Bullying

VIEWPOINT

Euclid B. Tayaotao

Every now and then during a call for Parents Teachers Association meeting in schools, the issue about bullying is on the list for discussion. As defined, bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that is intentional among school-aged children that involves as imbalance of power and strength. It includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. While boys may bully others through physical means; girls often bully others by social exclusion.

Bullying has taken its ground in school for years. Recently, even technology and social media spots like Facebook, Twitter, and Blog have created a new venue for bullying. It is quite alarming when kids turn into bully and bullied kids become victims of bullying and succumb to fear for being bullied. It is then the responsibility of teachers, school administrators, parents, and the students themselves to take part in solving this menacing behavior in school. A campaign to prevent and stop bullying should be done.

A dedication in creating a safe and friendly environment at school for our children to grow intellectually and socially without fear is a must. As all fruit comes from a root, factors should be considered and observed what causes students to bully. Most bullies have general common personalities.

They like to subjugate others and are primarily focused on themselves. In observation, mostly bullies think they are knocked out but the truth is they are actually insecure about themselves.

They are that way they are because they’ve been aggrieved and hurt in the past, maltreated in the family, have personality disorders that need mental health attention and care. At school, different kinds of bullying occur because of different personalities.

Teachers should be on the lookout if there’s an act of bullying in the classroom and school premises intercede immediately to discourage such act and make necessary measures to avoid its reoccurrence. Parents have the greatest responsibility in taking rally against bullying. Children learn basic behavior through their parents.

Being open to aggressive behavior or an inordinately and demanding environment at home makes kids more prone to bully at school. Parents and guardians should be a model for children on how to relate with other people and with them. At school, safety measures should be created with anti-bullying teams and involve the students.

Students have all the right to inform adults about what is really going on and also teach about new technologies that kids are using to bully. Everybody should be concerned parents, teachers, school administrators, and even the community can help students engage in positive drive and teach them skills so that bullying can be diverted into a profitable activities.

It can be done and we have all the means to handle bullying without letting our children being dispirited or subdued. Let us help our children stop this violence inside and outside the learning circle. Most importantly, let your child know you care and always be there when things get rough at school. Prevention as they say is better than cure. May we then be early to respond to any sign of bullying for any delay translates to risk of lives.