Last year, my agency was part of an all day educational seminar at a local middle school, in which community professionals presented on various topics to the students. The topics covered life skills, mental health, and other issues the school administration deemed important. I was given the task to present on bullying. I would give the same talk 8 times that day. Needless to say, I think I should've had some CEUs on bullying coming my way, but oh well.
In the initial presentation, I asked the students, by a show of hands, if they had been bullied. The second time around, it dawned on me, and I followed that question by asking who had also bullied. Every class provided interesting yet similar results. Students would raise their hands both times. Victim and bully, the same kid. Why would somebody do that to someone when they know the fear, humiliation, and anxiety it can cause?
Then I came across this article, and it provided some affirmation for what I could only hypothesize. The statistics for the Bully-Victim are astounding. Anyone coming in contact with kids, whether it be as a parent, educator, counselor, what have you, needs to be aware of the family dynamics that could be motivating the behavior. Furthermore, are we aware of the potential safety threat in the home of the bully and Bully-Victim? Please take the time to read the brief article attached.
Bully-Victims are:
• More than 3 times likely to report being physically hurt by a family member
• More than 3 times likely to witness family violence
• More than 3 times likely to report seriously considering suicide and/or intentionally injuring themselves
With bullying on the forefront, it's important to look beyond the scope of the individual as well as eliminate the black and white thinking in terms of bully vs. victim.
1 comments:
My 2 cents. The trouble with that shit is its right. So? I never talk to kids as if they are kids and I'm an adult. I always talk to kids as if they are adults or I'm a kid. When I'm a kid its fun and unfair because I have so much more experience. And they never catch on and the best part is I'm always laughing and they are always asking, what are you laughing at. And here's another thing, your blog looks great and I'm sure your site does too but me, I always look for an 11 year old when something goes wrong with my ipod.
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