Thesis: The following research evaluates the harms of bullying and the negative social impact that bullying causes, then argues that schools should continue to include policies aimed at reducing bullying, which would make schools safer and improve the overall educational experience for all students.
Bullying involves a range of behaviors that involve willfully causing physical or psychological harm to another person. Bullying is more malicious than simple teasing, although excessive teasing would also qualify as bullying. While many may dismiss bullying as a simple inevitability and part of growing up, this attitude has a tendency to ignore the significant harm that bullying can cause. When it occurs among adults, many types of bullying would be considered criminal in nature, such as extortion or assault (Smith, 2009). Therefore, schools should do everything they can to minimize bullying, which would include educating students on how to recognize bullying and what to do if they experience or see this behavior, and a no-tolerance policy against bullying others.
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The reason bullying can be harmful is because it can cause both physical harm and psychological harm, which if left untreated, can have repercussions throughout later life. Bullying has been noted to cause low self-esteem, which can cause negative coping mechanisms such as escaping through the use of alcohol or drugs (Sharp and Smith, 2012). If a bully’s actions are permitted to continue, the bully may be more likely to engage in other delinquent behavior, which can extend to criminal behavior as an adult. At its most extreme, bullying can be a cause for suicide among students, so bullying should never be taken lightly. The school’s main emphasis, beyond providing an education, should be the well-being of all its students.
In order to reduce bullying, a school should adopt a culture of intolerance against bullying behavior. This would involve educating students on how to recognize bullying behavior, both targeted against themselves, and how to identify it when observing it occur amongst others (Orphinas and Horne, 2006). This would be followed by providing resources for students who may be experiencing bullying, such as having counselors in place, and working with parents to reduce the amount of bullying that might be occurring. The experience of being bullied can cause fear and anxiety within students, so letting students know that resources are in place to help address this issue is one of the first steps at reducing this problem overall. Education on bullying can occur by having a bullying-awareness day, which can include speakers from the community who have experience on this issue. Finally, a school should have a no-tolerance policy toward bullying, with increasingly harsh sanctions for students found to be bullying others. However, addressing bullying behavior should not be entirely punitive; instead, it should seek to identify the causes as to why a bully may be engaging in this type of behavior, and offer counseling services for those suspected of bullying. Often, bullying others can be a result of being bullied by someone else, and this type of behavior tends to be learned over time. This would ensure the well-being of all students.
Bullying can be a very serious problem within schools, and it can have long-lasting repercussions for victims of bullying. Therefore, schools should aim to reduce bullying whenever possible, which could be done through both providing education and adopting a no-tolerance policy. Bullying can be disruptive to the educational experience, and should have no place in schools that seek to provide the best education possible. Therefore, an anti-bullying position should be one the main focal points of school policy, and schools should continue to find ways to effectively combat this social problem.
- Orpinas, P., & Horne, A. M. (2006). Bullying prevention: Creating a positive school climate and developing social competence. American Psychological Association.
- Sharp, S., & Smith, P. K. (2002). School bullying: Insights and perspectives. Routledge.
- Smith, P. K. (Ed.). (1999). The nature of school bullying: A cross-national perspective. Psychology Press.
