First, I can’t believe I forgot to add another amazing gal I met to my list yesterday – HipMamaB and her fantastic hubby DadCentric…check them out and tell them I said hi!
Onto something that’s really been bothering me – bullying. The recent bullying incidents have made me think about my own childhood. I’ve only recently realized that I was bullied – and it was horrible. Before coming to this realization, I thought it was normal kid behavior (what people did to me and how I was treated)…but it’s not acceptable.
I went to a small private school in a suburban community. The oldest child (I have a brother 3 and 1/2 years younger), I was the child of hard-working parents who may not have been aware of the negative affects bullying might have on a child. They tried their best, and to their credit, I’ve turned out alright, but not without persevering challenges and obstacles along the way.
Attending a small school in the 70’s, I was a kid with crazy hair, the talkative, creative-type, one of 7 girls and 17 boys in my class, and not academically gifted (probably because I was likely ADD – undiagnosed)…I was the butt of all the class jokes. I was ridiculed on the bus, called names, teased. When we came to an age where the boys started liking the girls, I was a tomboy…they liked to hang out with me, the other girls in my class didn’t like that much (because they starting liking the boys) so I was ganged up on, poked fun of and ridiculed more by the girls. I hated school and dreaded attending everyday. My parents thought it was normal not to like school, after all, they thought, “school, who really likes it? It’s just something you have to do.” I was the kid that the teachers would say didn’t work to her potential. I know that the staff eventually came to not expect much from me. For me, going to high school in a different community was a step in the right direction. While academically I continued to struggle because my negative attitude toward school was already ingrained into my being, I eventually learned my worth and once in college where I found my niche, I found success. I can see how horrible it can be for kids to be bullied, and I understand why parents may not worry about the seriousness of it…but it is serious. If something makes a child feel bad about themselves, it’s wrong and needs to be addressed with whomever will make a difference in remedying the problem.
According to BullyingStatistics website, the top 5 worst states to live in to avoid bullies from K-12 are: 1. California 2. New York 3. Illinois 4. Pennsylvania 5. Washington. I have no idea how this information was collected, but here’s more:
- High school incidents not dropping with a 15 per cent reporting one to three bullying incidents in the last month and 3.4 per cent 10 times or more.
- 23 per cent of elementary students reported being bullied one to three times in the last month bullying statistics say.
- Recent bullying statistics admit that half of all bullying incidents go unreported.
- 100,000 students carry a gun to school bullying statistics say.
- In a recent study, 77% of the students said they had been bullied. And 14% of those who were bullied said they experienced severe (bad) reactions to the abuse.
- 77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally, & physically. Since bullying is affecting such a large range of people some people are going to take it harder than others. This is why we should take the initiative in schools to end bullying once and for all.
- A poll of teens ages 12-17 proved that they think violence increased at their schools
- 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.
- Those in the lower grades reported being in twice as many fights as those in the higher grades. However, there is a lower rate of serious violent crimes in the elementary level than in the middle or high schools.
- Among students, homicide perpetrators were more than twice as likely as homicide victims to have been bullied by peers.
- Bullying statistics say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings
- 87% of students said shootings are motivated by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them.”
- 86% of students said, “other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them” causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in the schools.
- Bullying statistics shows that those who bully and are bullied appear to be at greatest risk of experiencing the following: loneliness; trouble making friends; lack of success in school; and involvement in problem behaviors such as smoking and drinking.
- 61% said students shoot others because they have been victims of physical abuse at home.
- 54% said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence in school.
- According to bullying statistics , one out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying.
- Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75 percent of school-shooting incidents.
