Examining the Impacts of Bullying

Examining the Impacts of Bullying

An eight-year-old boy in Cincinnati school committed suicide days after he was taken to hospital. (Iati 2019). The boy had previously been found lying unconsciously in the washrooms of the school. The surveillance camera did not give much evidence as to what might have caused the boy to lay motionless.  The school followed set protocols, and the school nurse released the boy saying his vital signs were intact. However, two days later, the dead body of the boy was found in his bed by the mother. Earlier on the mother had taken the boy to the hospital where he was diagnosed with gastrointestinal issues. However, the mother did not understand the real reason why the boy committed suicide. In the lawsuits that ensued, shocking revelations were made. The boy had earlier reported issues of bullying to his teacher, who did not take much attention. This was the reason behind the boy’s actions. Bullying is defined as actions that cause a threat to another person. The bullying may appear in different forms. Despite the kind of bullying, its effects are adverse and may lead to suicidal acts. Bullying is often in schools and through the internet as well. They are actions and behaviours that cannot be condoned in society as they lead to adverse effects. This paper addresses forms of bullying, causes of bullying, and concludes by examining ways to identified bullied victims and how they can be helped. Bullying can be explained as aggressive behaviours that cause harm to others. The kind of action that makes someone feels intimidated. Bullying can occur in several forms. There is verbal and non-verbal bullying. Verbal bullying is channelled through words, while non-verbal bullying is though actions. Another prevalent form of bullying is perpetuated through the internet, commonly referred to as cyberbullying. In a sense, all these forms of bullying have one common aspect. All of them employ entails behaviours that either cause fear or intimidation to the victim. The effects of these behaviours have been widely exhibited in our society. From the article posted by Washington post, the eight-year boy had experienced several instances of bullying. Earlier on, the surveillance camera showed a boy shaking his hand violently. The boy named Gabriel was the third grade at Cincinnati school. His untimely demise depicts the impacts of bullying behaviours at school. Investigations carried out after his death showed several students beating him while he lay helpless on the bathroom floor. Despite that the students did not know he was unconscious, their actions cannot be construed as anything else other than bullying. In a perfect scenario, the students ought to have called the teacher or reported the incident. However, they started beating him.

Lack of attention is a significant cause of bullying. (Robison, 2010). The issue of bullying has been around for long. It has recently received a lot of attention due to its adverse impacts on the victims. It is a vice that should be shunned and condemned from the highest degree. Gabriel, the boy who committed suicide, was bullied by his flow students. He reported the matter whereby the bullies had tried to flush his water bottle down the toilet. The teacher did not take many actions into the issue. This triggered Gabriel into committing suicide. If the teacher had shown concern, maybe Gabriel would not have committed suicide. In a sense, bullying leads to lowered self-esteem. It could be understood that Gabriel felt underrated, and he did not amass enough courage to talk about the issue. The causes of a person being a bully entail complex factors. According to research, one of the significant reasons for bullying is the powerless feeling over one’s life. Individuals who feel helpless about their life seek other ways to make them feel powerful. As such, they target vulnerable individuals. By bullying them, these individuals finally feel powerful and cause attention. Others turn into bullying since they are bullied; thus, they bully others as a way of taking off the pressure of being bullied.

Parenting is a leading factor that contributes to bullying.  According to an article on causes of bullying (2019), feeling powerless starts with the family setting a person is coming from. Children growing up in a broken family where they witness domestic violence are more likely to turn out into being bullies. Broken families entail a scenario where the parents are either divorced or general entanglements. Such parents may be alcoholic or drug abusers. Bullies are often jealous of the people they bully. Such a person could be from a family that is broken. As such, he takes off his frustrations with someone else coming from a better family. Gabriel hailed from a loving family. His parents loved him much, and there were no signs of disputes in their family. During the lawsuits, it was disclosed that he loved playing with his father, while he liked cooking with his mother. In a sense, it could be hypothesized that the student who bullied Gabriel was jealous of his family upbringing. They could come from a family with a strong background. Overly, it is essential to note that a family setting can facilitate bullying habits.

Bullying is a vice that can be changed if noticed in the early stages.  Identifying bullying is crucial in helping the victims and the perpetrators. These two distinct characters show varying habits that can help a parent or teacher in dealing with bullies and bullied victims. Early identification of these behaviours helps the community reduce or minimize the effects of bullying. It also helps to shed light on those who bully others and corrective measures employed drastically. If the teacher whom Gabriel had reported to took necessary actions, the effects on Gabriel’s parent would not be experienced. They had a rough time coming into terms with their son’s death. During the hearing of the lawsuits, his parents said that he was never suicidal. He was very calm and non-violent. However, still, if the parents had noticed signs of bullying, they would avert their son’s decision. A significant way of seeing signs of bullying is by engaging in occasional conversation with the child. The discussion could range on varying subjects. By doing so, the parent can identify symptoms such as; unexplainable injuries, lost items, or destroyed clothing, frequent headache or stomach ache, or difficulties in sleeping. A child exhibiting such signs could be going through bullying. In the case of Gabriel, his parents had taken him to hospital after he started vomiting.  He was diagnosed with gastrointestinal conditions. However, it could be understood that his condition was brought about by the bullying he was going through. As such, it is easy to identify a child going through bullying from school. The parents are always urged to pay close attention to every detail of their child’s life, especially from school. This way, they can be able to realize early enough instances of bullying and take necessary actions.

According to BRIM Anti-Bullying Software (2019), bullying is further enhanced by the failure to report bullies. Research has indicated that only a limited number of the bully-victim report these incidences to their parents or teachers. Although Gabriel had notified his teacher about the students trying to flash his water bottle down the toilet, he did not confide with his parents. His parents could have dealt with the situation more diligently and promptly. The teacher ignored the claims since such instances are common in schools and are treated with less concern. During the lawsuits, the defense attorney representing the school hinted that the school had no responsibility in stopping such wrangles. He meant such misunderstandings are common among growing kids. However, had the teacher taken the issue seriously, Gabriel probably would still be alive. Such is the reason why many students do not report bullies. For one, they are afraid of more bullying from their peers and backlash from their bullies.  Bullied kids are often socially isolated and feel like no one cares about them. This attitude discourages them from reporting such incidences.

Furthermore, it makes a child feel helpless and not in control. Growing children occasionally love taking control of their life. Bullying denies them the opportunity to do so. As such, they fail to report these issues in an attempt to gain back control of their life. They often feel that dealing with the bullies by themselves shall help them in amassing their power once more. However, this strategy hardly works out. Failure of the policy working out makes the victims feel frustrated. This frustration accumulates into suicidal thoughts over time. As such, it is essential to encourage openness with our children and make them aware reporting bullying is not a sign of weakness.

Schools have to incorporate measures that ensure the prevention of bullying. These acts of intimidation occur almost everywhere within the school setting. They may take place in the classes, locker rooms, lunch hall, or the washroom, as witnessed in the case of Gabriel. The school is mandated to guarantee the parents that their children are not exposed to any bullying threat. As such, these schools need to adopt measures that completely shut down bullying. Professionals at school should take it as their responsibility to draft policies curbing bullying. The school could come up with curriculum policies that enable the students to identify the bully language. They should be educated on the importance of positive communication skills. This knowledge shall be helpful to the students in mitigating through instances of bullying. Similarly, the school could adopt systems that protect the identity of anyone reporting bullying. The confiscation of a report’s status shall motivate many students to report bullies. This is because they will feel from backlash associated with reported bullies. Additionally, schools should establish discussions in classes regarding bullying. These discussion forums shall be meant to share light on the effects of bullying. More so, these discussions shall raise awareness among the students. They will be able to understand why some people turn into bullying. Furthermore, they get to learn the reasons why bullying is not acceptable. This shall help promote a culture of peaceful existence among the students.

Most importantly, schools need to establish counseling sessions for bullied victims. Through this program, those intensely affected can be referred to outside therapists for further assistance. These programs do not only cater to the bullied. Instead, they should as well extend their help towards the bullies. The bullies shall be counselled and assisted in dealing with any challenge that is affecting them. Moreover, the schools need to have strong retributions for bullying. This act has been recognized as an illegal vice punishable by state law. Thus, schools need to punish bullies by employing favourable corrective measures. In doing so, the schools shall be taking part actively in minimizing the bullying menace. It has been embedded within the society for long, and joint efforts by the schools, parents, and the community, in general, shall help offer many significant benefits regarding the issue of bullying.

In summary, bullying has severe implications for the victims. As indicated by the case of Gabriel, it may lead to suicide. Bullied students feel unappreciated and lower their self -esteem. This affects their academic performance and, ultimately, their life. (Rigby, 2003).  Cyberbullying leads to the intrusion of a person’s privacy. This type of bullying occurs online through the internet. A similar scenario like that one of Gabriel in the Washington Post indicated a case where a female lover was shot dead by his lover. The incident happened after they broke up, and the girlfriend started cyber bullying him. She perpetuated the bullies through online twitter. He decided to take action into his hands. He took the lives of several of his classmates, including his. His was after his girlfriend spread nasty things concerning him. His classmates had trolled him, which caused him much pain. However, it is essential to note that this act happened due to bullied activities. In a sense, many students are being bullied in schools through social media. These bullying activities have continued to perpetrate heinous acts.

Overly, bullying is a vice that is a threat to society.  Bullying is defined as any activity leading to aggression and intimidation. Verbal bullying entails using words that are demeaning to someone else. Non-verbal bullying takes the form of aggressive behaviour and habits. These habits can be assaults or batteries. As witnessed from the article on Washington post, Gabriel was assaulted by the bullies.  The assaults led him to commit suicide. Bullying has negative impacts on society. Children who are bullied have low self-esteem. This affects their academic performance and overall living — bullying results from several factors. Children brought up witnessing cases of domestic violence tend to be bullies. Others coming from broken families have a higher likelihood of turning into bullying.

Moreover, children who are bullies often lack attention and result in bullying to seek care. There are several ways of identifying a bullied child. Such children have difficulties in sleeping or constant headaches. Parents are supposed to pay close attention to their children to notice any changes in them. Schools are supposed to come up with measures that prevent bullying activities. In doing so, the schools shall be taking part in averting the dangers associated with bullying.

Reference

Iati, M. (2019). An 8-year-old killed himself after being bullied, the lawsuit says. The school district wants immunity. Retrieved 9 December 2019, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/12/05/an-year-old-killed-himself-after-being-bullied-police-say-school-district-wants-immunity/

Rigby, K. (2003). Consequences of bullying in schools. The Canadian journal of psychiatry, 48(9), 583-590.

Robison, K., & Minneapolis Public Schools, M. N. (2010). Bullies and victims: A primer for parents. National Association of School Psychologists.

What Are the Warning Signs of Bullying? – BRIM Anti-Bullying Software. (2019). Retrieved 9 December 2019, from https://antibullyingsoftware.com/what-are-the-signs-of-bullying-how-to-know-if-your-child-is-being-bullied/

(2019). Retrieved 9 December 2019, from https://americanspcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Bullying-Causes-of-Courtesy-of-nobullying.pdf