this was a research paper that is due for english and for my contemporary moral issue course. So this essay had to be both a compare and contrast essay as well as explaining the moral issue behing bullying. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Before we can discuss the different types of bullying we must first have an understanding of what bullying is. Bullying is an aggressive behavior that involves unwanted negative actions; a pattern of behavior repeated over time and involves an imbalance of power or strength.
Bullying has many different versions. It can include physical bullying which consists of hitting, slapping, and shoving in a hurtful way just to name a few. There's also verbal bullying, some examples of this are name calling, put downs, threats and intimidation. There's also indirect bullying or social bullying, which can include but not limited to harming ones' reputation, gossiping about someone, excluding someone from a group and insulting remarks and gestures. Then there is the whole new brand of bullying called cyber bullying. This type of bullying solely consists of bullying with the use of technology, such as text messages, email and on social networks.
How frequently does bullying occur? According to the American Medical Association 3.7 million youths engage in bullying. More than 3.2 million are victims of moderate or severe bullying each year. Over the course of a year, nearly one-fourth of students reported that they had been harassed or bullied on school property because of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation or disability.
Bullying cannot be fully understood without considering the moral aspects involved in this phenomenon. There are several different theories of moral development. Some of these theories according to James Rest are moral sensitivity which is being aware that a moral problem exists. Moral judgment is when you decide on a moral action. Moral motivation is staying committed to one's values and prioritizing on the moral action. Then there is moral character which is implementing and following through on the moral action. When you take these theories and put them towards bullying you get a better understanding of why people bully. A persons' moral developmental should be taken into account. An individual's sense of right and wrong certainly plays an important role in this process.
Children as well as adults base their behavior on their personal feelings and on how they were raised. Now I ask can we raise children to be moral if we discipline our children immorally. The way we discipline our children determines the way they understand what they did wrong, how they will behave in the future and how they will discipline their own children. Unfortunately much of what we do in the name of discipline is immoral and causes more harm than good. This is why bullying has been becoming a more serious problem.
In the book "Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood" by Christian Smith, he sheds light on why bullying may be on the rise. In 2008 Smith and his team asked 230 young Americans, ages ranging from 18-23 years of age, open ended questions about how they make moral decisions and their thought about the meaning of life. In the author's words, "The answers revealed that many of today's young people live in what amounts to a moral vacuum". He also states that the vocabulary of right and wrong, of good and evil has little meaning to them, and that they view morality as a personal choice.
Now you can ask yourself who bullies more? Boys or girls and how do they differ? Well for starters boys bully both boys and girls. They also tend to use more physical aggression than girls. Boys usually use more indirect bullying as their verbal skills increase. Many people may see bullying among boys as "just boys being boys". Research shows that physical abuse tends to occur more often among boys than girls at all education levels. The long term effects of bullying in boys differ from girls. Boys who bully at a young age may continue to use aggression and this sense of power in other relationships as he gets older. It can lead to aggression towards their mate, children, their colleagues and co-workers.
Girl bullies can also be aggressive, but they tend to use more indirect forms of bullying. Females like to bully in groups. They like to harm someone's reputation by gossiping and spreading rumors. Girls are much more emotional. Female bullies prefer the use of text messaging as a form of harassment versus face to face. This type makes girls sneakier and nastier than boys. They tend to be well behaved when an adult is around as to not give themselves away. When it comes to the long term effects of bullying, girls that are involved in significant bullying at an early age may experience depression, attempt suicide or develop an eating disorder.
Most students do not report being bullied for several reasons. They don't want to "tattle" on someone for this can bring on more bullying. They feel that nothing will be done about the bullying. They may feel embarrassed or shameful because they can't stand up for themselves.
Bullying should be stopped due to the huge phenomenon that it has become. Bullying can now lead to criminal cases and lawsuits. By the schools letting bullying continue it teaches students that it's ok. This creates a fearful environment instead of a learning one. Students feel "let me bully so I don't get bullied". Bullying victims can have a lot of stress added on and it can lead to retaliation such as school shootings as well as suicide or what it's now called bullycide.
Cyber bullying is the more modern type of bullying and some argue that it's the most harmful. When it comes to cyber bullying anyone can become a bully. The small scrawny kid can be just as harmful or more than the big kid on the playground. Paris and Robert Storm define cyber bullying as harassment using an electronic medium (e-mail, chat rooms, cellphones, and instant messaging) to threaten others. Cyber bullying can have a longer lasting effect on the victim. It can be humiliating due to the fact that it has a bigger audience opposed to the kids on the playground.
There are many warning signs that could indicate that someone is involved in bullying. Some of the signs that someone is being bullied are the following; they come home with damaged or missing clothing, they have thing such as electronics and jewelry come up lost, they have unexplained injuries and complain frequently of feeling sick. They can hurt themselves and they can lose interest in school, friends and activities that they used to enjoy.
Now there are also warning signs when someone is the bully and these are; they become violent with others, they get into physical and verbal fights easily, they have extra money or things and they cannot explain where they came from. They can also be quick to blame others.
Bullying can have a number of effects on an individual and the environment where the bullying is taking place. Some of the effects of an individual who is being bullied include; post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, gastric problems, loss of self esteem, relationship problems and drug and alcohol abuse. Individuals that do bully have a higher risk of abusing alcohol and other drugs. They tend to get into more fights, vandalize property, drop out of school and engage in early sexual activity. The effects of a bystander who watches the bullying occur are often overlooked, but according to a study in Brunwell University it reported that they have higher rates of depression, anxiety and drug abuse. Dr. David Fenstermake, a psychologist and expert on school violence stated that social, intellectual and emotional development are three skills one can not learn if you're frightened. When you witness bullying everyday fear starts to creep in. This fear causes the mental effects that bullying can do to someone.
In conclusion, bullying can occur virtually anywhere and to anyone. A bully seeks out a spot that has little or no adult supervision. They look for hidden areas such as hallways, stairwells, between buildings, locker rooms etc. Bullying is not limited to a certain building or place. It can occur in schools starting as early as pre-k all to way to college. Bullying should be stopped due to the huge phenomenon that it has become. It can now lead to criminal cases and lawsuits. By allowing bullying to continue in schools, it creates a fearful environment and may lead to more bullying as "let me bully so I don't get bullied". Bullied victims can have a lot of stress added on and this could lead to retaliation such as school shootings. They can also commit suicide or now known as bullycide. I leave you with this quote that I found which I thought was very inspiring; Harvey S. Firestone once said "Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself'.
Claire,
You have some wonderful information here, and your essay is thoughtful and obviously very impassioned. I do have a few words of advice for you.
I know it's difficult as it's the topic of your essay, but in your introductory paragraph alone you use 'bullying" about twelve times. When it shows up more than once in a sentence, it's important to find a new way to either phrase the sentence or find a different term. It's important to remember that once you state what it is you're talking about, for example the different types of bullying, you don't have to use it after each example.
Also, I assume that this is supposed to be a factual essay, not really based on opinion. In this case, I would remove the personal references. There aren't many, but the sentence where you ask your audience a question about raising children puts too much personal emphasis on the essay. If it were an essay based on convincing or conveying an argument it would be fine. But you're presenting facts and statistics, and you should let those speak more than your personal opinion.
Very well-written and informative essay. Good luck!
