I found our discussion today on bullying very interesting, I think bullying always generates a lot of discussion because so many people think it is bad but it is hard to stop all bullying. Not every time someone is bullied is someone going to see it to stop it. This can make it hard to help prevent bullying. I found an article that talks about bullying in elementary school and how nearly 9 out of 10 elementary children are bullied in someway. That to me is crazy high, I know not all of that is physical bullying but still. This is sad that this happens at such a young age.
Then again like our discussion in class maybe the numbers are so high because almost everyone at one point has possible been a bully or been bullied. I would agree with this, I think Sarah is the one who brought this idea up in class. Like she said sometimes you don't realize you are actually bullying someone till you later step back an look at the situation. Something that you might have found funny might not be as funny to that person. This can become bullying especially if you continue the act.
The article however goes onto talk about different ways to try and prevent bullying and like many schools have stated it is hard. There have been a number of programs from helping children understand how they affect others when they bully them to presentations and positive peer enforcement. No matter what they try many schools still struggle with bullying. What do you guys think? Is there anyway to help people see what bullying does and to truly understand when they are bullying someone?
I posted the article below.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070412072345.htm
Michelle-
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to prevent bullying would be to address the issue BEFORE it happens. Instead of showing kids how bullying affects others we should not even allow bullying to be an option. We need to show kids that being different - having different physical appearance, belifes, practices, knowledge levels, and family lives - is a GOOD thing. We need to praise students for sharing their differences. If kids have respect for each other, they wont see each other as weird, but hopefully special or unique. One way to do this might be to start each school year with a presentation from each child (and teacher too) showing what sets them apart from the rest of the class and why they are proud of it. That way kids can learn about each other before they judge each other. This country is rooted in diversity, and we need to teach our schools that it is a great thing to be different.