A Look at Bullying

What is bullying?

School bullying is a serious problem worldwide. It's not a new problem either; parents and grandparents can recall bullying incidents from their school years. Yet, bullying continues to be a problem. Find out more about bullying behavior at this PBS site: Bullies: What is Bullying?

Read some definitions of bullying published by The Free Dictionary.

Send your ideas.
What are some kinds of bullying behavior? How do you think bullying makes victims feel? What long-term effects might it have on them? Have you ever been bullied?

Why do some people bully?

A bully can think of all kinds of ways to make another person feel hurt, afraid, uncomfortable, or just plain miserable. It can be physical, verbal, or emotional. Often bullies torment a victim over a long period of time, increasing the victim's sense of fear and distress.

Go to CBBC Newsround to explore your own ideas about bullying. You can take a quiz, analyze bulling dilemmas, and more.
 

Your thoughts: Have you ever witnessed a bullying incident? If so, what happened? What do you think makes bullies behave so aggressively? Why do they become bullies?

Film documents teen bullying

Sadly, some students are so traumatized by being bullied that they become very depressed. Miserable and unable to communicate their dilemma to anyone, they feel their situation is hopeless and sometimes commit suicide.

The film "Rats & Bulliestells the story of Dawn-Marie, a 14-year old girl who took her own life after being relentlessly bullied by three teenage girls who were her classmates. View a trailer of the movie.

Dawn-Marie left a suicide note in which she named the three girls. Later, they were held accountable for the bullying. Read a teenager's review of the movie at TeensPoint.org.

Girls can sometimes be mean (presented by the Montefiore Medical Center in Association with WNET). Girls talk about being bullied by other girls, sometimes their friends.

Send your thoughts.
Do you think it is a good idea to document a real-life bullying tragedy in a movie? Why or why not?

TV host wants to end bullying

       
                                                                       Drawing by In Ji Seo

A well-known TV personality, Dr. Phil, hosts a TV program where he offers advice to people for solving problems in their daily lives. On his program, he talked about what motivates children to bully, how victims of bullying can fight back, and what students, parents, and teachers can do to stop bullying in their schools. He gave advice to a young girl Katie, who doesn't understand why she is being bullied in her school. On his online site, What can I do about school bullies?, he responds to a concerned mother who asks how to stop bullying in her daughter's school.

Send your thoughts.
What do you think of Dr. Phil's suggestions? What message would you send to the young girl Katie or the concerned mother? What ideas do you have for preventing bullying in schools?