Many people feel that some of the major issues that plague our schools are drug/alcohol use or violence, yet no one recognizes the significance of school bullying. For the victims of bullying, they go to school everyday facing harassment, taunting, and humiliation. For all potential educators, it is very important to realize that bullying is a problem, so that they can work to prevent it in the future. Since being at Middle School, I have realized how prevalent bullying is on a daily basis. In addition to reading various sources, I decided to ask some of my students about the bullying they experience or witness in their own school environment. I felt learning about bullying directly from the students would be an invaluable experience.
Bullying is most common in middle school, with 6th graders on the receiving end the most and 8th graders handing out the most bullying. In a study of 15,686 students in 6th through 10th grade in private and public schools, it was found that 13-23% of boys and 4-11% of girls experience some sort of bullying. (Nansel 2003). Nearly one in six children in that age range fall victim to bullying each year, which means about 3.2 million children being bullied. Whereas, 3.7 million children are acting as bullies (Kerlikowske 2003). Six out ten children witness some form of bullying on a daily basis. In schools, bullying most likely takes place on the playground, followed by the classroom, then the hallways (Drake 2003). For the students at Dunn Middle School, a lot of the bullying occurs out of school. If it occurs in school, most students said bullying occurs in the hallways or in the lunchroom. One student even mentioned a fight that took place during an as.
References
- Bullies and their Victims. Harvard Mental Health Letter. 2001, 4-7.
- Drake, J. Teacher preparation and practices regarding school bullying. Journal of School Health. 2003, 347-356.
- Espelage, D. Schoolroom torment. People. 2/05/2001, 91-92.
- Feldman, S. Bullying prevention. Teaching PreK-8. 2004, 6.
- Kerlikowske, G. One in six students fall prey to bullies. Inside School Safety. 2003,6-9.
- Nansel, T. Bullies found to be at risk for violent behavior. Inside School Safety. 2003, 1-4.
- Rubin, R. Study: Bullies and their victims ten to be more violent. USA Today. 4/15/03
- Svoboda, E. Everyone loves a bully. Psychology Today. 2004, 1-20.
