While you laugh, they suffer

While You Laugh, They Suffer

Bullying among elementary, middle and high school students in my community is a growing problem. Bullying can be defined as unwanted aggressive behavior among school aged children that involve a real or perceived imbalance of power (stopbullying.gov).

Over the years, bullying has become more and more of a problem. According to some reports there were as many as 10 teen suicides in the month of September this year in the United States, that were linked to bullying, (bullyingstatistics.org). Violent reactions by teens to being bullied are not new. It was boys that were bullied and ostracized that committed the high school shootings that plagued the US in the 1990's. From those mass slaughters to the present day rash of suicides, bullying is taking a violent toll on the youth of America.

This is a problem because everyday many children and teens wake up afraid to go to school.

Physical bullying at school, as depicted in the fi...

English: the picture consist of articles on bullyi...

No Bullying sign - School in Racine, Wisconsin

There are about 160,000 children that miss school every day out of fear of being bullied (bullyingstatistics.org). There are many causes for bullying that may include: poverty, problems or abuse within the home, a feeling of power from age or body size, provocative or "annoying" victims, and a need to feel better about themselves as a person. Bullying can happen anywhere and at any time. In schools it can happen on the playground, the cafeteria, hallways, and buses, and even in the classroom. Bullying is serious and can lead to many often tragic problems.

Bullying is not unique to the United States society; it is widespread different cultures, from different parts of the world. Bullying has a deeper origin than present cultural conditions. A 2005 multinational study that spanned 28 countries across North America and Europe revealed how commonplace bullying is and how consistent its effects...