Stomp Out Bullying
What you can do to help
The Impact of Bullying
- Over 3.2 million students are the victims of bullying each year.
- over 67% of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.
- over 75% of school shootings have been linked with bullying and harassment.
- One tenth of high school dropouts do so because of bullying.
- Both bullies and their victims are more likely to be convicted of committing a violent crime, and both are more likely to take their lives
It's obvious that bullying is much more than a harmless rite of passage for every young child, and that this mentality creates an atmosphere of indifference that teaches bullies that there are no consequences for their actions and perpetuates bullying.
But How Do I help?
As a Parent
As a parent who suspects that your child might be being bullied, it is key that you establish open and honest communication. There is a misconception that telling a teacher or the authorities about a bully only makes it worse, but this is not true. Work with the teachers to create a plan for your child. If you suspect your child might be bullying others, make sure that they understand the negative impact that bullying has on other student's lives.
Remember: you are your child's role model and your actions will affect how they deal with future problems they encounter.
As a Student
If you see bullying take place, then immediately let the bully know that you find his actions unacceptable and won't just stand around and let it happen. If the bully contains to harass the other student, or begins act aggressively towards you, do not stoop to his level and engage in fighting or insulting him back. Instead, go tell a teacher or similar authority exactly what happened and who was involved.
Remember: with bullying, there are no innocent bystanders.
Peregrine Eflin Graham
Email: Weregerbil2@gmail.com
Location: 11503 Indianhead Drive, Austin, TX, United States
Phone: (512)339-0646
Pictures Citation (in order of appearance)
Kungfu, Plum. Bullying. Digital image. Deviantart. N.p., n.d. Web.
Pickford, Mary. Rebecca1917. Digital image. Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web.
Hunapo. Nevertolate. Digital image. Deviantart. N.p., n.d. Web.