Bullying in Schools: Addressing and Preventing

Bullying in Schools: Addressing and Preventing

Introduction

Bullying in schools is a complex and difficult topic, which, however, requires addressing as a sensitive issue affecting not only children but also adults. Bullying is targeted, first of all, at those who cannot fight back, who are physically weaker or who do not fit into the general system. These may be children from poorer families with different behaviors and appearances, closed and unsociable, too smart, or, conversely, students with lower intelligence. Bullying can start with psychological aggression and even develop into sexual or cyberbullying. The problem can also be expressed in physical aggression, offensive gestures, collective boycott, the extortion of money or things, material wrecking, or offensive and insulting statements addressed to a person or his or her relatives. This means that the topic of bullying affects not only children but also adults around them, primarily parents and teachers. Any aggression toward pupils can become a reason for the development of serious consequences for psychological development in the future. Addressing this issue requires the involvement of different stakeholders, and appropriate guidelines should be followed as a rule of thumb to keep bullying to a minimum in the school environment.

Recommendations for Teachers on Targeting and Preventing Bullying

When a teacher sees a child is being bullied by classmates, this is a good reason to take appropriate actions. Attentiveness in this issue plays an essential role because, even paying attention to the problem, it can be resolved for a while, which is not an effective result of the targeted work. It is crucial that the conflict between the students stops, and it is important to achieve this so that none of the parties feel hurt or humiliated (Ronksley-Pavia et al. 20). Otherwise, there remains the possibility of bullying moving to a new plane, for instance, to the Internet space, where controlling pupils’ communication is much more challenging.

Teachers and other school personnel, including senior management, should accept the possibility of bullying to combat this phenomenon. One of the initiatives at the initial stage is a simple conversation with children. The task of adults is to convey to students the unacceptability of corresponding behavioral forms, including the humiliation of the honor and dignity of peers (Curwin et al. 206). Therefore, at the class level, the teacher can discuss the problem with the pupils and explain that bullying for any of the signs is an unacceptable and low pattern of communication. Bullying initiators should fully understand the emotions and concerns experienced by those who become the object of their psychological or physical attacks. It is critical to maintain evaluative impartiality and, at the same time, answer all the questions that children may ask (Gaffney et al. e1143). Particular attention should be paid to the topic of third-party observation of bullying and a discussion of what actions bystanders can take, for instance, seeking advice from adults.

For teachers, parental involvement is a must if attempts to resolve an existing conflict at the classroom level have not been successful. In addition, due to natural secrecy and embarrassment, many children are not ready to share problems and experiences with their parents, fearing not only adults’ reactions but also the subsequent increase in bullying by offenders. Therefore, teachers should notify the parents of a child who has been the victim of psychological or physical abuse. Moreover, abusers’ parents should also be aware of the behavior of their son or daughter. Adults do not always have a complete understanding of how their children spend time outside the home. Sometimes, even in prosperous families, students demonstrate deviant behavior and aggression toward their peers, trying to compensate for individual complexes (LoBraico et al. 594). Thus, parental involvement may be mandatory for teachers to address the problem of bullying in schools and attract as much attention to the issue as possible.

Individual work with a child who is a victim of bullying is also a mandatory practice that teachers should follow. It is crucial for students who have experienced any form of abuse to understand that they do not have to deal with the problem alone. The school environment should stimulate the protection of students’ interests and not create conditions for harassment and humiliation of weaker ones (Gaffney et al. e1143). Among the mechanisms available to the teacher for interacting with the student, one can single out personal conversations, individual sessions with a psychologist, and even anonymous surveys. Becoming a friend for the child, the teacher can count on the sincerity and trust of the latter, thereby achieving the