BÀI CÁ NHÂN

Class: Writing 5-05

Week: 8
Name: Nguyễn Hoài Ân
Lecturer: James – Nguyễn Hải Long

WEEK 8 ASSIGNMENT
(individual)

Write an argumentative essay (at least 300 words) about the following topic:
Are schools doing enough to stop bullying?
Note:
1. Use at least 05 sources in the essay.
2. Use APA citation.

Bullying is such a severe issue in society that it needs to be addressed better, especially in
schools. Schools are meant to be a safe place for students to learn and interact, but in
reality, this is not what they are. Since bullying occurs frequently in educational settings,
an increasing number of pupils are reluctant to attend class. Bullying still occurs in
schools, indicating that schools are not doing enough to avoid this problem for three
reasons: occurrences of bullying are rarely reported, incidents of Bullying, and the lack of
social and emotional skills training.

To commence with, One of the main causes of this problem is The Reluctance to Report.
Most students do not inform adults about bullying. Numerous surveys from different
nations show that many victims and witnesses choose not to inform teachers or even
parents (Rigby, 1999). As a result, teachers might be unable to recognize all of the true
bullies and may overestimate the extent of bullying in their schools. However, why are
the teachers not alert in the schools, reaching out to students, or directly discovering the
root of the stories? In fact, they just wait for the reports, but don't they know it’s hard for
students to speak up? There are some reasons why victims do not tell the adults Firstly,
according to studies, students do not believe that most teachers take action when they are
informed about bullying. (Farrington, 1993). Moreover, adults' responses have also been
so disappointing. In a survey of American middle and high school students, "66 percent
of victims of bullying believed school professionals responded poorly to the bullying
problems that they observed." (Hoover, 1992). This also applies to student witnesses.
Although the majority of students concur that bullying is bad, bystanders hardly ever
report incidents to teachers and rarely step in to help the victim. Some pupils are
concerned that getting involved may enrage a bully and make them the next victim.
Student-witnesses appear to have a central role in creating opportunities for bullying. In a
study of bullying in junior and senior high schools in small Midwestern towns, 88 percent
of students reported having observed bullying. (Limber, 1998).
Another feasible cause is that bullying incidents also happen out of the sight of teachers.
Olweus (1994) discovered that there is an inverse link between the number of supervising
adults present and the frequency of bully incidents. (Clarke, 1997). Bullying more
frequently happens where adult supervision is minimal or missing. The layout of places
with less supervision can encourage bullying. For instance, line management strategies
may help to restrict the chance of bullying if it happens in a cafeteria where students
compete for spots in the food line.
Last but not least, the lack of social and emotional skills training also leads to this issue.
Although there are some bullying prevention programs among schools that aim to reduce
bullying, it is not enough. According to a professor, developing social and emotional
skills may be a useful strategy for reducing victimization and bullying (Rock & Baird,
2011). The victim's capacity to react to explicit or implicit bullying is a critical element in
modifying or minimizing the risk of bully victimization (Rock & Baird, 2011). As a
result, techniques for developing social and emotional competence may aid students in
controlling their emotions and coming up with suitable answers to bullying-related
stimuli. By reinforcing societal norms against bullying in schools, the development of
social and emotional skills may also have a beneficial impact on lowering the frequency
of classroom bullying incidents. Consequently, developing social and emotional skills has
been linked to a decrease in childhood violence (Smith & Brain, 2000)

In conclusion, though schools are trying to prevent bullying as much as they can, they are
still not doing enough. The circumstances of bullying are rarely reported, incidents of
Bullying and the lack of social and emotional skills training are the three main causes that
schools should be noticed to address this issue.

Reference
Rigby, K., and P. Slee (1999). "Australia." In P. Smith, Y. Morita, J. Junger-Tas, D.
Olweus, R. Catalano, and P. Slee (eds.), The Nature of School Bullying: A Cross-
National Perspective. London and New York: Routledge.
Farrington, D. (1993). "Understanding and Preventing Bullying." In M. Tonry
(ed.), Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, Vol. 17. Chicago and London:
University of Chicago Press.
Hoover, J., R. Oliver and R. Hazler (1992). "Bullying: Perceptions of Adolescent Victims
in the Midwestern USA." School Psychology y International 13(1):5-16.
Limber, S., V. Flerx, M. Nation, and G. Melton (1998). "Bullying Among School
Children in the United States." In M. Watts (ed.), Contemporary Studies in Sociology,
Vol. 18. Stamford, Conn.: Jai Press Inc.
Clarke, E., and M. Kiselica (1997). "A Systemic Counseling Approach to the Problem of
Bullying." Elementary School Guidance and Counseling 31(4):310-335.
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Oxford:
Blackwell Publishers
Rock.P. F., & Baird. J. A.(2011). Tell the teacher or tell the bully off: Children’s strategy
production for by standers to bullying. Social Development, 21(2), 414-425.
Smith, P., & Brain, P. (2000). Bullying in schools: Lessons from two decades of research.
Aggressive Behavior, 26, 1–9. Smith P., Sharp S. (Eds.). (1994). School bullying:
Insights