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BEAUFORT, S.C. - Students must apply themselves everyday in order to be successful at school. The threat of bullying, however, can be a major distraction and stressor for students and can cause harm to their prospective futures.
“Research shows that bullied children are withdrawn and their academics are adversely impacted because the basic human need of safety is not being fulfilled,” said Wendy Randle, the Bolden Elementary School principle. “If we do not feel safe, we cannot learn.”
Bullying is when someone puts down another individual by verbal or physical abuse and social exclusion. Bullying may take the form of intimidation or humiliation and can be physically and psychologically harmful to anyone.
Ten years ago it took days for rumors and gossip to spread through a school. Today, with social media, it travels in only hours or minutes. This is the new face of bullying.
Harassing someone through communication tools like texting, Facebook or Twitter is called cyber bullying, and has gained a lot of popularity in recent years because of its speed, wide scope of recipients and convenience.
Gunnery Sgt. Moses Lozano, the Air Station physical security and crime prevention chief said, once it’s on the web it is pretty much permanent.
“They can’t erase what somebody else is saying. There is no master delete button that will take it out of the web,” Lozano continued.
Monitoring their child’s social networking websites and other digital communications will give parents a clear indication if they are being cyber bullied. Some children never say if they are being bullied, and may remain silent if internet traffic isn’t monitored.
“I think [bullying] can be, and should be handled on the school and parent level,” Lozano concluded.
South Carolina is 10th in the nation for least amount of bullying incidents reported per capita, according to www.bullypolice.org
Other states with major Marine bases also fair well, with California ranking 12th, and Hawaii 16th. However, just because it is not a problem here, does not mean it might not happen.
When a parent has an active role in their child’s life, warning signs will be much easier to notice, said Staff Sgt. Matthew Haight, the Laurel Bay schools resource officer.
Some signs to look for are as follows: your child takes less interest in things normally enjoyed, or is sad, moody or depressed when they come home. A subtle clue is if a child makes up reasons not to go to school. Torn clothing or damaged school supplies is a clear indicator of physical bullying.
All these clues should be taken seriously. It is important to know who, what, when and where the bullying happens. Assuring a child their safety is important can help them talk openly about
the situation.
The Laurel Bay schools have a zero tolerance policy on bullying and take it very seriously. If a parent is convinced their child is being bullied, the staff members make themselves readily available to resolve any issues that arise.
“The biggest thing is to never ignore it,” Haight said. “Everyone has the power to stop bullying. The reason someone is bullied over and over is because generally they don’t do anything about it. As a bystander you have the power to stop it right there.”
Teaching children to be assertive and confident, without violence, when confronting a bully is a key mentality. Fighting will send the wrong message and impede solving the problem.
There is strength in numbers. Having a friend to talk to or walk home with can help resolve the issue for someone who is bullied.
“There are so many things bystanders can do,” Haight said. “But if a bystander does not do anything, then nobody will.”
It’s ok to be afraid, he continued, but it’s not ok to do nothing about it. Report it to a teacher or another adult for them if they are too afraid to report the incident.
For more information, visit www.stopbullying.org or speak with your child’s teacher at school.
| Date Taken: | 09.29.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.29.2011 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 77784 |
| Location: | BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 114 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Bullying is for the birds, by Cpl R. J. Driver, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
