In the United States every day countless kids are being bullied. According to a study done by Clemson University, one in every six kids is being bullied regularly. Everyday 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying.
There are many reasons why bullying is wrong. When a person is bullied, their self-esteem is lowered greatly. People that are bullied are very susceptible to depression and tend to feel hopeless and worthless. Bullying causes people to feel powerless with a sense of no self-worth.
Many people assume that bullying is part of a kid’s childhood, or that “kids will be kids.” One study done by UCLA says that there are many consequences of bullying, such as anxiety disorder, sadness, panic disorder, separation anxiety, and depression. This is a very serious issue at hand and many people are not aware of what is going on at schools every day.
One of the main reasons that bullying is occurring is because some kids cannot stand up for themselves and don’t know how to react to the oppression that they are receiving during this period of time. Another reason is because many people are ignorant and have no self respect for themselves or anybody around them.
Bullies are usually self-absorbed and insecure enough to want to cause emotional or even physical harm to another human being. Bullies need to stop and this can only be done if everyone helps to stop it, not just a few people. I don’t think that bullying is a good thing at all. I hear people at school say really mean things to other students which angers me because I can’t stand seeing kids bullied and talked to as if they are just a piece of trash.
I want to stop bullying everywhere because I know what it is like to be bullied. There have been several instances where someone has come up to me for whatever reason and said something like “You look stupid” or “You are really lame.” These kinds of comments were not uplifting and didn’t make me feel good about myself.
I think there are several different things that people can do in an attempt to stop bullying. One step that should be taken is that teachers should be mandated to intervene when bullying is brought to their attention. Another option should be to have the bully removed from that specific school system.
As people become more aware of bullying, schools around our country are taking a stand on bullying and implementing a zero tolerance towards this problem. At Foothill, students are made aware of the position against bullying and this is stated in the student handbook. This corresponds with all of Ventura Unified School Districts policy regarding anti-bullying.
Despite student’s awareness of this policy, bullying still exists within the student population. Anyone involved in bullying needs to understand the consequences of these actions, stop this behavior, and learn to respect other people.
