Teens Against Bullying

5

Bullying is a matter in which many kids and teens go through at some point in their life. It’s an issue that is more than often overlooked and not taken seriously enough until it’s too late. Because of the common occurrences of bullying, the majority of witnesses see it as a ‘right of passage’ that kids just go through as young adults. Differing from the thought to just excuse it, here are some facts about the reality of it and the effect it has.

More than 160,000 U.S. students stay home from school each day from fear of being bullied.

Bullying directly affects a student’s ability to learn. Students who are bullied find it difficult to concentrate, show a decline in grades, and lose self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-worth.

Students who are bullied report more physical symptoms, such as headaches or stomachaches, and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, than other students.

Over two-thirds of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.

25% of teachers see nothing wrong with bullying or putdowns and consequently intervene in only 4% of bullying incidents.

Bullying is the most common form of violence; between 15 percent and 30 percent of students are bullies or victims. Some 3.7 million youth engage in it, and more than 3.2 million are victims of bullying annually.

Since 1992, there have been 250 violent deaths in schools, and bullying has been a factor in virtually every school shooting.

Direct, physical bullying increases in elementary school, peaks in middle school, and declines in high school. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant.

Bullying does not stop at school, there is a whole other realm of it on the internet called cyber-bullying, which can be just as damaging, if not more.

PACER, a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to serve the youth who have learning, physical, emotional, mental, and health disabilities, have decided to speak out for those who are affected by bullying. October is their National Bullying Prevention Month and they want anyone and everyone to get involved in preventing this issue. Listed on their website are many ways to get involved and how to make a huge change even in your small community.

http://www.teensagainstbullying.org

http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/