As most known traditions of school are passed on over the years, like prom, so is the occasional bullying of students harming other students. With times changing, different methods of bullying in school have taken over and thrived within it. Many schools, and even society, see bullying as a way of growth (Lee). From the past few years, it has been most likely set aside by schools due to Covid-19 being the worry of current times. Along with the new pandemic it has caused people to make a transition from physical bullying to social media. This allows people to believe there is no punishment that can be done behind a screen (Lim et al 30). Studies show that many people, especially around the ages 11-18, have experienced cyberbullying and have gained negative effects from it, such as anger, suicidal intentions, and psychological distress (30). According to the School Crime Supplement, about 22% of students from the ages 12-18 in schools have experienced bullying (COE). If methods of bullying can change as time goes on, so do ideas to fix and prevent the corrupt tradition.
One way to prevent bullying is to understand that it is a “whole school matter” (Lee). When bullying occurs, many take it differently when witnessing or dealing with it. These stances are either the “denial” of the issue, “token” of a policy somewhere, “moving” in terms of policy and practice, and “motoring” to having clear responsibility and respect towards the issue (1). Despite putting these four levels on a school, the perception of these levels may be different among the staff, with some considering the school to be a level 1 (1). As Lee has stated, it should be “a policy more than a written document” (1). Schools should, if not already, be invested in handling the situations with the students. Schools should allow them to see bullying as an open matter, and not one that should be kept undercover from authorities or anyone that could help. Therefore, they need to address that bullying is a serious matter towards the students and the adults in the school. Whether it’ll be from the involvement of every adult, or to create an awareness in the entire school, either option is a necessary goal towards the end of bullying.
Another solution towards ending bullying in schools is the involvement of the situation. As the whole school matter will apply to how the staff members of the school view it, we should also become more involved in the matter. In the study conducted by Child Health and Human Development, 30% of students in the United States faced or were involved in bullying behavior (Hoot et al). As Lee states what a school should do in the face of bullying, it “itself monitors by gathering data about the experience of key players, including parents” (Lee). Not only should the school be the only component in handling bullying, but parents or guardians should help in the situation. The school, with the help of parents involved, can see where the cause of the behavior is from. Most students bully due to a problematic role model, or neglect of parents, causing them to create problems due to what they’ve learned from them (Stomp Out Bullying). If the parents are the problem, the school can evaluate the situation better and find a solution for both the victim and bully.
As most students grow, they tend to forget that they are not alone in their growth in life. A report made by Petrosino, and others found that 64% of the respondents in their study did not report the bullying they were facing (Petrosino et al). Even with a school pushing the idea that it is okay to report bullying, some students may not want to do so due to possible aftermaths of it. Many students feel as if they cannot ask for help, with the bully preventing or threatening them to not do so. A solution for this type of manipulation would be to create an anonymous report system. With this, students can report their bullying issues with ease. Although a bully may still suspect the victim had reported the problem, the adult responsible for answering the reports allows the bully to realize that the victim's response is not the topic at hand. This will allow students to feel comfortable when approaching a fix into their school life.
An issue with bullying is identifying the victims and or paying attention to methods of bullying. There are many factors in bullying, such as gender, age, and race. Forage, as students grow up, they face more bullying in middle school than elementary. Although in elementary school, intervening in the bullying situation tends to be more successful than in later school years (Hoot et al). In terms of gender, boys tend to bully and be bullied more than girls. Boys tend to bully physically, while girls usually bully verbally (1). As for the race, most immigrants face more bullying than Americans, due to the increasing diversity in these times. These students with ethnic backgrounds tend to face racial slurs and hate for their cultural identity (1). A solution for each of these problems is simple. Teachers should intervene and fix the bullying behavior in elementary, so it does not carry on to later school years. Not just specific gender but all should be monitored closely, as boys and girls tend to bully differently. Ethnic bullying should also be closely monitored when a new student with ethnic background joins the school. Not only may these ethnic students be at a disadvantage already with personal issues, but bullying may cause them to do poorly socially and educationally.
Like the school system, bullying has been around since it was created. Like a virus, it has molded and created new forms in which it can use different methods of bullying to harm others. As presented, there are many ways to fight back against bullying in schools. These methods include school involvement, school presentation of anti-bullying, identifying, and comforting the student. With this, schools and parents of students will understand the importance of anti-bullying. Eventually, with enough effort to apply these ideas, bullying has the possibility to wipe out of the schools that apply anti-bullying agendas.
Works Cited
COE - Bullying at School and Electronic Bullying. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a10. Accessed 8 Mar. 2022.
Hoot , James L., and Seok Jeng Jane Lim. Bullying in an Increasingly Diverse School Population: A Socio-Ecological Model Analysis. 2015. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0143034315571158
Lee, Chris. Preventing Bullying in Schools. 2004. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=K6iEJCmuYSMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=Bullying+in+schools+lee&ots=v3POfGSq9-&sig=BeWcj4wEL3RlC1KcxO37fCcz4KI#v=onepage&q=Bullying%20in%20schools%20lee&f=false.
Petrosino, A., Guckenburg, S., DeVoe, J., & Hanson, T. (2010). What characteristics of bullying, bullying victims, and schools are associated with increased reporting of bullying to school officials? 2010. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/northeast/pdf/REL_2010092_sum.pdf
Absurdity within School Bullying
Philosopher, atheist, and novelist Albert Camus was a man of absurdity and philosophy. He had thought of many ideals, such as the meaning of life itself, but what would he think about students bullying their peers? Camus believed that the human condition was dependent on the Absurd, which is tension or opposition one may face. Being strictly against terrorism, violence, and egoism, this is why Albert Camus would be against the idea of students bullying others in schools.
Bullying can occur at any grade level, from kindergarten to high school, and while children at a young age still have development to go through, Camus would expect students at a grown age to act properly. A concept Camus had created was the Absurd; a tension that results in the human conscious but also asks for the meaning of life when life is practically meaningless (Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Another concept was the Revolt, which is the state of mind or actions someone has or may take (1). While the Revolt can allow someone to take “forms such as terrorism or a reckless and unrestrained egoism”, Camus rejects these actions and sees them as unruly (1). This shows that students cause while in school would leave Camus disappointed, as while many are affected by other forces that gives one tension, it should not be transferred into a state of mind of recklessness.
Another way Albert Camus would see bullying is through the bully’s perspective. As, most of the time, the bully’s mindset of often created by some outside force, such as parent or person in their life. Despite feeling sympathy for the victim, Camus would also feel sympathy towards the bully, as he claims, “we must despair of ever reconstructing the familiar, calm surface which would give us peace of heart” (Aronson). Even if it could be hard to change one’s state of mind, one should still find hope to “live for a life” instead of clouding themselves with an ego or anger (Aronson). Camus would understand both positions of the issue at hand and “hope of another life one must ‘deserve’ or trickery of those who live not for life itself but for some great idea that will transcend it, refine it, give it a meaning, and betray it” (Aronson), believing one must face a type of realization to make someone a well human being, instead of one who harms others.
Another perspective Albert Camus would see students bullying is by thinking of it as a plague. As recently stated, most children obtain this mindset from an outer force that threatens their daily life. It acts almost like a disease, passing on until someone just so happens to be able to control the negativity and become a good person. Camus would agree that bullying is like a plague, as stated in The Plague “All I can say is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims– and as far as possible one must refuse to be on the side of the pestilence” (The Plague). Camus would believe that even if one is bullied or is a bully, they should rethink their actions and change their thought process. If bullying is passed around like the bubonic plague, it truly is a plague that one should refuse to obtain.
The Revolt, as Albert Camus describes it, is a clear way to perceive how he would believe bullying happens. As recently stated, the Revolt is the way people face some type of negativity in their life like oppression and unfairness. Despite the Revolt having a limit to one’s human condition, the Revolt takes more of a heroic stance. Although, much of bullying acts like a chain reaction, and Camus could explain this by,
“If it begins with and necessarily involves a recognition of human community and a common human dignity, it cannot, without betraying its own true character, treat others as if they were lacking in that dignity or not a part of that community” (Camus).
This shows that if a human being is treated well during their childhood development, they have a more likely chance to be a good person. As Camus said, if not treated with the same recognition or acceptance, that person will act as a troublemaker. The Revolt is the process of life that creates someone into a hero or bully.
Lastly, a topic Albert Camus once brought up during his days were the fact that violence will be inevitable. As there will never be a time where everyone in the world is good, bullying is bound to happen towards someone. As stated earlier, the Revolt is what shapes one and sometimes allow someone to rebel. Though As Camus believes, “it is impossible, then, to embrace rebellion while rejecting violence” (The Rebel). He explains examples of this, such as a slave against his owner. While many slaves will run away and find freedom, some will stand up against the owners. Some may protest but most of the time, if faced with oppression, chose to invoke violence upon those who have wronged them (Encyclopedia of Philosophy). This shows that despite people wanting to rebel against their bullies, one must resort peacefully without violence. But, as people are bullied, sometimes they become the victim of the disease and later one become the bully, like what Camus said. The resort to violence is inevitable and “impossible” (Aronson).
As Albert Camus, being a philosopher with many ideals and methods in which he believes in, tend to show in students who bully and the bullied. This begs the question on whether what he would think about bullying in schools. Camus would see bullying as a test to someone’s Revolt, but also an unnecessary way of life in the students in school. He would realize that it is like a plague, and should be stopped due to how it brings some children terror within themselves and others. While it could build someone into thinking about the Absurd and to question life, Camus would disapprove if this is type of method of development.
Works Cited
Aronson, Ronald. “Albert Camus.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta, Spring 2022, Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2022. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/camus/.
Camu, Albert. The Plague. 1947.
Camus, Albert. The Rebel. 1951.
Camus, Albert | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/albert-camus/. Accessed 21 Apr. 2022.
Reflection Essay
During the semester, I have done the total of two projects which include of making essays of an epidemic and absurdity. While it was enjoyable to do, there were very few complications I had to manage and fix throughout the semester. Despite being able to find good sources, I still struggled to find the words to describe and follow up on answering the prompt. Not only that, but a few cuts and grammar issues were a problem.
I enjoy writing a lot, and have learned of many things being in this class. One major skill I learned was the fact that long sentences aren’t the goal, short and sweet sentences are. Having a long sentence makes the reader lose track of where they were reading, while making it boring. Keeping the sentences short allows the reader to stay focused. I had a lot of trouble keeping this mindset, as most of the time I add more than enough words within a sentence. Some of these words usually shouldn’t be included, yet I add them, making it difficult to remind myself of the idea at hand. Otherwise, the difficulty, it was a good learning experience, as when I wrote essays it felt clear.
As there were times of change, such as a change in sentence variety, I feel like my word choice expanded. As I create each sentence, I watch for repeated words and use others that would increase the uniqueness of my essay. It allowed for me to create paragraphs that I enjoyed, and it made myself proud when I’d create sentences worth to read by any audience. Not repeating words throughout the time, I write and not using words like “stuff” and “things” helps very much. It creates a satisfying emotion within myself, and I am more than happy to have experienced this while in the semester.