Alot of the information in the bullying article was neither surprising or new to me. At the first in service day for the new school year I chose to go to the session dealing with bullying. Our district, as with other districts, has really inforced this policy. The goal in our district was to familiarize more teachers with the information reguarding bullying. While I was reading this article, I began to go over the statistics and relate them to the middle school that I teach in. I was surprised that more 7th graders felt bullied than 8th graders. But these were taken from only three schools. If you factor in more schools, these stats might change. The reason for this surprise was from my viewings as a middle school teacher for 10 years. In my experiences I have found more 8th graders who bully, especially the girls. These girls follow the same stats as the article. Instead of physical bullying, I witness more mental bullying. Leaving people out, talking behind backs, nasty attitudes, etc. are all common in adolescent girls. As the article pointed out, many of these girls are consoled by friends or classmates whom are girls.
One part of information I was surprised was ommitted was the amount of bullying that goes on via technology. It is a big problem because many bullies feel more comfortable in this element because there is no confrontation and might not see the response of the victim causing some remorse. In the future you will see these numbers growing at alarming rates.
1 comment:
The bullying article brought to mind my own experiences in middle school. The tongue is so much sharper than the sword. It is not only sharper but the scars are long-lasting. So many people in therapy analyze what role their parents play in their dysfunctions. Maybe they should consider some of their middle and high school experiences with bullies. Students do want help and schools should be protecting them.
Post a Comment