Why is bullying such an issue in schools today? I honestly
wish I knew the answer to that question. If I did, I would probably be rich and
could have spared so many children and their parents a lot of pain. However, it
seems that the only logical explanation psychologists, teachers and concerned
parents have concluded is that the Anti-Bullying movement is failing. Before
2000, the definition of bullying was very different. Before then, the only actions
that qualified as bullying were throwing things at a student or name calling. Today, critics of the movement have developed a list they like to call the "Anti-Bullying Utopian Handbook." This includes rules such as no laughing at others imperfections, no saying bad things, no unintentional or intentional mean behavior, no ignoring one another and so on. This handbook states that failure "to abide by these rules will result in us punishing you severely for not behaving like a perfect human being as we have set forth." This statement may have been a bit exaggerated but it shows the realities that schools expect children to follow. This movement expects children to not make mistakes but making mistakes is part of the process of growing up. If children are expected to act as adults then this movement must be reevaluated.
Ten years ago it was uncommon for a child to be suspended for bullying and especially rare for them to be expelled. Today, the definition of bullying is a lot broader. It makes it easy for schools to target a child and instantly claim he or she is a bully. What does labeling a child solve? It puts the blame on an individual. That is it. There is no guarantee that anything else could come from such an occasion. The behavior of children is not changing, they are not meaner or tougher; it's just that society looks at their behavior differently and have attempted to solve each situation using the same strategy which screams chaos.
While researching this topic, it was hard for me to come to terms with the fact that the Anti-Bullying movement is failing. I still wrestle with the fact that over the last 10 years little to nothing has improved. After my interest on this topic grew, I began to notice small yet important results of the Anti-Bullying movement. One day, after picking up a kid I babysit from school, I asked him how his day had gone. He told me that he had an assembly on bullying. I then asked him what he got out of it and he replied, "I
don’t remember it was boring." That is not how we want the future generations to
look on bullying! Something needs to be done. Assemblies telling children not
to bully are not effective. Labeling
children as bullies is not effective. Ten years of little to no improvement is long enough. It is time for change because clearly
the Anti-bullying movement is not working.Ten years ago it was uncommon for a child to be suspended for bullying and especially rare for them to be expelled. Today, the definition of bullying is a lot broader. It makes it easy for schools to target a child and instantly claim he or she is a bully. What does labeling a child solve? It puts the blame on an individual. That is it. There is no guarantee that anything else could come from such an occasion. The behavior of children is not changing, they are not meaner or tougher; it's just that society looks at their behavior differently and have attempted to solve each situation using the same strategy which screams chaos.
Work Cited
"How The Anti-Bullying Movement Is Setting Up Kids For Failure In Life and Their Evolution of Consciousness." How The Anti-Bullying Movement Is Setting Up Kids For Failure In Life and Their Evolution of Consciousness. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Rebekah,
ReplyDeleteLet me say first that I totally agree with your argument. Every time we have some kind of presentation at school on bullying, I always wonder to what extent they are actually generating anything productive. I find it unfortunate that I could connect with the little kid that you babysit.
I like your argument on labeling, but it I think you could have expanded on it a little more. What exactly is the definition of bullying nowadays that allows it to be applied to so many people? However, your statement that bullying over the years hasn't changed, but instead our perception of it has gotten worse was very thought-provoking. Maybe schools should consider that when putting together strategies for bullying prevention?
On a more technical note, while your argument is compelling, your wording doesn't flow very well and makes your post a little hard to read. Your longer sentences could benefit from some punctuation, or possibly separation into smaller sentences.
Overall, I thought your argument was a very good idea, and just some work on the flow and wording of your writing are two aspects to concentrate on for your next post.
Rebekah, I really like this post. I agree with Emma that maybe you could use some commas, but overall, I think this is well written. This is such a unique and interesting idea to tackle for your junior research paper. I legitimately look forward to reading it. I have one real comment. You acknowledge "small yet important results of the Anti-Bullying movement" and then you tell the story of the kid you babysit. Was his comment the "important" result? If so, why was being bored "important"? If not, what was "important." You really left me craving more here.
ReplyDeleteWhen you write your research paper you have to be careful of this. I sense, working with you, that you have all of the tools to be a fantastic writer. You write technically sound and you have creative, thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes, though, I fear that you don't include enough explanation. You have constantly ask yourself, "is my reader going to get the connection I'm making." If you have any doubt, write another sentence to explain.
Regardless, good job.