Introduction
Eighty percent of
adolescents reported being bullied during their school years (Garrett 1).
Seventy one percent of the teachers or other adults in the classroom ignore
bullying incidents (1). Eighteen percent of students who suffer from bullying
have attempted suicide and some even succeeded (Hertz, Donato, Wright 1). Most
victims go unnoticed because they are too scared to speak up. Most victims
don’t even understand the true definition of bullying and sometimes do not even
realize they are being bullied. School has become a place of fear rather than a
haven for education. Bullying in schools across the nation has become an
epidemic, one that if not stopped will lead to an increase in the number of
students cheated on their education due to their fear of attending school where
they are literally pushed to their breaking points. For this reason, it is our
duty as students in public school to raise awareness to this epidemic and put
an end to it once and for all.
History
The
history of bullying can be dated all the way back to the first time children
were born into a society and able to interact with one another. Everyone has
picked on someone in their life. Children are the biggest culprits for forming
groups and bullying other group or individuals. Children and young adults
always seem to find something to criticize about others, but it’s how one
handles those negative thoughts that defines bullying. Bullying has always been
a part of life however in the past century with the rise of social media and
technological advances, bulling in schools has enhanced and grown worse than
ever before. We have seen millions of cases of bullying in schools across the
country, some of which have led to suicide. This outbreak is spreading farther
and wider and if not stopped will continue to infect and damage more and more
American students throughout the nation and even beyond.
Examples
There are millions of
cases of bullying in the media, news, on the internet and even in your own
schools. Almost everyone on the world was bullied at some point in their life.
Everyone has their own stories, but those brave enough to share are the ones
who inspire victims to get through their situations. Many famous celebrities
were bullied as children and continue to be cyberbullied by “haters” as their
careers prevail. Some of these celebrities include Ansel Elgort, Rumor Willis,
Jennifer Lawrence, Derek Hough, Justin Timberlake, Sandra Bullock, Robert
Pattinson, Miley Cyrus, Jason Segal, Jessica Alba, Jackie Chan, Megan Fox, Lady
Gaga, Tom Cruise, Demi Lovato, Michael Phelps, Chris Rock, Tiger Woods and
many, many more ("Bullied Celebrities"). These people were bullied,
harassed and beaten, as a child in grade school but did not let that stop them
from proving people wrong and following their dreams. Another example of the
bullying epidemic in schools is the story of a man named Nick Vujicic, a
quadriplegic that took his story of being broken by bullies to inspire others
that nothing is impossible. Nick was born with a disease in which none of his
limbs develop during his lifetime. This made school hard for him because each
day he attended he endured hurtful words and physical abuse without end. The
difference between Nick Vujicic and other victims of bullying is he chose to
rise above. Vujicic began to take those words and use them for fuel to feed his
dedication to promote anti-bullying later 
Bullying is a major problem in schools across
America and always has been. As it is now more popular than ever, it is our
duty to put an end to it once and for all. With the help of awareness spread by
famous celebrities whom people admire as well as the stories of ordinary people
who face bullying, we can spread the word of bullying and it’s effects on the
lives of it’s victims to keep schools across America a safer, healthier
environment for all students.
Solutions
There are a number of
actions that can be taken to prevent bullying in American schools. In addition
to the programs that are currently set in place, there are a number of ideas
that could be put into play to try and stop bullying. The U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services has used it’s observations, research, and experiments
to devise a procedural solution that will cure bullying in schools in America.
First an assessment
needs to be conducted at each school to determine the extent of bullying in
schools and who the main culprits and victims are ("Prevention at
School"). The items that need to be assessed are how often bullying
occurs, where it happens, how students and adults intervene, and whether the
current prevention efforts are working (1). This will allow a good overview of
further action that needs to be taken to affectively rid individual schools of
their problem.
The
next step in prevention is getting the community involved in abolition efforts
("Prevention at School").
Youth, parents, teachers and community members should become actively
engaged in the efforts to rid bullying among schools in order to form a strong
backbone for the fight. Students can share their perspectives on bullying so
that an effective approach can be conducted. Parents can build strong
relationships with the teachers and staff as well as become involved in school
activities and volunteering opportunities.
Teachers and staff should greet the parents and students with a
welcoming atmosphere each day of school and establish strong connections with
parents to make the aware of their child’s safety status and physical/emotional
states while at school.
In
addition, a set of rules and policies should be put into place that clearly
define the rules and regulations regarding the treatment of others while at
school along with a list of set consequences if these rules are violated
("Prevention at School"). An
example of this would be a code of conduct or a mission statement explaining
the safety standards and behavioral expectations for students at school. These
rules and policies cannot simply just be set, they must be enforced and
incorporated in daily activities so that students are familiar with them and
will cooperate. Another safety factor that can be added to this system of
policies would be a reporting system that would allow students and teachers to
easily but privately report incidents of bullying they’ve witnessed in order to
better treat the problem and add to the safety of the students.
After rules have been established, a safe
environment should be built to protect students from the dangers of bullying
("Prevention at School").
Respect for others as well as self-respect should be implemented into
the mindsets of students to create a positive atmosphere. Also, organization
and management should be enforced into the staff of the schools so that
students have a solid foundation to turn when they need to seek help. With
organization and order comes a safe, positive environment that makes bullying
harder and learning easier.
Finally,
after these steps have been mastered, the last step is to educate and raise
awareness of bullying ("Prevention at School"). It is important that
students are informed of signs of bullying so they can determine if they are
witnessing bullying or even experiencing it themselves and were not aware. Then
students should be trained on how to properly address bullying if it’s
witnessed so that things don’t escalate too far. There are various ways to
educate on bullying. Visual presentations, class discussions, or even certain
programs can raise awareness for bullying and provide examples of what to look
out for in schools and the community. Many victims may not even feel that what
they are experiencing is bullying because of the fact that there are so many
different types of bullying that people don’t learn about. The proper education
on bullying is necessary when trying to prevent bullying so that all possible
scenarios are addressed and can be recognized as abuse.
Another
solution to ending the bullying epidemic would be the proper counseling/
mentorship available to students who seek it. This could prevent bullying in
two ways; it could prevent bullying from happening in the first place by
providing an alternative method of releasing anger for the bullies themselves
and second it would allow the victims to have a place to resort to when help is
needed where they will be guided by a professional to help resolve their
bullying problem. Often times victims let bullies push them to their breaking
points because they are too embarrassed of the situations or do not have a trustworthy
source to report their suffering to. With the proper counseling available, many
cases could be cured before they escalate to self-mutilation or suicide.
With
this procedure at hand, the prevention of the bullying epidemic is left to us,
the students, to take action. The U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services believes a cure for the social epidemic is possible, therefore the
steps offered above are crucial for sparing innocent lives that have fallen
victim to this devastation and ending bullying in schools everywhere.
Camus’ Beliefs
Camus’ Beliefs
Albert Camus, the author of The Plague would view this
bullying epidemic as a true depiction of the reality of life. Camus was a
rationalist and took things as they were. He would feel that the idea of trying
to prevent bullying in schools is absurd and a waste of time because he’d
believe that bullying is part of human nature and a factor that will never go
away. Camus states in The Plague, “The evil that is in the world almost always
comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if
they lack understanding” ("Albert CamusQuotes"). With this he would
argue that we as human beings will never understand theexplanation behind the
idea of bullying therefore trying to solve the issue would only make it worse.
Camus would claim that the basis of bullying is ignorance and it would be
nearly impossible to rid bullying because there would be no way to rid the world
of ignorance. His belief in that idea of trying to end this bullying epidemic
would be that similar to the scientific approach mentioned above. Camus would
agree with scientists in that bullying is represented in all aspects of nature,
animals being a good example (Kalman). He would say that bullying is merely an
expression of natural dominance and is a form of survival of the fitness. To
interfere with this system would be absurd in that it would interfere with the
natural selection of society. This idea seems harsh when considering these are
human beings being discussed, however it is a rational, approach to the subject
which is the perspective Albert Camus would have taken given the background
information of this era.
Conclusion
The number of victims
who suffer from bullying rise each day, as does the harm inflicted by others
and by the victims themselves. The power to end this horrendous epidemic is in
our hands but we must utilize the right tools in an effective manner to take
action and stop it’s spread. Many attempts to end this epidemic have been taken
however nothing has had a large enough impact to turn the epidemic around. The
idea of ending bullying in schools across the nation seems absurd, however it
is possible with the proper approach. It is up to us to take back our school as
a safe haven for education and eliminate the violence and bullying in schools
all over America in hopes of saving our peers from falling victim to this act of
hatred and reducing the number of bully based massacres that jeopardize the
safety and sanity of students everywhere. We must provide help for bullies who
feel alone and help them help themselves and encourage victims to let their
smiles change the world but not let the world change their smiles.
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