Blog Post 1: What is Bullying?

Bullying is a serious issue back for decades. The term "bully" was originally mean "sweetheart" back in 1530s, which is applied to either sex. Later on the word worsen in the 17th century from "sweetheart" to "harasser of the weak". The verb "to bully" is first attested in 1710.




Bullying is one of the serious problem we are facing all over the globe. What is bullying exactly? According to B. Kaiser|J.S. Rasminsky from http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-bullying-teasing-school/  "Bullying is a special form of aggressive behavior. The world's leading authority on bullying, Dan Olweus, who designed the Norwegian intervention program, defines it this way: "A person is being bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons" (Olweus, 1991, 1993)."

"Bullying includes behaviors that focus on making someone else feel inadequate, or focus on belittling someone else. Bullying includes harassment, physical harm, repeatedly demeaning speech and efforts to ostracize another person. Bullying is active, and is done with the intention of bringing another person down."

Bullying is an unavoidable passage of growing up. I think everybody at some point in their life they become a victim of it. Bullying become worst all over the years. It is a part of your worst nightmare in preschool and high school years.

"Physical bullying is more common among boys, and teenage girls often favor verbal and emotional bullying. Indeed, while boys report that they are more likely to be involved in physical altercations, girls report that they are often the targets of nasty rumors - especially involving sexual gossip. Additionally, girls are more likely to use exclusion as a teenage bullying technique than boys are."

Bullying is a sneaky action. Common place that you may witness a person being bullied are the playgrounds, hallways, cafeterias, locker rooms and bathrooms. So the victim would rather stay in the classrooms during their breaks.

According to Ron Banks — Educational Resource Information Center (U.S. Department of Education) "Bullying in schools is a worldwide problem that can have negative consequences for the general school climate and for the right of students to learn in a safe environment without fear. Bullying can also have negative lifelong consequences—both for students who bully and for their victims."

"Various reports and studies have established that approximately 15% of students are either bullied regularly or are initiators of bullying behavior (Olweus, 1993). Direct bullying seems to increase through the elementary years, peak in the middle school/junior high school years, and decline during the high school years. However, while direct physical assault seems to decrease with age, verbal abuse appears to remain constant. School size, racial composition, and school setting (rural, suburban, or urban) do not seem to be distinguishing factors in predicting the occurrence of bullying. Finally, boys engage in bullying behavior and are victims of bullies more frequently than girls (Batsche & Knoff, 1994; Nolin, Davies, & Chandler, 1995; Olweus, 1993; Whitney & Smith, 1993)."

Bullying is a serious problem and we have to be knowledgeable about it to help and victims and the bullies. Let's fight this problem. We don't want to ruin the children's childhood memories. Let's be aware of the problem. 

References:

http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/teenage-bullying.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying

Blog Post 5: Facts And Statistics About Bullying

Bullying is a major problem in every part of the globe including children and teens. In this blog, we will show you the facts about bullying so you are aware of it, to warn and help the victims of bullying.

1. Verbal, Social, Physical & Cyber bullying, these are the major types of bullying.

2. Imbalance of power. The bullies use their popularity and strength to control and dictate the victims. They will usually target those who are weaker in size or may have a difficult time defending themselves.

3. Intent to cause harm. The bullies intentionally hurt the victims whether its physical or emotional. They do this to a group or to a one weak person.

4. Repetition. Some of these bullies have their “preferred” group or person to be bullied. They don’t bully someone and bully another person. They aim the same group or person constantly.

5. A survey in 2009 found that 9 out of every 10 LGBT students reported experiencing verbal harassment in the previous school year, because of their sexual orientation.

6. The victim of bullying comes home with unexplained injuries or with damaged or missing clothing or other belongings.

7. A victim of bullying makes excuses not to go to school.

8. Cyber-bullying in the form of text messages, emails, photos, website postings can go school-wide in minutes and global in days. It is often takes the form of cyber gossip, where damaging content is based on whim; not facts, and is posted on social networking sites.

9. Eighty-three percent of bullying incidents receive no intervention and continue to happen.

10. Only 1 in 10 victims of cyber-bullying tell a parent.

11. Bullying is the fourth most common reason young people seek help from children's help services.

12. A sign a person or your child might be a bully if he/she becomes frequently violent. He/She has trouble controlling anger. The bully might not accept responsibility for their actions. Needs to win or be the best at everything, manipulative and controlling of others and is quick to blame others.

13. A victim of bullying has change in eating habits.

14. Bullying is the reason about 160,000 teens skip school each day.

15. Children who were bullied were up to nine times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, say some studies.

16. Male bullying more commonly consists of verbal and physical abuse, whereas female bullying more commonly involves more verbal abuse and social bullying by spreading of rumors.

17. Each year there are more than 3.2 million students who are the victims of a bully.

18. Children are more likely to experience verbal assaults targeting appearances and behaviors rather than race or religious affiliations. In many cases, bullies felt that the victim was at fault for these behaviors or appearances. 

19. Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.

20. Roughly 80% of students who experienced bullying in 2007 reported it occurring inside the school grounds.

 “Counseling or therapy is good methods in helping to treat a child who exhibits symptoms of bullying. Children who are victims may also need some kind of support or counseling to help resolve underlying issues of emotional feelings of inadequacy. Children who are confident and have higher self-esteem are less likely to fall prey to the attacks of bullying.”

Understanding these facts, signs and statistics can help somebody prevent anybody from becoming bullies or help them not become a victim of a bully.

References:
http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/facts-on-bullying.html
https://www.kidpower.org/library/article/bullying-facts/
http://nobullying.com/bullying-facts-the-numbers/
http://www.kidspot.com.au/schoolzone/Bullying-Facts-and-figures-about-bullying+4065+395+article.htm
http://kamaron.org/Cyber-Bullying-Articles-Facts
http://www.makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org/facts_new.html

Blog Post 4: How To Deal With Bullying

Is there a time when you see someone being bullied and you're in the dilemma if you want to help them or not? 

I have this experience way back when i was in high school and I saw a small boy being bullied by the tall boys in the corner. They were teasing him, calling him names like, "bansot" and telling him to go back to elementary because of his height. I know I wanted to do something to stop them but I can't. I didn't know what to do.

So here some of the tips that can help you deal with bullying.

According to http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood written by By Mary Drecktrah, Ph.D., and Lisa Blaskowski, first thing is to be know about the extent of the problem.

"The authors surveyed two small mid-west elementary schools and a middle school and found that the staff’s perception of bullying was much different from the students’ perception of bullying. At the elementary level, the staff (principals, counselors, secretaries, teachers, etc.) estimated that 7.1 percent of students were bullied compared to 69.6 percent of the elementary students who reported they had been bullied. The definition on both surveys (staff and students) defines bullying as “when another student or group of students is mean to you several times (weeks or months). It can be verbal (name calling, gossiping, ignoring, threats) or physical (hitting, kicking, etc.).” At the middle school level, the staff estimated 8 percent of students had been bullied while 65.7 percent of students reported they had been bullied. This suggests that the staff does not recognize the extent of the bullying problem that students in their school face."

In this quote article even the school administration didn't know what the real deal is.If you are one of the who saw an a child or a person being bullied you can try to help them by suggesting something else to divert the attention away from the situation so you wouldn't end up getting hurt yourself.

Second part is the parents, as a child's first teacher, they must be aware on their actions because the children will imitate what they see. If a child was raised in a abusive family, the child will see that violence is a way to solve a problem.

"With small children, parents need to nurture three important skills: l) empathy, how to understand how someone else feels; 2) control, how to express strong negative feelings like anger and fear; and 3) problem-solving, how to think of consequences and not act impulsively. Make sure your children are supervised so they receive the guidance they need. Know their friends and encourage supervised programs and recreation run by adults you respect. Accompany your children and watch how they get along with others. Teach your child how to respond appropriately when others use insults or threats to deal with anger by hitting. Encourage them to avoid children who behave that way."

Third is be open to them. The best and efficient way to deal with this situation is to be open to them. Talk to the victims, ask them how they feel and appreciate them. Tell the victims that they have the confidence and power to walk away from any situation. Making safe choices like stepping out of a line or changing seats is sometimes all that is needed to make a bullying problem stop. 

Let the child talk once them open up to you, help the victim to problem-solve. 

Blog Post 3: Bullying in the Philippines

There are different cases of bullying all over the world. Though our general problem is corruption, here in the Philippines we are no different; we also have cases of bullying.

In the article written by Helen Flores from The Philippine Star (July 28, 2014), http://www.philstar.com/metro/2014/07/28/1351137/1700-cases-bullying-reported

“MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) documented more than 1,700 cases of child abuse and bullying in school year 2013-2014 after Republic Act 10627, the Anti-Bullying Act, was passed last year. However, the DepEd said 60 percent of these cases have already been resolved. Education Secretary Armin Luistro said violence takes many forms – peer-to-peer bullying, gender-based discrimination, physical assault, psychological punishment, public ridicule, and sexual harassment. “Bullying and other forms of violence in schools should be viewed not just a school problem but as societal problem as well,” he said. Luistro said RA 10627 paved the way for a heightened awareness against child abuse. It has helped advance the DepEd’s Child Protection Policy (CPP) through the creation of Child Protection Committees in school divisions, he added.”

Little do we know that most public schools here in the Philippines also experience bullying. Fortunately, we have “Anti-Bullying Act of 2013” RA No. 10627, “AN ACT REQUIRING ALL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO ADOPT POLICIES TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS THE ACTS OF BULLYING IN THEIR INSTITUTIONS”

“The Anti-Bullying Law was formally signed by President Aquino on September 12, 2013. As an educator, Luistro considered the signing of the IRR of the Anti-Bullying Law as one of DepEd’s biggest achievement last year. The Philippines is one of the first nations in the world to even come up with a law on bullying including features of cyber-bullying,” Luistro said earlier. “It is an imperfect law and the IRR will not be able to anticipate all the problems and challenges but, I think it is a milestone,” he said.”

Yes, we are the first to implement a law on bullying and it helps a lot of victims because they will be able to stand up and speak out.

October 22, 2013, just one month after implementing the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, a worst incident of bullying happened in Malabon, Philippines.

According to the reports from Gus Abelgas, TV Patrol http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/10/21/13/bullied-boy-left-fighting-life

“A 9-year-old boy from Tanong Elementary School in Malabon is in critical condition after he was allegedly bullied by his classmates. Fred Aston Mendoza, a Grade 4 student, is currently confined in the Philippine Children's Medical Center after undergoing surgery. The victim's mother, Vilma Santos Mendoza, said her son had bruises when he went home last Friday. "Hinabol daw siya, tapos hinubaran, yun yung pagkakwento po niya. Tapos pinagsusuntok na siya sa tiyan, sinipa," she added. Later that night, the boy suffered from high fever. When he was brought to the hospital, it was found out that he was suffering from internal bleeding in his liver. Fred underwent surgery Saturday. One of Aston's classmates also narrated how the victim was bullied. "Pinagtatadyakan siya dahil nang-iinis si Aston," said one of the victim's classmates. School authorities have called the parents of the two children involved in the incident. It has only been a month since President Aquino signed RA 10627, or the Anti Bullying Act. Fred's case is only one of the many cases of bullying in Malabon, police said. Malabon police have recorded 7 recent cases of bullying in the city. Authorities are keeping tabs on schools with numerous cases of bullying.”

A situation like this, parents should extend their support to their children. They should teach their children how to act in this kind of situation. 

"One traumatic bullying experienced can create and leave a never-healing scar that lasts forever." - Ty Howard

References: http://www.gov.ph/2013/09/12/republic-act-no-10627/

http://www.mb.com.ph/deped-school-officials-are-liable-for-violation-of-anti-bullying-law/

Blog Post 2: Types of Bullying

Have you ever experienced being bullied? When you think about bullying what do you imagine? Punching, teasing, or hitting a weaker person?

According to the article by Charlie Bentson King from http://ezinearticles.com/,

"Bullying in schools is a national epidemic. It affects the ability of kids to learn and adapt socially. Victims develop social problems that affect them the rest of their lives and in extreme cases can lead to suicide. They frequently lose interest in school and become poor students and in some cases even drop out to avoid the abuse. We owe it to our kids to prevent bullying whenever and wherever we can. To accomplish this, schools need a bullying prevention program that can recognize behaviors and step in to control the situation before it becomes tragic. All kids deserve a place free of fear to learn. The first step in prevention is to understand the types of bullying."

He said that in order for us to prevent bullying is to be knowledgeable about it. I definitely agree because if we want to help a person we must first understand what is the problem.

Most people didn’t know that there are different kinds of bullying. The most common type of bullying base on my observation nowadays is cyberbullying. Let’s explain further about the types of bullying that we encounter daily.

In this article written by Suzanne Peck from http://www.parents.com, she explain further the four common types of bullying which are physical, verbal, relational, and cyber bullying. The article tells you what it is, give example, and let us know how to spot the signs and what to do in a specific type of bullying.

First is verbal bullying, it involves teasing, insults or name-calling in a negative way.

Here is the example from the article, When a child says to another child, 

"You're really, really fat, and so is your mom." – this is a form of verbal bullying, I know for some it can be a simple tease but some children might be really hurt and become moody and others lose their confidence.

The second type is the easiest to identify, physical bullying. Many of us may have witness a form of physical bullying. Conferring to the article,

“Physical bullying, or bullying with aggressive physical intimidation, involves repeated hitting, kicking, tripping, blocking, pushing, and touching in unwanted and inappropriate ways.”

Relational Bullying is common on girls, example of this is, 

“A group of girls in dance class keeps talking about a weekend sleepover and sharing pictures, treating the one uninvited child as if she were invisible.” – This really happens every day and the effect last longer especially on girls. They tend to become loner and feeling unappreciated and often feel they don’t belong.

In this century where we live in a techie world this type of bullying is widely seen all over social media. How to spot the signs a person is being cyber bullied according to the article,

”Watch to see if your child spends more time online (visiting social media pages or texting) but appears to be sad and anxious afterward. Even though she's reading painful things on her computer, tablet, or phone, this may be her only social outlet. Also take note if she has trouble sleeping, begs to stay home from school, or withdraws from activities she once loved.”

Take note that some cases of this may lead to committing suicide because of the embarrassment and because it’s on social media, everyone can see with just one click away.

Being bullied is not just a simple thing that we can say it just a pace in life that you have to deal with, It can be case to case basis, it depends on the person and it can be a serious matter that has a negative effect in their entire life. We must be aware and knowledgeable to take action if we encounter a type of bullying situation.