Addressing Bullying in School

Incidences of bullying cases have reached an alarming state in our schools today. In a recent case, four girls uploaded the video that they took of their bullying exploits onto the internet via youtube1. For each of the cases that are publicized in the media, there are many more that remains unreported. To understand why bullying takes place in our school, we must uncover the motivations behind the bullies behaviour. Psychologists used to believe that low self-esteem was one of the causes of bullying; however, new research has shown that most bullies actually have excellent self esteem. They enjoy being cruel to others and sometimes use bullying to vent their anger at others. Experts have concluded that bullying is a learnt behaviour and not a character trait. Every bully can be re-educated to see the error of his ways. Assoc. Prof Dr. Azizi Hj. Yahya of UTM (Yahya, 2004), proposed the following approaches:i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xi. Establishing and enforcing rules about bullying and behaviour. Teaching Anger Management Skills. Teaching Friendship Skills Teaching Assertive Skills Teaching Conflict Resolutions Skills Exploring ways to deal with bullies Effective Respond to Reports of Bullying Promoting Structured activities. Providing Effective Supervision Building Empathy and Understanding. Teaching Students to be Affirmative and Positive.

In conclusion, parents also have a role to play in addressing the root cause of the issue by paying more attention to their children.

Chapman, Karen (2011, May 10). Bullies get suspension for 14 days. TheStarOnline . Retrieved from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/10/nation/8651657&sec=nation

Bibliography
Chapman, K. (10 5, 2011). Bullies get suspension for 14 days. Retrieved from The Star Online: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/10/nation/8651657&sec=nation Fernandez, E. (18 7, 2011). Do more to keep children out of trouble, parents told. Retrieved from NST: http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/11lamlee/Article/ Patrick, C. (22 6, 2011). School Bullying. Retrieved from The Star Online: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/10/nation/8651657&sec=nation Stand Up Against Bullying. (7, 2011). HealthToday , pp. 64-65. Yahya, A. P. (2004). Strategies to Eradicate Bullying in Secondary Schools. Retrieved from eprints.utm.my: http://eprints.utm.my/2350/1/AziziYahaya_Strategies_To_Eradicate_Bullying_I.pdf