Bullying. A word almost every kid dreads. They dread being the outcast. The reject. The person everyone bullies. The loner. Not being good enough or not meeting someone’s standards. Some dread it so much, they take their own lives. A tragic way to die.
If only the teachers had seen it sooner. If only the parents knew. If only the victim spoke up.
Statistics show in 2011 that 60% of middle school students say they have been bullied. Only 16% of staff believed that students had been bullied. They also say that over 160,000 stayed home from school to avoid bullying. 20% of high school students said they had thoughts of committing suicide in the past twelve months in 2011.
In my opinion, these numbers are too high. What can we do to stop bullying? There are numerous ways to prevent bullying.
Statistics show that over 50% of bullying decreased if the school had an anti-bully program running. If every school had an anti-bully program running, it might reduce the percentage of bullying. It would show the bullies how much they hurt the person who they were bullying.
It would also be more helpful if teachers kept an eye on students at all times. Many bullying cases occur on the playground or at passing time. Only 25% of bullied students said that teachers intervened a bullying incident; while 71% of teachers said they intervened a bullying incident.
Another way is to talk to the bully or stand up to them. Tell them how much it hurts when they call you names or physically hurt you. Try to help them understand bullying isn’t cool. Most likely, they bully just to impress their friends.
Tell a teacher or trusted adult. It’s one of the most commonly known ways to stop a bully from bullying you. Don’t worry; you won’t be a snitch or tattle-tale. Tattle-telling is when someone purposely tells on someone to get them in trouble. Just telling a teacher or trusted adult the situation is perfectly fine. It will help you in the long run.
Don’t just sit on the sidelines and watch bullying. Stand up for the bullying victim and let them know they won’t be alone.
Bullying is never, nor will it ever be, a tolerable matter. Together we can stand up to bullying and make it disappear. Poof!