Bullying In Schools - A Challenge to the Society - Assignment Example

Bullying In Schools A challenge to the society A huge area to be covered so many diverse reasons for violence. You should look to narrow downyour focus somehow. Introduction : Violence is an extremely dangerous thing for the humanity. It has a potential to destroy the peace, equality and the harmony of the society. The sad thing is , violence has entered the corridors of the schools where learning and growth should take place in harmonious environment. (let us not be too idealistic). According to a report, more than 7000 attempted or actual violent incidences in school had to be handled by the police (Reuters 2008). These violent incidences in the schools of U.K. (examples?)and other places in the world has awakened people to the fact that children are now resorting to violence over trivial things like verbal insult, misunderstandings amongst the friends or take revenge of the fights. The fact that these incidences are not few but many is the concern for the schools, parents and society as a whole. If violence has to be tackled, then it has to be tackled from the roots. The roots are not in the school but in the personal lives of the children. Definition : There are many definitions for the act of violence. However, looking at the different aspects of the violence, the most complete definition is given by the World Health Organization. According to WHO, ‘violence is the intentional use of physical and psychological force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation’. The main point to be noted is that violence is harmful not only when it is against a person but also when it is used to destroy things like property, vehicle, books and valuables of people (Smith n.d.). Violence not only means the physical harm to others but it also includes the acts such as verbal abuse, excluding people of certain ethnic background or people who are physical or mentally challenged from the group and causing psychological trauma by spreading rumors about a person with the intention of tarnishing the image of a person. This is the reason why the definition by WHO is the complete one as it applies even to the psychological aspects of the act of violence. Types of violence: (Smith n.d.) Violence is of different types. It includes not only the harm that is visible to the eyes but also the harm caused to the emotional and mental peace of a person. People who are violent by nature can harm others not only by weapons but also by using words and actions intending psychological and emotional trauma to others. Different types of violence are : 1. Direct physical attack: This is the type of attack where a person or a group of people attack other person, group of people with an intention of causing physical harm or death. 2. Indirect physical attack: This is the type of attack where a person or a group of people attack other belongings, valuables or property of other people with an intention of destroying it to cause emotional and psychological trauma to the owner. 3. Direct verbal attack: This is the type of attack where a person or a group of people send threat messages through letters, e-mails, text messages or verbally to cause emotional distress and fear to the victim. 4. Indirect verbal attack: This is the type of attack where a person or a group of people spread malicious rumors about a person or a group of people with the intention of tarnishing the image of that person or group of people. 5. Social exclusion from normal group of activities: Excluding a person or a group of people coming from a certain ethnic background or people who are physically and mentally challenged is also a form of violence. This form of violence make people lose hope and confidence in themselves and make them fearful and lonely. These are different types of violence which causes the society to lose its peace and harmony. Violence in schools: Violence in schools is the most important subject today as it is concerned with the children who are the future of the world. If at such a young age, children are found involving themselves in the random and ruthless murders, then one can imagine what the future holds for human beings. London has been witness to the murder of twenty eight teenagers last year. This year, an 18-year old boy named Abdulkarim Boudiaf was killed by a single gunshot to the neck in Tottenham. He is the fifth teenager to be killed in London this year( Daily Mail Reporter 2009). Looking at the statistics of the crimes by teenagers, one can understand the importance of immediate and urgent steps to be taken to not only stop the killings but also to prevent it from the roots. To eradicate the violent tendencies from the roots, we have to understand the reason behind the mentality of the teenagers using weapons to solve their problems rather than using peaceful methods. According to survey conducted in 2006, 50% of the bully victims suffered physical injuries due to attacks and 3% of the atcks had involved the weapons ( Pupil’s survey results n.d.)(did this take palce in school? You seem to have expanded the foucs to include violent crime for teenages ) Gve examples of school violence The growing problem of school violence is a serious concern for the parents. They are not only worried about their children getting hurt but also are worried about their children getting influenced by mates who are violent in nature. The complexity and the seriousness of this issue made me to choose the subject of school violence for my project. Method of research: Violence is not a random activity. It is not something that happens spontaneously and without any reason. Most of the times, violence is a result of pent up emotions and suppressed expressions. Because of the emotional and psychological nature of my project, I decided to use the qualitative method of research for this project. Qualitative method of research is the method which intends to gather the non numeric information through the personal interactions with the people involved in the subject related to the research( Definition 2007). The interactions can be a group activity like focus group or personal one-to-one interview. As my research project focuses on the violence in the schools, among the children ranging between age of 12 to 16 (which schools age range?, I decided to interview the most important human elements of the school and they are students and teachers. I interviewed three students and three teachers. The selection was on the basis of their ethnic background. I selcted students who were from different ethnic backgrounds coming from countries like Bangladeshi Pakistan India Turkish Arabic and Somalia. Racist bullying is one of the major concerns of the schools. According to a report 43% of victims of bullying on the basis of their ethnic background have suffered physical injuries ( Pupil’s survey results n.d.). (on what basis have you sleceted this group? What population do they represent? The aim of my interview was not only to know if they had experienced violence in school but also to know if they were sensitive about their rights and duties as far as the issue of violence was concerned. Also, it was important for me to know if people are willing to take the responsibility of helping the one who was being victimized. Based upon these aims, I designed a set of questions for interview. I chose interview as the method of collecting information as the body language, the tone and the voice of the interviewee tells a lot more about him than just the words( Weinberg 2002 p.76). The questions for students : 1. What do you understand by the word violence? 2. Have you even experienced bullying or violence at school? If yes, then how many times? 3. Are you aware of the rights against violence if you are victimized? Do you know what actions are taken against the students who involve in violence and bullying? 4. Do you think the school authorities take adequate actions against the students who bully and are violent in nature? 5. Do teachers and the authorities give proper attention to you if you ever go to them with the complain of violence? Is your complaint taken seriously? 6. Have you ever, even once, felt like beating or harassing someone? If yes, then what made you to feel that way ( emotional problem, psychological distress, depression, peer pressure etc.) ? 7. How would you react if you find your friend getting bullied or beaten by your schoolmates? Do you think it is your responsibility to stop the bullying or report it to the teachers? Questions for teachers: 1. You are a person who spend most of the time with students and observe their nature, behavior, actions and listen to their conversation. What according to you is the reason behind bullying in schools? (this is a huge question? What groing violence are you talking about? Research data to support this claim. 2. Do you think parents have a role in the development of emotional and social maladjustment of the students? If yes, then to what extent are they responsible? 3. Do you think that the bullying, insults or exclusions in the school can get so serious that this could lead a student to kill another student? 4. If you find a student getting violent in the class, do you take an initiative to stop it from happening again or do you wait for the students to come up with a complaint before you take an action? 5. Apart from increasing the security measures at schools, what do you think are the other ways of dealing with bullying and violence at schools? What do you think is the reason for children getting violent and aggressive with their schoolmates? 6. Are you trained to handle students who are suffering from depression, emotional and social maladjustments? 7. How do you extend a support to the students who are suffering from abuse at home? Do you contact their parents and discuss the behavior pattern of their child? 8. Do you have a program to understand the early signs of violent behavior? It has been observed that bullying in schools does not end with the school years. It has a permanent effect on a life of the victim. The intention behind asking these questions was to know if the teachers are really aware of the seriousness of the problem and if the authorities have taken steps to ensure that bullying does not take place in school ( Tackling School Bullying 2008) Make sure you have a rationale for these questionsbased on reading What are you wanting the teachers to do? Give you clear data on violence in ther school and the reasons for it or answer the more global question on violence. Some of the questions you are asking require essays to answer them as there are so many reasons. Violence is a matter of life and death. Just skimming on surface and introducing strict discipline in the schools is not going to solve it. Even though violent activities look random in nature, they are not. The questions I asked were based on the fact that violence has its root in the social, emotional and psychological maladjustments in the personal life. If one has to prevent violence, one has to get to the root of it and it means understanding the emotional and psychological pattern of a child. I am going to read more books, journals and articles on the subject of ‘violence in schools’ so that I can reach the roots of the problem and understand it thoroughly. References: Daily Mail Reporter. (16th March 2009). Innocent teenager set for law degree is shot dead in case of mistaken identity Available : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1162383/Innocent-teenager-set-law-degree-shot-dead-case-mistaken-identity.html Retrieved on June 5, 2009 Definition of Qualitative Research Method IAR, Instructional Assessment Resources [Last updated Dec 19 2007], The University of Texas at Austin Available : http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/assessment/iar/glossary.php Retrieved on June 5, 2009 Pupil’s Survey Results. (n.d.) Bullying UK. Available http://www.bullying.co.uk/young_people/National_Bullying_Survey_2006/Pupils.aspx Retrieved July 5, 2009 Reuters . (2008). Police called to 7,000 violent incidents in schools Available http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/police-called-to-7000-violent-incidents-in-schools-1209075.html Retrieved July 5, 2009 Smith, P. Definition, Types And Prevalence Of School Bullying And Violence Available: http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:GKrBL_vlragJ:www.oecd.org/dataoecd/27/47/33866548.ppt+violence+definition&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in Retrieved on June 5, 2009 Tackling school bullying (Last updated May 15, 2008). Available : http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/behaviour/tacklingbullying/ Retrieved July 5, 2009 Weinberg , D. (2002). Qualitative research methods Wiley-Blackwell Read More