“For too long
“For too long, our society has shrugged off bullying by labeling it a ‘rite of passage’ and by asking students to simply ‘get over it’. Those attitudes need to change. Everyday, students are bullied into silence and are afraid to speak up. Let’s break this silence and end school”- Linda Sanchez. This quote is a reminder just how important it is to step up so no one gets stepped on. One must help those who are bullied because, bullying is like cancer, it can kill!
Bullying is referred to as the behavior by a person or a group of people, commonly repeated over time, that purposely hurt another person or group either emotionally or physically. Bullies love feeling powerful and in control. Bullies lack empathy and believe they are superior to others. One may believe that bullying is part of growing up, however, that is not a proven fact.
People who have been exposed to bullying experience many negative effects. A victim of bullying tends to become an outcast and unhappy, effecting their academic performance in school. Although bullying has a negative effect on all victims, however, children with disabilities are more vulnerable. Most children with disability are less likely to stand up for themselves while being bullied because they may already be struggling with low self esteem.
The article titled “Comparative Study of Bullying Victimization Among Students in General and Special Education”, compared the pattern of physical, verbal, and relational bullying among students in general education and special education. The study focused on 3,305 students who self-reported victimization of two to three times per month or more. In the end, they discovered that students in special education reported not only more psychological distress, due to their victimization, but also more emotional and physical harm. Although the self-reported rates of relational and verbal victimization were alike, however, physical victimization was frequency reported among students in special education. As reported by the student self-report, educators were more likely to physically, verbally, and relationally bully students in special education. This new found information may come as a shade to the readers.
