Bullying: An Epidemic

By Heather Kimble

September 13, 2012

EDU352:Mizzell-Bullock

It is not all in fun…

• Bullying has become a tidal wave of epic proportions. Although bullying was once considered a rite of passage, it is now seen for what it is…a devastating form of abuse that can have long-term effects on youthful victims, robbing them of self-esteem, isolating them from their peers, causing them to drop out of school, and even prompting mental health problems and suicide.

New ways to bully and looking at numbers

• In today’s world you don’t even have to be near someone to bully them…you can cyber bully them or even bully through text messaging.

• Even if we can’t see the people being bullied through cyberspace, we are hurting another person.

• Do you like to be hurt?

• Do you like to hurt others?

• 6 out of 10 students witness bullying everyday according to the NCPC…that is too many

• These witnesses are affected too…is that you?

• Are you afraid that you will be next?

More numbers to ponder…

• 60% of boys who bully will go on to be convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24…40% will have been convicted of 3 or more

• Over half, about 56 percent, of all students have witnesses a bullying crime take place while at school.

• A reported 15 percent of all students who don't show up for school report it to being out of fear of being bullied while at school.

• There are about 71 percent of students that report bullying as an on-going problem.• Along that same vein, about one out of every 10 students drops out or changes schools because of

repeated bullying.• One out of every 20 students has seen a student with a gun at school.• Some of the top years for bullying include 4th through 8th graders in which 90 percent were

reported as victims of some kind of bullying.• Other recent bullying statistics reveal that 54 percent of students reported that witnessing physical

abuse at home can lead to violence in school. • Among students of all ages, homicide perpetrators were found to be twice as likely as homicide

victims to have been bullied previously by their peers.• There are about 282,000 students that are reportedly attacked in high schools throughout the

nation each month.

Bullycide…It is real and it is happening…

• Suicide continues to be one of the leading causes of death among children under the age of 14. Bullycide is a term used to describe suicide as the result of bullying. suicide.According to a new study from the Yale School of Medicine, bullying statistics are reporting that there is a strong connection between bullying, being bullied and suicide.

• Suicide rates are continuing to grow among adolescents, and have grown more than 50 percent in the past 30 years.

“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”-Muhatma GhandiStudents, teachers, parents, administrators and the community must unite in order to take a stand against bullying! We must make it clear that be it in the halls or through the phone lines or even in cyberspace…IT IS NOT OK!!!

We must SAY NO TO BULLYING!

We must assess the bullying in OUR SCHOOL…we must unite…we must create a safe environment by making and enforcing our rules against bullying!

We must look out for one another!

Let’s educate ourselves and move forward to our future…for all of us!