Protecting our children from Bullies

  I'm sure we all know someone who has either been bullied or was the bully themselves. This phenomenon is not new but with with the advent of the internet and various other devices, the spread of hate from one to others is growing at an alarming rate.

"The bullying statistics of 2010 reveal theat bullying is a crime that is not going away anytime soon. There are about 160,000 children who miss school every day out of fear of being bullied"

This is a quote taken from the following link

( http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-statistics-2010.html )


 We dont only see bullying at school but it can even cross lines to the workplace and on the internet. Bullying is not only hurtful to the one being bullied but for the bully himself. For the one bullied, physical, emotional scars are often carried throughout a lifetime and may lead to self-esteem problems and affect social skills. For the bully, the aggressiveness that is prevalent in his early years is usually carried through to his adult years which may lead to delinquent type behaviors. Another affect of bullying is that it creates a very negative environment for others who witness it. What I want to discuss with you is how schools cope with this issue and the policies/laws the state governments  create in order to try and eradicate the problem.


   Before I do that I just want to give you a little info on what I know with regards to bullying here in Korea and the policies that they have. When I first arrived in Korea, in 2002, there was little a student could do to avoid the fury of the bullies. It felt like it was something that the students just had to deal with and very little, at least in my experience, little was done to curtail it. It was a "boys will be boys" kinda mentality and the teachers just let it slide for the most part. As time went by though, slowly in the news you would be exposed to this problem on a more regular basis ( http://world.time.com/2013/03/17/south-korea-rattled-by-suicide-of-bullied-teen/ and http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/20/world/asia/south-korea-bullying-sentence/index.html ). Stories like this slowly brought up this pressing issue and it came to a point where the government had to take steps in order for it to stop because of the public outrage. It has become so problematic that even insurance companies have started selling victim insurance as part of the government to stamp out bullying
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-136830-Insurance-against-bullying-in-South-Korea . According to my wife who is a high school teacher, students who are now caught bullying, whether it be physical or mental, get suspended for a set amount of time and if it continues, they could get kicked out of school and that would be on there permanent record.


  So now lets take a look at the laws and policies that are present in the USA.  As you can see by the map, http://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/, most states have both laws and policies that address the problem while others just have laws. There are a lot of differences between the states with regards to how they deal with the issue. It is worthy to not that no federal laws exist for bullying, although when it involves the following factors race,color, religion, sex then it could be considered a form of harassment which means that the schools are responsible for addressing and solving the issue. In 2013,the Safe Schools Improvement Act was reintroduced which stated that schools would be held accountable for the reporting and dealing of any acts of bullying. They state that act should be made law to ensure the safety of students and to create a place where they feel enpowered. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-kennedy/the-time-is-now-for-a-fed_b_2813122.html. Unfortunately ,though many states have these bills, as mentioned in the last paragraph, very few according to a report in 2011 follow best practices to be effective in reducing bullying. So there is still work to be done on that front but it seems that it only a matter of time before better policies and laws will be enforced


  Now before the issue of bullying can be dealt with, the teachers themselves, along with others in the community, must be able to spot it so that it can be first addressed. We all know that bullying doesn't take place in plain view and that those who are bullied are usually hush hush about it.  So it is partly up to the teachers to notice the signs and deal with them right away.  http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/instructionalmaterials/a/undstndbullybeh_3.htm
This link helps teachers spot various signs that things may not be right with their students. For example, if one student who is usually outgoing becomes very quiet or he avoids questions and/ or eye contact. The teachers role is not only as educator but as a protector and should do everything humanly possible to ensure the safety of the students in their classroom.



  The best way to combat bullying is to prevent it from happening in the first place. In order to do so, schools must have programs in place to teach the students that bullying is wrong and what to do if you are being bullied. There is a great website that was created for kids that provides lots of useful information http://www.stopbullying.gov/. It is very important to give students the necessary tools in order to deal with bullies. In doing so, they can make more informed decisions instead of think that they are on their own. In Ontario, Canada, Bill 14, otherwise know as the anti-bullying act ensures that all schools have a Bullying prevention curricula,policies, and administrative accountability. There are many provisions under this act. For example, there are classes for those caught bullying and they must meet up with social workers to discuss the issues. As for the victims, they also must meet with specialists to help them through the process. All these provisions can be seen in detail at http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2550.


  In conclusion, the issue of bullying is not one that will go away soon. But if policy makers ensure that they are doing their best to protect the most vulnerable, then there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. I have no doubt that we will get there one day soon. But until then, everyone should do their part to ensure a safe learning environment for all.