for Children and Youth - Ventura County Star

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10 Creating Asset Rich Environments for Children and Youth Challenge B Bullying “Bullying is a problem that large numbers of kids confront on a daily basis at school; it’s not just an issue for the few unfortunate ones. We knew a small group gets picked on regularly, but we were surprised how many kids reported at least one incident.” Jaana Juvoen, UCLA professor of developmental psychology People often dismiss bullying among kids as a normal part of growing up. Who wasn’t bullied at one time or another during childhood, right? But there is nothing innocent about bullying. It is harmful, and can have lasting effects on the victim, the bully, and even the bystanders. Bullying, which happens mostly at school, occurs when a person or group repeatedly tries to harm someone who is weaker. Bullies can take the fun out of school, and turn something simple like a ride on the bus, a walk to class or a visit to the bathroom into a scary event that is anticipated with worry all day. Bullying, commonly thought to be a problem for boys, is just as prevalent among girls. It often takes the form of intentional verbal abuse or malicious gossip by several girls ganging up on one girl. What is Bullying? Bullying is intentional, repeated hurtful acts, words or other behavior such as name-calling, threatening and/or shunning someone, committed by one or more children against another child (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). Bullying may be physical, verbal, emotional, or sexual, and involves a real or perceived difference in power between the bully and victim. Physical bullying includes pushing, shoving, slapping, hitting, kicking, punching, poking, strangling, hair pulling, beating, biting, shoving, slapping, pushing, or excessive tickling. Verbal bullying includes acts such as hurtful name-calling, teasing, gossip, having rumors or lies spread about a student by a peer, sexual jokes, comments or gestures made to him or her, or being made fun of. Emotional bullying includes rejecting, terrorizing, extorting, humiliating, blackmailing, or rating of personal characteristics such as race, disability, gender, ethnicity, or perceived sexual orientation, as well as manipulating friendships, isolating or ostracizing an individual, and peer pressure. Sexual bullying includes many of the actions listed above as well as exhibitionism, voyeurism, sexual harassment, sexual propositioning, and abuse involving physical contact or sexual assault. Bullying also occurs under names such as hazing or “initiation rites” that are perpetrated against new students or members of a sports team or club. Why it Matters Bullying often leads to greater and prolonged violence. Not only does it harm victims, bullying negatively affects the climate of schools and community youth activities, and reduces the opportunities for children and youth to learn and achieve. Bullying harms victims: ◆◆ Grades may suffer because attention is drawn away from learning ◆◆ Fear of the bully may lead to absenteeism, truancy, or dropping out ◆◆ Victims may lose or fail to develop self-esteem and a sense of self-efficacy
Creating Asset Rich Environments for Children and Youth 11 ◆◆ Victims experience feelings of isolation, and may become withdrawn and depressed ◆◆ As victims become adults, they may be hesitant to take on social, intellectual, emotional or vocational risks ◆◆ Victims are more likely than non-victims to grow up feeling socially anxious and insecure, and display more signs of depression ◆◆ If the problem persists, victims occasionally feel compelled to take drastic measures such as weaponcarrying, planned vengeance, or suicide Bullying harms bystanders: ◆◆ Bystanders feel unsafe and powerless to take action ◆◆ Bystanders may be afraid to associate with the victim for fear of retribution from the bully or lowering their own status in the group ◆◆ Bystanders report feelings of guilt or helplessness for not standing up for the victim ◆◆ Bystanders fear reporting bullying incidents because they do not want to be called a “snitch,” “tattler” or “informer;” often they believe adult intervention will be ineffective ◆◆ In some cases, bystanders are drawn into bullying behavior by group pressure Bullying even harms bullies: ◆◆ As a group, bullies attend school less regularly than non-bullies and are at-risk for dropping out ◆◆ Bullying may lead to increased violent tendencies, including delinquency and criminal behavior What the Data Tell Us Bullying and harassment occur most often out of the view of teachers and other responsible adults. If perpetrators go unpunished, a climate of fear develops. Both bullies and victims need help in learning new ways to get along in school, on teams, and in community programs. Bystanders need to be empowered to take action to confront bullying behavior. Did you know? Cyber-bullying Bullies are now taking advantage of the Internet and cell phones to intimidate and harass their victims day and night. Forms of cyber-bullying, a growing problem in homes and the community as well as schools, can range in severity from cruel or embarrassing rumors to threats, harassment or stalking. The National Picture In the 2003-04 school year, i-SAFE America (2007) surveyed 1,500 students from across the country on cyber-bullying, and the results show that bullying is no longer about the strong picking on the weak in the schoolyard. The physical assault has been replaced by a 24-hour per day, seven days a week online bashing, with savvy students using Instant Messaging, e-mails, chat rooms and social websites such as “My Space” as well as websites they create, to humiliate a peer. The i-SAFE America survey revealed: ◆◆ 42 % of kids have been bullied while online; 1 in 5 has had it happens more than once ◆◆ 35 % of kids have been threatened online; nearly 1 in 5 has had it happen more than once ◆◆ 21 % of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other messages ◆◆ 58 % of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once
Page 1 and 2: OFFICE OF EDUCATION Creating Asset
Page 3 and 4: Creating Asset Rich Environments fo
Page 11 and 12: Introduction Creating Asset Rich En
Page 19: Creating Asset Rich Environments fo
Page 27 and 28: Linking the Challenges to Strategie
Page 49: Creating Asset Rich Environments fo

for Children and Youth - Ventura County Star

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?