in sleep and eating patterns– Loss of interest in activities

• Have increased thoughts about suicide that may persist into adulthood.  In one study, adults who recalled being bullied in youth were 3 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or inclinations.

• Are more likely to have health complaints.  In one study, being bullied was associated with physical health status 3 years later.

• Have decreased academic achievement and school participation.

• Are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school.• Are more likely to retaliate through extremely violent

measures.

Effects that the bully feels

• Have a higher risk of abusing alcohol and other drugs in adolescence and as adults.

• Are more likely to get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school.

• Are more likely to engage in early sexual activity.• Are more likely to have criminal convictions and traffic

citations as adults. In one study, 60% of boys who bullied others in middle school had a criminal conviction by age 24.

• Are more likely to be abusive toward their romantic partners, spouses or children as adults.

• Has this ever happened to you?

Why students bully

1. Students who bully have strong needs for power and dominance.2. Students who bully find satisfaction in causing injury and suffering to other     students.3. Students who bully are often rewarded in some way for their behavior with     material or psychological rewards.

I Am I am the person you bullied at school,

I am the person who didn’t know how to be cool,I am the person you alienated,I am the person you ridiculed and hated.

I am the person who sat on her own,I am the person who walked home alone,I am the person you scared every day,I am the person who had nothing to say.

I am the person with hurt in her eyes,I am the person you never saw cry,I am the person living alone with her fears,I am the person destroyed by her peers.

I am the person who drowned in your scorn,I am the person who wished she hadn’t been born,I am the person you destroyed for ‘fun’,I am the person, but not the only one.

I am the person whose name you don’t know,I am the person who just can’t let go,I am the person who has feelings too,And I was a person, just like you.

Bullying story-Laura Rhodes

by Kevin Caruso

Laura Rhodes was a beautiful, caring, and very sensitive 13-year-old girl who lived in Cimla, NeathSouth Wales. But Laura had a serious problem that sent her into a deep depression - she was incessantlybullied at the school she. attended, Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School in Neath. Laura was overweight,and every day she was subjected to a barrage of cruel comments about her weight; she was alsoconstantly subjected to profane name calling and vicious, untrue, rumors. And some students would intentionally trip her, throw things at her, knock her books out of her hands, kick her, hit her,

laugh at her, and push her as she walked down the hallways. Laura did not know how to deal with her pain, so every time that she was bullied at school, she would eat more food to try to cope. Her weight continued to increase, and she eventually wore a size 24 at the age of 13.

And the bullying caused her to completely lose her self-confidence. In her diary, she wrote that she was "fat, ugly, and worthless." She also said that she hated every moment of every day.

Laura also went online to try to find some friends to help her cope with her problems, and one day she met a 14-year-old girl from Longbridge, Birmingham, England, named Rebecca Ling.

Laura and Rebecca became good friends and e-mailed and text messaged each other every day. They visited each other every weekend and they even traveled to Greece together for a summer holiday.

But Rebecca was also suffering from depression and, sadly, the two young girls formed a suicide pact. On September 6, 2004, Laura and Rebecca attempted suicide by taking an overdose of medication. Rebecca survived, but

Laura passed away • Laura was 13.

How to deal with a bully

• Ignore the bully• Tell an authority figure• Remain civil• Try to focus on friends• Look for other sources of enjoyment

that avoid interaction with the bully

• http://www.thestayathomemother.com/sites/default/files/u1/anti-

• bullying_blog.jpghttp://www.makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org/facts_new.html

• http://www.pascack.k12.nj.us/70271919141818/lib/70271919141818/Bullying_Statistics.htm

• http://www.stclares.ie/anti_bullying_poems.htmlhttp://suicide.org/memorials/laura-rhodes.html