By Dr. David Childs, Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines bullying as “abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger or more powerful.” Furthermore, it can be “prone to or characterized by overbearing mistreatment and domination of others.” The Encyclopedia Britannica defines bullying as “intentional harm-doing or harassment that is directed toward vulnerable targets and typically repeated. Bullying encompasses a wide range of malicious aggressive behaviours, including physical violence, verbal mockery, threats, ostracism, and rumours spread either orally or by other means of communication, such as the Internet.”
Dan Olweus (A Norwegian researcher and psychologist) argues that “A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself.” However some scholars challenge Olweus’ definition because a single act of violence or verbal abuse can cause considerable damage to a person, especially a child going through various stages of development. So therefore, some scholars argue that the incident does not necessarily have to be a repeated behavior in order for it to be bullying. They also go on to argue that “additionally, not all people engaged in this interaction can be categorized as pure bullies or pure victims; research has distinguished a third category of “bully-victims,” that is, young people who are both the bully and the victim. As a result, the website stopbullying.com defines school bullying as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time… In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include an imbalance of power. Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.”
The first known use of the term bully was in 1742 according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Therefore, the idea of bullying has been around for some time. It seems to primarily be associated with schools. In the 1970’s Olweus did significant research in Europe on bullying. Furthermore, the suicide of several victims in 1983 brought even more attention to the subject. In the 1990’s, due to increased school shootings and more suicides related to bullying, much media attention was given to the subject matter.
There has long been a culture in the US to blame individuals that are being bullied as being a part of the problem. That is, it is thought that the victims’ actions or existence somehow warrant or justify their being bullied. For example, in many late twentieth century films an awkward student that excels in academics but is not good in sports is often targeted, becoming a victim of school bullies. The idea is that if the victim would somehow adopt more socially acceptable behaviors and become more “cool” they would no longer be the recipient of the violence or teasing. Many schools today tend to be a breeding ground for bullying. This culture has taken on a sinister turn, as many of the school shootings have been directly connected to bullying. That is, some of the school shooters have retaliated against their oppressors by resorting to violent resolutions. On the other hand, some of the shooters have been actual bullies themselves. Perhaps they fit the category we have mentioned earlier “bully-victims.” The Encyclopedia Britannica also points out that “A U.S. national study published at the turn of the 21st century documented that bullying and other forms of aggression affected approximately 30 percent, or 5.7 million, middle- to high-school students in the then-current school term.”
In contemporary times bullying has become a hot button issue in the US because of the increase of school shootings and suicides that seem to be directly connected to the phenomenon. Fortunately, many schools and classrooms have adopted anti-bully curriculum, that is often implemented throughout the entire campus. The resources below were identified for educators, to assist them in creating sophisticated and meaningful curricula surrounding bullying.
Curriculum/Lesson Plans
There Are No Bullies Just Children Who Bully—And You Can Help Them
National Bully Prevention Center
30-60 Minute Lesson Plan: Middle and High School, Introduction to Dynamics of Bullying
Week Long Curriculum: Middle and High School, Starting the Discussion Toolkit
Evidence-Based Bullying Programs, Curricula and Practices
Bullying Prevention Program
Violence Prevention Works: Safer Schools, Safer Communities
Open Circle: Getting to the Heart of Learning
PeaceBuilders® Creating Safe, Positive Learning Environments
Safe Schools Ambassador Program
Teaching Students to Prevent Bullying- NEA
Embedding Bully Prevention in Core Curriculum
Bullying Prevention Unit: The Power to Create a Positive School Environment
Safe School
Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior
Middle School Bully- Lesson Plans
Documentaries
“Bully” Award Winning Documentary
Too Scared For School (Bullying Documentary) – Real Stories (British Documentary)
Minnesota Nice? – A Documentary On Bullying And Suicide In Minnesota Schools
The Bully Effect | Stop Bullying: Speak Up | Cartoon Network
References
Bullying defined
Bullying- Encyclopedia Britannica
Bullying- Wikipedia
What is Bullying- Stop Bullying.gov
Dealing with Bullying
Bullying- Psychology Today
Stomp Out Bullying: Change the Culture
Bullying Facts, Statistics, Prevention and Effects
Discussion Questions
1. What are resources from above that might be most helpful to you?
2. Were you ever a victim of bullying in your own schooling experience? How was it handled, if at all?
3. What did you learn from your experience with bullying?
4. As a teacher have you witnessed bullying in your school? How has your school handled it?
5. What are strategies you have implemented to curtail bullying?
6. Do you think bullying is handled properly in US schools? Is it taken seriously enough? Why or why not?
Bullying is something common found in many schools, but should not be. The impact that it has on the victim can be absolutely heartbreaking and can lead to extreme measures. I wasn’t aware of the several definitions of bullying, but I understood the meaning. I don’t think you have to be bullied several times for it to be considered bullying because just one time can really effect a person. Many say that people who bully could be going through something. Maybe their home life, etc. Bullying is a serious thing that should be ended, but still seems to be more common than it should.
5. Bullying in American Schools
Author: David Childs
Response: I believe that this is a really good blog topic because it talks about an important matter that should be put to a stop in the future. Not only for the kids being bullied is it bad for, but also the bullyer. I believe that Kids who bully are at increased risk for substance use, academic problems and violence later in adolescence and adulthood. As a student and growing up in a school environment, I have been a victim of bullying and I have also been a bystander of bullying. Growing up I learned that being there for someone or helping them can actually put a stop to it, so growing up I would always stand up for those who had problems trying to stand up for themselves. Having conversations with students about their experiences with bullying and really listening to them is a crucial step in stemming bullying. The impact of bullying can be far-reaching. So I really appreciated this blog in a personal manner.
Bullying in American Schools was well worth the read. I completely agree with the scholars who argue that it doesn’t have to be repeated behaviors for it to be bullying. I think any negative comment or behavior toward a child can harm them in ways we don’t fully understand. I hear stories from people all the time who have some sort of horrifying experience from school or growing up that they have never forgotten and changed them in some way. I think that anti-bullying curriculum should be taught by every teacher, everywhere. This article has some amazing resources attached. There is no excuse for this behavior to continue on, students need to know bullying isn’t cool.
As someone who was bullied all through elementary and middle school, I believe an anti-bully curriculum would be beneficial, but so would more discipline towards those who are bullying. I think bullying is a big problem in schools today and I believe every school should be required to have an anti-bully curriculum. Bullying can happen in-person or online now too, it could happen at school or away from school at a social setting. I think the curriculum would help inform students what to do if they see someone getting bullied and not be a bystander.
Overall, I believe this article covers an important topic that needs to continually be addressed in schools. I do not agree that bullying is repeated abuse. I believe bullying is something that can happen to someone just one time and cause damage. It is important to teach students about bullying and what it sounds like and looks like. I believe it is also important to teach students that you can disagree with, or simply just not like someone without bullying them. It is very possible to teach students to respectfully disagree or come to terms with the fact that they will not like every person they meet but they can still definitely be respectful to them. I like that this article has resources to use to teach students about bullying and how to help put a stop to it. In my future classroom, I am definitely going to work to prevent bullying so that my students feel safe and can learn.
It gives me a sense of peace as a future educator seeing the efforts school systems are showing towards preventing bullying. One of my biggest goals as a teacher is to make sure each individual student in my classroom feels supported and loved. If a student in my classroom is a victim of bullying and I was unaware, I would feel like I failed as a teacher. I have personally experienced being a victim of bullying, as well as watched people who I am close to being a victim of bullying. I will make extensive efforts to promote anti-bullying in my future classroom and school.
Bullying is no new thing in society, and it is prevalent in the United States. People are finally starting to believe and understand the effects that bullying has on victims, as we see increases in suicides and shootings, and schools are trying to take an anti-bullying policy in their schools. Unfortunately, this is still not enough for some and bullying still occurs today as students focus too much on their differences rather than their similarities. Some programs have made progress with concepts where uniqueness is treasured and acts of kindness can cause chain reactions. Refocusing society towards this way of thinking will take time, but any progress is good progress.
Bullying has been a big problem especially in schools. I’ve personally been bullied in middle school and it is a terrible feeling and can really mess with children’s minds. I believe that schools/people need to take more of an action and do something about it. Although we think bullying happens to just children, it can happen with adults too. I strongly think that in todays society, social media plays a big part in the bullying that is happening. No one should have to be afraid to be themselves or have to worry that they are going to school and going to get bullied. As a future educator, I will do my best to make a bully-free and safe atmosphere.
Bullying has been a hot topic for a while now with the surges in school shootings and student suicides. I really don’t agree with Dan Olweus’s definition of bullying as it implies that bullying can only occur if a certain aggressive or harmful behavior is repeated to one person over time. This definition ignores the possibility that students can be negatively impacted by events that typically don’t repeat themselves. Overall, I quite liked how this article did include other definitions for bullying and some of the criticisms for them. I also found it interesting that US culture tends to place the blame on those who are being bullied, rather than the bullies. Before reading this article I never realized that movies, especially older ones, tend to portray the “nerds” in the movies as more deserving of being bullied because of their interests or academics.
As a future educator, a heavy focus of my teaching philosophy is to prevent bullying in my classroom, and also outside of it. I have had my theories about how children who are bullied move on by later bullying others because they want to get their power back. I was not aware of the term “bully-victims” until I read this article, but I’m glad that this consideration is being addressed. Another form of bully-victim I have seen is when a child bullies someone or a group of people, and instead of that person falling victim, they turn around and bully the child who was bullying them. I am a firm advocate for not tolerating mistreatment from another person, however, there is a fine line between standing up for yourself positively and negatively mistreating someone right back. I believe that teaching children how to distinguish between productive and counterproductive ways to stand up for themselves is a beneficial place to start in the fight against bullying.