Discuss bullying in school. What are your views on school bullying? Do you believe bullying in schools is over- or underreported? Explain

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Bullying, defined as repeated, negative acts committed by one or more children against another, is another troublesome form of school-based delinquency.
• Bullying can be either physical or verbal in nature—for example, hitting or kicking, teasing or taunting—or it may involve indirect actions such as manipulating friendships or purposely excluding other children from activities.
• Research by White and Loeber shows that contrary to common belief, bullies are not children who are frustrated by academic deficiency, but instead have had a long history of antisocial behaviors that precedes school failure.
• Bullies rarely stop their antisocial behavior at the schoolyard gate and continue their antisocial activities in the community and at home; nor are bullies immune from personal trauma and suffer their own set of negative social consequences: bullying in early childhood is a critical risk factor in the development of future problems.
• Elementary school bullies attend school less frequently and are more likely to drop out than other students; bullies are more likely to carry weapons in and out of school and to get involved with substance abuse; bullies are several times more likely than their nonbullying peers to commit antisocial acts, including vandalism, fighting, theft, drunkenness, and truancy, and to have had an arrest by the time they enter young adulthood.
• The latest national data indicates that more than 60% of school-aged children report being bullied at least once in the past year and about 7% say that this harassment occurs every day.
• Student views will vary.