Who
is Responsible to help with the Bullying Problem?
The
controversial topic is where does bullying stem from? Is it a school problem? Is it a parental problem? Is it a societal problem that is accepted as
a part of life? Many research articles
have pointed that bullying is not an accepted norm and children deserve the
right to live their life without being bullied. How is bullying to be fixed or where do we as
a society focus to help eliminate bullying?
Many
people point to schools, since that is where the majority of bullying takes
place. Many point to school environment
and lack of teacher supervision as the causes of bullying (Hong and Espelage,
2012). Lack of proper classroom
management has also been directly linked to bullying (Kochenderfer-Ladd and
Pelletier, 2008). With lower levels of
adult/teacher monitoring, bullying seems to increase in frequency and children
feel less safe (Hong and Espelage, 2012).
Other studies that look at long periods of time in relation of school
environment like transitions from elementary to middle school show that school
environment had little to do with bullying (Hong and Espelage, 2012).
Christie-Mizell, Keil,
Laske, & Stewart (2011) relate the work hours of parents and the behavior
of their children. In households where
both parents work full time, there was an increase in the incidence of bullying
due to the lack of interaction between parents and the children , especially
when the father is working full and overtime work hours (Christie-Mizell, Keil,
Laske, & Stewart, 2011). Another
study shows that parents that have anger toward their child(ren), when they feel
the child is bothering them or when the parent feels their child is difficult
than most others to raise, have a higher chance of becoming a bully as well
(Shetgiri, Lin, Avila, & Flores, 2012).
The reason many children in these situations turn out this way is they
have a hard time developing relationships like the most trusted one between
parent and child (Shetgiri, Lin, Avila, & Flores, 2012). Conversely, Shetgiri, Lin, Avila, &
Flores (2012) show that parents that meet their child’s friends, help their
kids with homework as well as talk about and share ideas with each other are
less likely to be bullies.
The pros of focusing on schools to fix the bullying
problem:
·
Numerous kids can be affected all at
once to change the problem.
·
Victims see teacher intervention as a
positive way to stop bullying
·
When teachers are consistent and timely
when stopping bullying effect results are produced
Cons:
·
Many students say teachers are not aware
of bullying going on
·
Lack of proper training
·
Different opinions of what is bullying
and different/inconsistent strategies
Pros of focusing on parents to fix the bullying
problem:
·
Parents are the most influential person
in the child’s life
·
Children trust their parents
·
Parental involvement plays a huge parent
in a child’s life
Cons:
·
Parents are in denial about their
children being a bully or being the victim of a bully
·
Reaching a large number of parents with
the proper information
·
Changing the way parents interact with
their children – people usually do not change willingly if they do not see a
problem
·
Parents need to work to support families
Efforts
to benefit all children as a whole are to focus on both parents and
teachers. Providing training sessions to
school faculty during staff development is important by providing tools on how
to work with the bullying situation(s) and have a consistent policy and
framework for teachers to go by to help kids.
Additionally, setting up parent workshops at school(s) to reach out and
help parents become aware of what to look for and how to be more involved with
their children to help eliminate any potential problems that may arise.
References
Christie-Mizell, C., Keil, J. M., Laske, M.,
& Stewart, J. (2011). Bullying Behavior, Parents’ Work Hours and Early
Adolescents’ Perceptions of Time Spent With Parents. Youth & Society,
43(4), 1570-1595. doi:10.1177/0044118X10388261
Hong, J.,
& Espelage, D. L. (2012). A review of research on bullying and peer
victimization in school: An ecological system analysis. Aggression &
Violent Behavior, 17(4), 311-322. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2012.03.003
Kochenderfer-Ladd, B. and Pelletier, M. E. (2008).
Teachers’ views and beliefs about bullying: Influences on
classroom management strategies and students' coping with peer
victimization. Journal of School Psychology, 46 (4), 431-453.
Shetgiri, R., Lin, H., Avila, R. M., &
Flores, G. (2012). Parental Characteristics Associated With Bullying
Perpetration in US Children Aged 10 to 17 Years. American Journal Of Public
Health, 102, 2280-2286. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300725
