Brieanna Mershman!

Final Comparison Paper!

August 14, 2013!
Bullying in Schools!
!

Bullying is not a new concept in schools; rather it has been prevalent in schools

for many years, but has only recently become a hot topic in the education system.
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a
real or perceived power imbalance, and must be, repeated, or has the potential to be
repeated, over time (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). The definition of
bullying is broad and includes many different aspects of which must be considered. It
also is not contained or limited to a certain area or particular group of peoples; anyone,
anywhere can be a bully or a victim. South Africa and the United States of America are
not excluded from this pandemic. Using statistics and observations we can compare
the two distant countries with bullying in the school systems.!
!

South Africa has reformed their education system a couple of times in recent

history. However, regardless of the curriculum and instruction changes, students are
being bullied and in many cases fear going to school. The Progress in International
Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) found that South Africa is the country with the highest
bullying rate for the grade 4 age group in the world (Botha). They estimate that in
South Africa, 55% of grade 4 students are bullied on a regular basis (Botha).
Additionally, about 70% of students experience bullying in either primary school or high
school, but only about 20-40% of victims report the incidents (Stop Bullying). These
statistics are frightening, but they are found all around us and as educators awareness

of this type of behavior is key. Since the amount of victims is much larger than the
population of victims who report being bullied, there have been steps and ideas to help
improve the schools bullying situation. Many of the steps involved taking a stand,
creating new policies and declarations to reduce and stop the amount of bullying
incidents. !
!

While at Brooklands Primary I was able to witness bullying in South Africa. I

observed physical bullying between students. The classroom and the playground are
the most popular locations for bullying, both of which are supervised by educators. The
students push and shove one another while they are walking past each other in the
classroom and will walk out of their way to do so. While outside during interval I often
observed students pushing and tackling, sitting on one another, and restraining others
of movement. While I observed these occurrences, there were teachers and perfects
out. From my observations, I did not see either supervisors step in or approach the
students of which looked to be bullying others. Additionally, while outside during interval
on my last day I had to break up a physical fight between two older male students. Not
only were fists thrown but no other supervisor had seen or paid attention to these
actions. The situations that I have observed reinforce the need to take the suggested
steps and create an effective action plan.!
!

Although South Africa took 19 hours to travel to, students and schools in the

United States are very similar and both struggle with bullying. According to the National
Education Association, in the United States, approximately 160,000 students do not
attend school everyday because they are in fear of an attack or they are intimidated by
other students (Lett). Additionally, 90% of students between fourth and eighth grade

have been reported as being a victim of bullying. The statistics and the prevalence of
bullying in schools is frightening and very alarming. These statistics also report bullying
as the strongest motivation for school shootings. School shooting and the number of
weapons brought into a school is troubling when these locations are supposed to be
safe places for children; 1 out of 20 students have seen a student with a gun at
school (Lett). Cyberbullying is still relatively new and not fully understood. However, in
addition to its recent development cyberbullying does not occur in schools, making it
more difficult to stop. Regardless, all types of bullying are difficult to avoid and prevent,
we as teachers need to educate students on the repercussions of bullying. However, in
addition to the education we provide, laws and policies have been made through state
legislation to stop bullying. Out of the 50 states, eight have laws only, one has only
policies and the remaining 41 states have both anti-bullying laws and policies (U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services). !
!

Throughout my education and observations within various schools in the United

States of America, bullying has been a consistent problem. However with the recent
laws and policies it is no longer taken as lightly. While I was at Averill Elementary
School in Lansing, Michigan I observed and experienced bullying. Two boys began a
fist fight in the classroom of which I had to break up. The main teacher in the classroom
had her back turned to the two students when they began pushing and shoving which
soon escalated to punches being thrown. The violence did not just happen, there were
prior altercations between the two boys that intensified to a fight. In addition to this
altercation, there was one student who was a victim in the classroom. He transferred to
the school and was never really welcomed by the other students into the classroom. He

was socially alienated by his peers. This type of bullying can be more difficult to detect
than physical bullying, but it did become evident to the teacher and had to be discussed
with the whole class. Although these are only two of many incidents of bullying
displayed in this classroom, being aware of the different types and effects of bullying as
well as protocol and the steps to take in order to end this pandemic is extremely
important as educators.!
!

Students are not only bullied by other students, but they can also be hurt by their

teachers. There are 78 countries in the world who still allow corporal punishment in
schools but many countries that have banned such actions still allow and accept
teachers to physically punish their students (The International NGO Advisory Council for
Follow up to the UN Study on Violence against Children). Boys and special needs
students are the primary targets for physical punishment. Teachers may be more likely
to resort to violent discipline under stressful conditions, including overcrowded
classrooms, insufficient resources, and an increased emphasis on student testing and
achievement (The International NGO Advisory Council for Follow up to the UN Study
on Violence against Children). Additionally, teachers are less likely to intervene and
stop peer violence when classes are larger but rather they may use physical
punishment themselves. This research defends my observations of the bullying on the
playgrounds and in the classrooms. South Africa and the United States have banned
this physical punishment, however these actions still happen today. There are twenty
states in the United States where students are routinely hit, pinched, pushed or
restrained in an aggressive manner (The International NGO Advisory Council for Follow
up to the UN Study on Violence against Children).!

In addition to the statistics, I have observed this physical punishment while at

Brooklands Primary. Not all teachers partake in this type of discipline, but I did observe
two educators who did. The most common form of this punishment was to use a
wooden stick or ruler when a child was not using their hands how they should be and
doing their work. There was an instance when a student was hit on the hand and then
stated, I cant write now, my hand hurts but was still expected to perform. I observed
many threats to hit the students if they did or did not do something. For instance, a
student was playing with his scarf while in line, after interval and the teacher grabbed
the scarf and wrapped it around the childs neck multiple times and proceeded to say
that she would hang him by it if he did not stop. Other times my teacher would
exaggerate what would happen to scare the children away from doing certain things.
For example she would tell the students if they were to touch the heater they would
have to go to the hospital and be in there for a very long time and if they misbehaved
she would threaten to call the police on them.!
!

The term bullying covers a large amount of actions that cause people stress and

discomfort. The definition is vague and can be interpreted differently; there is a fine line
between rough-housing and bullying between children, making it difficult for educators
to address the problem. Regardless of how difficult it is to address the problem,
educators must never give up the fight against bullying and the acceptance of these
actions in our schools. The research previously stated combined with first hand
experiences and observations allow us to see that schools, no matter where you are in
the world, suffer from and are trying to eliminate bullying. As long as there are bullies at
work, there is no rest for the anti-bullying movement.!

References:!
Botha, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/
roodepoort/roodepoort-news-schools?oid=7200585&sn=Detail&pid=489993&Bullying-statistics-in-SA-schools-is-shocking-!
The International NGO Advisory Council for Follow up to the UN Study on Violence
against Children. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/content/
dam/aba/administrative/litigation/materials/
sac_2012/10-1_five_yrs_global_update_violence_against_children.authcheckd
am.pdf!
Lett, J. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org/facts_new.html!
Stop Bullying. Retrieved from http://stand-up-and-stop-bullying-in-southafrica.proudlysa.biz/stopbullying/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=130!
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Bullying definition. Retrieved from
http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/definition/!
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
www.stopbullying.gov/laws!