Bullying is one of the main causes of teen violence in schools across the country. Bullying is the act of seeking power through the psychological, emotional, or physical abuse of another person. Bullying includes teasing, taunting, and directing offensive gestures towards other people. Bullying is usually caused by the bully being bullied in past years or problems at home like a parents divorce and being abused by a brother, a sister or a parent.
Teasing and taunting are two of the ways bullies try to gain power. Teasing is when the bully calls the bullied kid names or shows nasty gestures toward the victim. Taunting is the threatening of another individual. An example of this is in “Bang, Bang Your Dead” the bigger kid threatens the smaller kid by making him sing “Jingle Bells” every time he sees the bigger kid. Teasing and taunting can cause kids to go into depression, feel withdrawn, fearful or angry. Bullies can turn their victims into bullies themselves.
There are many different signs that someone will become violent in school due to bullying. They are: has difficulty controlling anger, disobeys school rules, frequently engages in risk behaviors, creates violent artwork or writing, constantly talks about weapons or violence, vandalizes and destroys property, uses alcohol or other drugs, harms animals, makes threats or detailed plans to hurt others, brings or talks about bringing a weapon to school.
There are many ways to help prevent violent acts from happening. They are refuse to carry weapons and report people who do carry them; report any violent acts or threats of violence to school authorities or police; practice conflict-resolution skills and help others settle disputes peacefully; use refusal skills to resist negative peer pressure and avoid unsafe situations and behaviors; avoid spending time with people who show warning signs of violent behavior; tell a parent, teacher, or other adult about your fears if you suspect your safety is in danger. Avoid being alone; join or develop a S.A.V.E. chapter.
Bullying is a big problem in schools everywhere. If possible try some strategies to prevent people that were bullied from becoming violent like introducing them into different groups like peer mediation. Another way is to try to get the person involved in after school teams or clubs and keep them from being alone and depressed.
