The Fight Against Bullying

Middle school is the worst years of many. These years, even though they may not seem
like it, are the crucial years where kids are trying to discover their place in the world. Bullying is
what arises when we find the kids that may discover themselves in ways that aren't popular.
Why is it that the people who discover those differences in themselves compared to others, are
the ones that get put down in life? Have your ever thought what the world would be like if being
intelligent was cool rather than running a 4.4, 40 or being the best athlete your peers have ever
seen? The ways the world has skewed our vision of what is cool in our lives has caused us as
humans to not allow for any outliers from the status of being cool. Those outliers are the kids
that are outcastes and very few try to reach out and bring them back to the world of the social
status quo. For my senior project I choose to speak to those who are going through that walk of
life as we speak and give them someone's point of view who has seen the best and worst of those
days.

Bullying can be divided into 3 different categories: physical intimidation, relational

aggression, and internet harassment. Physical intimidation are actions intended to control which
can lead to serious bodily harm or death in some situations (Definition from the US Department
of Labor). This was proven by Child Trends, to appear more in younger kids typically under the
age of 10 due to the bully being an outlier that may be a bigger and stronger kid for that age.
Relational aggression peaks the most in kids ages 10-13, and not as often but a problem still in
high school aged kids. Relational aggression is a dig at someones social status or intended to
harm someone to affect their ability to form relationships; this can something as non-violent as a
rumor, or as violent as someone getting a video of a kid getting beat up. Internet harassment

appear the most in ages 14-18 which is solely due to the fact that this is the age where every kid
has a phone and can access social media. Social media plays a huge part in bullying later in life
because in ways you can remain anonymous but still create a terrible situation for someones
well-being. According to a Child Trends study, 48% of middle school aged kids experience
some sort of bullying. In return though, another study was done showing that when a bystander
intervenes with the situation, bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% percent of the time. The real
question is, based on these stats, why dont bystanders and anyone else near the situation try to
prevent it more? With more than of the time it stops we should try to prevent the ways kids
can get at each other face to face.

The paragraph I just shared was what I used to introduce the topic to my middle school
kids. I decided to ask them what was the category there bullying feel under. All but one had a
recent experience with bullying in the past year and every kid that had a recent experience was
always a relational aggression situation. To me that got things going in my head. I needed to
help my kids come up with the tactics and solutions to avoid these situations within their schools
or where ever else a bully may approach you. Kids at the middle school age are starting to
develop major social skills as they mature to an older age. These ways they develop these skill
and the interests they may find while doing it are different all across the board. That is where
bullies can take advantage though. They find those kids that are the odd ones to most. But arent
we all an odd person to most at one point in our lives? I know for me personally I was and still
am different in many ways about the way I do things in my life from many other people. So why
does that give someone the right to expose these differences if they may have some too. You see
I told my group of boys a way to be able to tune someone that tries to expose the differences in

people is to know and believe in the fact they have some too that they are probably too scared to
let anyone see, so they cover it up by showing the inner you. Knowing this is key at that age
because it can push you through the situation in a positive state of mind as well as showing the
person they cant get the best of you.

I have been a small group leader at Hope Community Church for about a year now. For
me the leadership it gave me a choice to run and take full advantage of having an impact on a
kid's life. Inside these small groups we find kids from all different backgrounds. Many love to
share openly about their lives and God and other will answer one question or stay silent. But I
know I make a difference to them. Every Saturday I get to be greeted by some of the coolest
kids out there and I love that I have been able to help them grow with their relationship with
Christ. Deciding on the topic I did allowed for me to be open and have a positive impact on my
students lives. Knowing that gives me something I get to look back on and know where I
helped make a difference.

Notes ASPCC:
About 28 percent of students ages 1218 reported being bullied at school

The majority of bullying still takes place at school; 1 in 3 U.S. students say they have
been bullied at school, according to the DHHS.
It is reported in the CDCs Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance 2013 report, that on
average across 39 states survey, 7.2% (range: 3.6% 13.1%) of students admit to not
going to school due to personal safety concerns.
Many dread the physical and verbal aggression of their peers, and many more attend
school in a chronic state of anxiety and depression.
Its reported that 70.6% of young people say they have seen bullying in their schools.
While bullying can result in reluctance to go to school and truancy, headaches and
stomach pains, reduced appetite, shame, anxiety, irritability, aggression and depression
are also frequent effects.
Child Trends Notes:
28% of U.S. students in grades 612 experienced bullying
20% of U.S. students in grades 912 experienced bullying
Approximately 30% of young people admit to bullying others in surveys
Seen Bullying
70.6% of young people say they have seen bullying in their schools
70.4% of school staff have seen bullying. 62% witnessed bullying two or more times in
the last month and 41% witness bullying once a week or more
When bystanders intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time
6% of students in grades 612 experienced cyberbullying
16% of high school students (grades 912) were electronically bullied in the past year.16
However, 55.2% of LGBT students experienced cyberbullying
The risk for bullying peaks at different ages for different types of bullying.
In 2014, physical intimidation was most commonly reported by children under 10 years:
its prevalence was 19 percent among children ages two to five, and 18 percent among
children ages six to nine, compared with 9 percent among children ages 10 to 13, and 5
percent among children ages 14 to 17.
Relational aggression peaks later, with 23 percent of children ages two to five reporting it
in the past year, compared with 33 percent of children ages six to nine, 48 percent of
children ages 10 to 13, and 39 percent of youth 14 to 17.
Internet and cell phone harassment was most common at ages 14-17 (nine percent,
compared with less than five percent among younger children).
Notes CNN Article:
"Today's young adults and teenagers have grown up with technology and they have
access to it 24/7. Many times they become very bold over technology and text things they
would never say directly to someone's face
"It's extremely difficult to stop someone from sending messages when apps make it easy
to remain anonymous."
For the sake of having a consistent definition of what bullying means, the committee
referred to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's current definition: Bullying is
any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths who are not
siblings or current dating partners that involves an observed perceived power imbalance
and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated, and bullying may inflict

harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social or

educational harm.
Interview with student(Brock Vanek):
Has been exposed to the problem of bullying and even goes to a private Christian school
There were days he felt like not coming to school or transferring due to the problem
Fought in school over the problem
Changed his opinion on making friends and he now has more serious trust issues

Works Cited:
"Bullying Statistics and Information - American SPCC." American SPCC. N.p., n.d. Web. 08
Dec. 2016.
"Bullying - Child Trends." Child Trends. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.
"Bullying Is a 'serious Public Health Problem,' Experts Say." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d.
Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
"DOL Workplace Violence Program - Appendices." U.S. Department of Labor -- HRC - DOL
Workplace Violence Program - Appendices. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.