Bullying in School and its Effects to the Students’

Thesis Statement:
Bullying in schools is believed to be a normal part of school life, however, when people begin to have this mentality, they forget that bullying is physically and psychologically harmful to both the bully and the victim. Bullying is one of the biggest problems that many children and teenagers have to face daily at school or university while away from their parents’ view and protection. Basically, bullying is becoming an increasingly important problem and affects our society largely.

Research Questions:
1. What causes the bullies to do such thing?
2. What would be the effects on academic achievements to those who experience bullying?
3. What should be done to stop or to at least minimize the said issue?

Bullying in School and its Effects on the Students’ Academic Achievements

Bullying in schools is believed to be a normal part of school life, however, when people begin to have this mentality, they forget that bullying is physically and psychologically harmful to both the bully and the victim. Bullying is also a purposeful attempt to control another person through verbal abuse. It can be done by either using a tone of voice which includes teasing and threats, exclusion, or violence. The feature of “peer abuse” and “repeated activity” which is tied in the definition of bullying occurs in different places.

It could be in schools, workplaces, in homes, on playgrounds, etc. In an article made by Barry Weinhold, he states that although bullying is a form of harassment, it is also considered to be a separate category from sexual harassment. Bullying is one of the biggest problems that many children and teenagers have to face daily at school or university while away from their parents’ view and protection. Basically, bullying is becoming an increasingly important problem and affects our society largely.

1. What causes the bullies to do such thing?
Some people bully others to get power or just the thought of having the dominance over someone satisfies them. Also, they have this thought that they would easily get attention if they push or boss people around. They also think that bullying gets their name out there which makes them feel cool and become popular. Others, they just like to see their victim cry, or they wanted to see if their victim has the nerve to respond or fight back. To sum it up, the common causes of the bullies to do such thing are: wanted to get attention, they don’t have the adequate supervision and guide from their parents and so they are jealous with their victims who have them, they have low self-confidence issues that’s why they show their aggressive personality, they are the ones who were once a victim of bullying, and those who has psychological problems.

2. What would be the effects on academic achievements to those who experience bullying? From a mental point of view, bullying can indeed pull a child’s self-esteem down, suffer them from anxiety and long-term behavioral problems, and can be severely impacted even years after the bullying has stopped. The victims may suffer from depression, especially if the bullying has occurred over a long period of time. There are a lot of types of bullying but in regards to school bullying and its effects to the academic performances of the victim, the student may begin to refuse to attend school which will definitely affect his grades, both because of the absenteeism and the inability to concentrate. School bullying can also cause a big impact with the relationship between the victim and his guardians or parents because of the child’s hostility towards school. For example, the child might blame his parents for sending him to that kind of school. Also, the child may ask a high increase for his allowance or for lunch funds because the bully is demanding for money. Loss of appetite and sleep can also affect the victim and decrease his focus from the lessons that his teachers’ discuss inside the classroom.

3. What should be done to stop or to at least minimize the said issue? It can be really difficult to deal with bullying if the victim himself would be the only one to do something about it. It will be very effective if the bully’s parents and school staff would get involved upon working to diffuse the situation. Parents should make themselves available all the time for their child to see them as a safe place to vent out their feelings whether it be negative or positive and that they should make the child feel that being bullied isn’t his fault. Talking to the school authorities might work too. They are the ones who know what to do with the bully and how to handle the whole situation. Also, parents should also teach the child that fighting back isn’t necessary and that he should just avoid the bully as much as possible or encouraging the child to be assertive as he can be so that he could stand up for himself.

Moving in groups could also be an effective deterrent against bullies like being with trusted and true friends. It is also important to make the children to understand that it isn’t acceptable to harm others physically, emotionally or verbally. The age old problem of bullying not only still exists but it is spiraling out of control and affecting so many young people day after day. Bullying has a consistent existence in schools.

Bullying was normal and just kids growing up. From the victim, bystander, school personnel, families and the community, bullying behavior definitely affects everyone. The effects of bullying are numerous for victims. Most importantly, Bullying can indeed have a long lasting effect on people. Victims of bullying carry the scars and continue to be victims into adulthood. Whatever happens during one’s childhood can set the tone for the rest of one’s life, and it is very important that bullying is dealt with early on. This in turn affects their learning ability, academic success, social skills to build peer relationships and strategies to solve conflicts. References:

1. http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/dealing-with-bullying.html 2. http://umshw.usd116.org/groups/stellarbullyproject/wiki/542c3/Causes_and_Effects_of_Bullying.html 3. http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ss/se/bullyfaq.asp#consequences

4. http://www.academia.edu/3819788/BULLYING_AND_ITS_EFFECTS_ON_THE_ACADEMIC_PERFORMANCE_OF_SECONDARY_SCHOOL_STUDENTS_IN_NIGERIA