It’s a Problem

       Bullying is one of the most disastrous problems in the world. The frequency of tragedies that result from these problems is increasing. Bullying can do a lot of damage to kids, even if we don’t think it’s doing anything. Kids can be bullied in many different forms and ways. It can be from families/parents, kids at school, or online bullying. There are a lot of things that go on behind closed doors to a kid who gets bullied that people don’t talk about.  Bullying can result in physical injury, social and emotional distress, self-harm, and sometimes death. Bullying can threaten students’ physical and emotional safety at school and negatively impact their learning ability. 

Students and Staff’s advice on how to handle bullying at NHS!!

What would you do to prevent bullying at North? 

1. Staff A: “We would want to try and have staff and students communicate more so that they can get more involved in North activities. We can all come together and build a safety net for kids in need.  By doing this we wouldn’t have to deal with bullying and this would just allow kids to feel safe in our school’s environment.”
2. Staff B: “Working on building a positive environment and improving boundaries in the classroom.”
3. Staff C: “Teachers need to create a safe space in the classroom instead of sending the kids out of class.”
4. Student A: “If students see bullying happening around them, they would alert a teacher and get the student help on what’s happening.” 
5. Staff D: “The administration should find out what happened and try to investigate and try to solve the problem. If it keeps getting bigger than what it already is, then we would have to involve the police and they will take it from there.”

What would you do if you witnessed someone getting bullied?

1. Staff E: “They would get involved and point out to the person who is bullying in private and tell them what they are doing is wrong.”
2. Staff F: “I would break them up and keep the bullies with me and bring them to their APS.”
3. Student B: “If they were to witness bullying in this school they would go up to the student and ask them if they would like it if they did that to them and then report them to an administrator so that it will not happen again.” 

How do you think NHS staff handle bullying?

1. Staff  G: “They take the appropriate steps to help the bullies and victims. But need improvement.”
2. Staff H: “They think when the student reports it to the staff they act quickly in that a situation like this.”

Stop it before it’s too late

      The percentages of grade 6-12 and teens who have either experience, witnessed, or have admitted to bullying themselves, and where they would be getting bullied, are at a very high rate.“One out of five children has experienced bullying. Children with disabilities are more likely to be bullied than their other peers who don’t have a disability. It was found that 35.3% of students with behavioral and emotional disorders, 33.9% of students with autism, 24.3% of students with intellectual disabilities, 20.8% of students with health impairments, and 19% of students with specific learning disabilities face high levels of bullying victimization.” This could cause the kid to be quiet and make them feel like they are all alone in life.       “The best way to address bullying is to stop it before it starts. There are several things school staff can do to make schools safer and prevent bullying. Training schools and people to prevent and address bullying can help sustain bullying prevention efforts over time.

    My Personal Experience

          From my personal experience, bullying can cause people to hide from the real world, because they are afraid of not being able to show their real selves. The fear of not wanting to go home or either just hiding in their room all the time or when they’re just walking in the halls, having their head down afraid to look people in the eyes or to even speaking out loud anywhere because of that fear of getting bullied. Bullying can affect everyone—those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness bullying. Bullying is linked to many negative outcomes. There are a lot of things that can cause someone to be a bully. Their parents could be going through something at home, or just being negative toward the kid and or physical abuse they are seen as weak, unable to defend themselves, and have low self-esteem. Popular kids could be bullying someone just because they don’t fit into their category. Kids have risk factors of being bullied no matter who the person is to them.  Such as being different from their peers, such as being overweight or underweight, wearing glasses or different clothing, being new to a school, or being unable to afford what kids consider “cool”.  

Mental Health

  On the website https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/at-risk, they discuss the health outcomes related to bullying. “

Bullying can also increase the risk of depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school. Bullying is one of the most disastrous problems in the world. The frequency of the tragedies that result from these problems is increasing. There is a strong link between mental health struggles, educational obstacles, bullying, and exclusion.  This happening causes trauma for the kids going into their adult life still wanting to know how to deal with things that have happened to them in the past.” at North high, this is seen constantly….

Learning from this experience!    

         When people do not talk about the process of their traumas they can make tragic decisions. It would cause them to be depressed, have anxiety, self-harm, etc. Some kids even grow from this experience. If you’re the bully as you are going into your adult years, you would understand and come to terms with what you did when you were younger was wrong.  If you were being bullied, you can learn how to grow from this experience, learn how to be more confident, not care what others say about you, and be more self-love. If the power of our voice and example can impact even just one person then we can change, or even save someone’s life. That is the best and most powerful thing any one person can do for another. There is no more excellent gift in the world than inclusion, compassion, and kindness! There is only so much damage a kid can take from being bullied before they do something to themselves or others.