Jamal Jamalia
Mr. Hopper
English 105-24
15 October 2012

Disciplining Bullies Were you ever picked on in school? Did the bullies ever get in trouble? In many cases aggressors do not get in trouble or the bullying remains unknown. Teachers need to know how to detect mistreatment and if a student is intimidators in the school systems are not being punished. Schools should put more being terrorized. As a teacher it is your responsibility to take care of your students. Schools should put more emphasis on disciplining bullies within their systems. Some might wonder what exactly is bullying? Bullying or harassment is unwanted aggressive behavior that receives power imbalance. There are many different types of this kind of behavior. For example, there is physical, emotional, and cyber bullying. Others might ask why is bullying a big deal. Aggressive behavior is not healthy for kids for multiple reasons. The victim will most likely have low self-esteem or will become depressed when they are being bullied. Some will say well that’s not a big deal, its only temporary. Wrong. Depression does not go away instantly. It takes time and effort to gain their self-control back. In many school systems bullying is very common. Not only is it common, but too often it goes unknown or the aggressors do not get in trouble for what they have done. Adults misjudge the rates of harassment because kids rarely report it and it often occurs when adults aren’t nearby. There are multiple signs that a kid is being terrorized, for example, lost or destroyed items, unexplainable injuries, faking illnesses, and skipping classes. If you notice any of these events you should talk to the student when no one is around and find out if you can help them. There are various signs of when a pupil is harassing others also, for instance, when they are aggressive, have unexplained extra belongings, worry about their popularity, and get into physical and verbal fights. Where’s the proof? How do we know that kids are really being bullied? According to the A4K club, 1 in 4 kids are being bullied. They also say that 160,000 kids miss school each day because of their fear of being bullied. Is this not proof enough that bullying happens? Not only does it happen but too often it occurs and goes unknown. People don’t take the time to care and look around for other people these days. All anybody cares about is themselves. Society doesn’t take the time to notice children with bruises or how kids come home upset. They think awe they must have just fell or something. In some cases, yes that is true, but not in all. Parents, teachers, administrators, anybody that kids look up to should take the time to find out what is wrong and if there is anyway that they can help. In many cases bullying goes too far without being stopped. There are many occurrences where mistreatment has led students to harm themselves and sometimes even kill themselves. The most recent case that has made the news is Amanda Todd. Amanda was bullied after she had made a mistake and it followed her no matter how many times she moved. She continued to cut herself and tried to kill herself, but they had made it