Michaela Callahan

Lifespan and Development

March 18, 2018

Bullying

Bullying is a major problem in schools all around the world. Sometimes it happens and

people do not even realize it. Most people think of bullying as something physical, but it can

come in many different forms. Bullying can be done both emotionally and physically, over the

internet and in person. Physical abuse is something that can leave someone scarred and feel alone

and helpless. Emotional abuse is something that takes a toll on one's mind. Both will leave

someone feeling like they have no place to run. They may feel as though the only option they

have left is to just not be on earth anymore. In the movie “Bully”, filmmaker Lee Hirsch looks

into five different kids who have reported being bullied. Surprisingly enough, most of the kids

who were bullied at school were also having the same struggles at home within their family. Two

of the five kids ended their lives because they could not handle the torment any longer.

In chapters ten through twelve of our textbook, there is a lot of information on the

concepts of: self-esteem, self-concept, and egocentrism. All of these play a role in the students in

the film. Self-esteem can be defined as: confidence in one’s own worth or abilities. In the movie,

I noticed that all of the students who were bullied at school went home and felt useless. They

showed that they did not really know what to do with themselves when they were not trying to

constantly defend themselves. One of the kids even went home to his sister telling him that she is

scared to go to high school next year because she is going to get picked on because she is known

as the girl with the weird and creepy brother. Self-esteem is something that is really important to

people, especially in the middle school years. This is a time when children are most vulnerable to
the torment that peers have on each other. Once one has low self-esteem, it is really hard to pick

yourself back up. This is something that I have been dealing with since I was in the seventh

grade. I was a victim of bullying and I fell into a depression like state for a couple of years. I

never wanted to leave my house or my bed and often times I would put my mattress into a closet

that we had under our stairs. In that closet, I felt safe like no one could hurt me there. It was not

until my dad brought me home a glitter nail polish with a card that read, “don’t ever let anyone

dull your sparkle”. This really helped me to find myself again and I hope that the kids from the

movie do just that, find themselves again.

Egocentrism is something that is often affected by the role that bullying plays in their life.

Egocentrism and narcissism seem like they directly relate, but in a way they do not. Narcissism

is when one gets satisfaction from receiving gratification. Egocentrism is the inability to

differentiate between self and other. This could be perceived on both ends of being bullied and

the bully. The bully may have a strong sense of egocentrism when they do not realize that their

actions are directly affecting others. They find themselves at the center of everything that

happens around them, even if it means picking on someone walking down the hall. In regards to

the child being bullied, they may feel a sense of egocentrism when they have had enough of

being picked on. This is when the bullied becomes the bully.

In today’s society, I feel as though bullying is something that will never be completely

gone. There will always be some form of bullying, because everyone has a different term for the

word. There will always be a point where someone feels as though they are inferior to someone

else and that is a sad realization to come to. Overall though, I feel as though schools should have

a better way of following through with their bullying policies, because often times there will be a
situation and it will not be handled the right way. I think that the policy should be one strike and

you are out no questions about it. Bullying has gone way too far and it must be stopped.