Bullying and Zero Tolerance Policies - Essay Example

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Discussion Bullying has become a problem for not only children but also for the parents. Bullying not only involves physical abuse but also emotional and psychological abuse. Today the problem of bullying is not physical but more towards the other two types of bullying, i.e. emotional and psychological. In this study we are trying to find out the extent of the problem and to see if the policy of zero tolerance will be effective in reducing bullying incidents that are taking place. The data has been gathered from a multi-cultural society to ensure that the results are not biased and represent the whole society not just a sub-sector. We took some surveys from the three different people who are involved in this process; the teachers, the students and the parents. The Parent's Perspective Questions Percentage say 'YES' Percentage say 'NO' Has your child ever been the victim of bullying Has your child to your knowledge engaged in bullying behavior Were the bullying incidents in which your son/daughter was involved resolved to your satisfaction Do you feel that a zero tolerance policy towards bullying would help to prevent future episodes of bullying Do you feel that your child would be less likely to engage in bullying behaviors if there was a zero tolerance policy Would the potential negative consequences of a zero tolerance policy which does not take into consideration any special circumstances outweigh the potential benefits of such a policy 80 24 26 67 71 43 20 76 74 33 29 57 Discussion From this table we can see that parents are not particularly satisfied with the solutions they have experienced and they would like to try out the zero tolerance policy. Also, we can see that there have been many instances where their children have been targeted to bullying activities and have been the victims. Parents are more willing to try out zero tolerance, and believe that it would work more effectively and efficiently. Limitations We can see that a higher percentage of parents think that their children are the victims instead of them being the bullies. Thus, from this we can easily say that parents have a biased opinion towards their own children. Parents think that of zero tolerance policy was to be introduced their child would engage less in such behavior but it is not fro sure that this is what would happen. The bullies could retaliate to this policy which would result in higher bullying activities. One major limitation is that the sample size is not large enough to make generalizations. The Student's Perspective The students were asked the same questions as the adults. Questions Percentage say 'YES' Percentage say 'NO' Have you ever been the victim of bullying Have you engaged in bullying behavior Were the bullying incidents in which you were involved resolved to your satisfaction Do you feel that a zero tolerance policy towards bullying would help to prevent future episodes of bullying Would you be less likely to engage in bullying behaviors if there was a zero tolerance policy Would the potential negative consequences of a zero tolerance policy which does not take into consideration any special circumstances outweigh the potential benefits of such a policy 35 19 51 38 57 53 65 81 13 62 43 47 Discussion Students hold very differing views than parents. The children admit that they have engaged in bullying behavior more often than they have been a victim. The children agree that a zero tolerance policy would work and they would engage in bullying behavior less if it were to be followed. This may be because the zero tolerance policy is something that they fear because if the child is caught bullying he is scared that he would be expelled from school and his/her parents might find out. Limitations As we have seen zero tolerance being introduced for other problems such as school shooting and drugs, children who are determined will continue to carry out wrong behavior. In this way this policy may not work as students may not take it seriously. Also, students know the weakness of the school and may exploit it. The Teacher's Perspective Teachers are not in favor of the zero tolerance policy and they do not think that it would work. The teachers at La Jolla High School think that the negative consequences of this policy will be far more than the benefits that it would achieve. According to them the current methods that they are taking have resolved the problem in a well mannered fashion. Teachers give a true picture of what sort of bullying activity has been going on and what is its extent. This is mainly because they are there with the students and can observe their behavior. At home children would not involve themselves in such activities in fear of being grounded. Limitations One major limitation is that teachers from only one high school were asked to take the survey; this is not representative of all schools. Also, the teachers will be biased towards the methods being undertaken currently, as they will favor school policies over others. Today's children are very smart and can change their behavior immediately when they see a grown up or an authority figure approaching. Chapter 5: Summary and Conclusion Bullying is a common problem across all schools in America. Many techniques have been used to stop and/or control this problem. In this study we focus on one such technique, zero tolerance. This technique has been introduced as a solution to other problems such as drugs and shootings. The purpose of the study is to check the extent of bullying activity that is taking place in or outside school. Also see if the zero tolerance policy will work, by asking opinions from different people, multi-cultural group of people. The study was conducted by carrying out a survey which was answered by three groups of people: the parents, the students and the teachers. Conclusion The survey that was given to the participants to answer mainly had yes or no questions. This made it easy to quantify the answers, although not much qualitative answers were gathered, enough quantitative information was gathered. We have also observed gender differences between acts of bullying. Females tend to bully more in emotional and psychological ways, while boys prefer to physically intimidate the other person and hit or scare off the victim. The students were ninth graders from a particular school and were asked to answer the questionnaire during art class. From our studies and other studies that have been carried out on the same topic we can conclude that being bullied leaves a lasting impression on the child, who is the victim. The victims do not want to go to school in fear of being bullied again and getting embarrassed in front of their friends and class mates. Also, the kids who bully do so because of the environment they have at home. They experience more conflicts at home and usually the fathers are not a vital part of the family as they are busy with other things such as work. "Children who engage in bullying behavior often originate from problem family backgrounds and usually have low levels of self-esteem, or high levels of pseudo high self-esteem. This latter group is reported to experience a sense of exhilaration and achievement for having terrorized another child." (Harry Valentine) Many parents have taken a different approach to protect their children from such activities, they have started to home school their children. "Over one-million children are now believed to be homeschooled in the USA, with nearly 100,000 in Canada." (Harry Valentine) Parents and students had a positive attitude towards the implementation of zero tolerance as a method to stop bullying activities while teachers held a totally opposite opinion. They thought that zero tolerance would not control or stop such activities in any way because children are very determined when they set their mind on something. Implications for Teaching Practice If a teacher makes use of zero tolerance, discrimination is a major implication. A student from a minority group is subject to the act, the teacher may be more careful in punishing him because she might not want to get charged with discrimination while a white student may be easily charged with a punishment. Through this study, I have learnt the reasons for children to behave a certain way. The problem does not lie with the children but there are many other factors to it. If we solve these factors, we may be able to solve the problem of bullying. For this, the parents and the teachers need to provide constant support to the child and make sure that the environment that the child is experiencing does not render him to such behavior. Knowing the limitations and consequences of zero tolerance and the background of zero tolerance as well as bullying, I will want to approach the bullies in a different manner. This study makes you think that after all even the bullies are children who are more insecure than the victim. Instead of being harsh with them, it might be better to approach them in a soft and understanding manner. Usually when the teacher knows that a child is a bully, they tend to discriminate against him, even during class. They will ask him more questions and will grade him strictly. But if as a teacher, you are trained to be unbiased and are trained to handle bullies in a softer manner then we might be able to lessen the extent of bullying activities taking place within schools. Now we also know that zero tolerance is not a 100 per cent accurate solution. Children may not be affected by this policy even if they say they are. Parents are not witnesses to their children carrying out such activity. Thus, they might not know much about how fierce of self-destructive the act of bullying can be. Children, who are bullies, will not do so well in school and will be subject to harsher treatment by everybody. Implications for others include not being able to get through to the child with a zero tolerance approach. The child can show a negative response and increase the frequency of the bullying activity. One thing we do not understand is that when a child engages in bullying activities, in a way he is crying out for attention and help. Our responsibility is to acknowledge this cry and help him out with whatever issues he is facing. Implications for Further Research Our study was limited to one school, for further research it would be important to increase the sample size and not only concentrate the methodology on surveys but also include observations and field studies. If we continue this study, I would like to expand the sample size and include the opinions of other people involved, not just the teachers, students and parents. Although secondary research has been carried out by us, we need to ensure that more primary research is done to validate the results. For all three groups we kept the same questions, which helped in getting a perspective which we can compare but there are many other questions that I would like to ask, these questions will be relative to the category and can not be answered by the other two categories. Carrying out a case study would help with in-depth analysis. The qualitative questions that may not be answered by other types of research will be answered by a case study. We have just touched upon this issue; a more detailed analysis is required for a better understanding of the topic and the problem. It would also be advisable to study the legal requirements of the zero tolerance policy. The government should take an active part in this problem as the number of cases has increased and people have become more aware of this problem. The study has some weaknesses and if further research wants and needs to be carried out, the weaknesses should be kept in mind to avoid them and to negate their effect on the study. Bibliography Harry Valentine, (April 2002) Bullying and Zero Tolerance in State Schools, http://www.quebecoislibre.org/020427-10.htm Read More