An Analysis of Bullying and Its Impact in US Schools

This essay addresses the significant issue of bullying in US schools, highlighting its prevalence and impact on students, particularly those from different racial backgrounds and the LGBT community. It explores the causes, including prejudice and intolerance, and examines the severe consequences, such as trauma, school dropouts, and online harassment. The essay emphasizes the need for open communication between parents and children, strict school policies, and the involvement of anti-bullying organizations. It also underscores the importance of addressing cyberbullying and promoting a safe and inclusive environment for all students. The essay concludes by advocating for a collaborative effort involving parents, school authorities, government, and the community to combat bullying and foster respect and acceptance in schools.

Running head: PROBLEM EXISTING IN US
English Assignment
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

2PROBLEM EXISTING IN US
One of the major problems that exist in the US is the problem of bullying. This is a very
prominent scenario that often takes place in the schools. The students who are studying in the
schools of US and are of the English origin cannot really accept students of any other races or of
the skin color. It is for this reason that they are very hostile towards the rest of the students and
often bully them. This bullying goes to a very severe level that often results in severe trauma and
diseases among the ones who are bullied. Bullying affects almost one in every three school
students in America ranging from the 6th to the 10th standard. Often the ones who are bullied are
set at a target and are attacked verbally and often physically as well. Many are of this
misconception that bullying makes the children stronger and therefore it must be allowed. This is
indeed a very wrong concept (Lee et al., 2017). Every year students become a victim of bullying
and drop out from their schools. They are afraid to attend the school and to come across the same
people and the situations every day. About 160000 children start skipping their schools every
year from the fear of being attacked by others. They suffer from the fear of being tortured,
intimidated and harassed (Zych et al., 2017).
The teenagers are more likely to become the victims of bullying and this is even more
dangerous as a teenager is a very sensitive age for every individual. They are more vulnerable to
bullying at this age. The other major victims of this school bullying are the LGBT people. The
LGBT youth are often harassed for their sexual orientation. The bullying does not really stop at
the school level; they are also often extended online. Many students in the USA get threatened
online and are humiliated. One of the most shocking issues is that the students that are bullied are
even afraid to even register a complaint. This is because often, the response of the schools
towards the bullying is very less or totally negligible.

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Bullying indeed is very harmful and shameful for the schools and for the entire society as
a whole. People must be open enough to accept and respect people of all races, skin colors and of
all backgrounds. Bullying is also related to racism. Even today people cannot accept others who
belong from different ethnic or religious backgrounds (Rosen et al., 2017). It is the duty of the
parents, the school authorities, the Government and the nation as a whole to make sure that the
chances of bullying in the schools can be checked and students can be given a healthy and happy
environment. There are several methods that need to be followed in order to reduce the chances
of bullying.
The first and foremost step that must be followed in this context is to make sure that the
lines of communication are always kept open. Either the parents or the caregivers whoever is
staying with the child at home for a long time must communicate with them freely. They must
always try to know from the children about their day at school. Children must be asked to share
their daily experiences every day back at home. It is the duty of the parents to explain to their
kids about how to identify any acts of bullying. The parents must also keep a proper contact with
the teachers and with the parents of the other kids and also with people like the bus drivers.
Staying aware all the time will surely help the kids in understanding about bullying and also in
opening up about the same.
The schools must not stay silent about the concept of bullying. They must keep a strict
check on the behavior of every student. If any of the students complain about any kinds of
harassments, then strict and immediate actions are to be taken (Meyer, 2015). They must also
contact the anti-bullying organizations who will surely be very helpful on this matter. The anti-
bullying organizations will also conduct workshops and seminars at school to make the students,
the teachers and the parents aware of the harmful effects of bullying. One such well-known

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organization is Ditch the Label, which is an anti-bullying charity group as well. They promote
equal and free-living among all the individuals.
As cyberbullying is also one of the major evils of the present day society, it is the duty of
the school authorities to keep a constant check on the websites that are being used by children
and the other online student's activities. There must be proper, upgraded CC TV camera
surveillance enabled in the school so that the teachers can keep a look at all the activities of the
students. No matter wherever people are being bullied, they must immediately contact the police
or the other anti-bullying organizations for help. Timely assistance is of utmost importance.

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References
Azeredo, C. M., Rinaldi, A. E. M., de Moraes, C. L., Levy, R. B., & Menezes, P. R. (2015).
School bullying: A systematic review of contextual-level risk factors in observational
studies. Aggression and violent behavior, 22, 65-76.
Lee, J., Hong, J. S., Resko, S. M., & Tripodi, S. J. (2017). Face-to-Face Bullying, Cyberbullying,
and Multiple Forms of Substance Use Among School-Age Adolescents in the
USA. School Mental Health, 1-14.
Meyer, E. J. (2015). Gender, bullying, and harassment: Strategies to end sexism and
homophobia in schools. Teachers College Press.
Rosen, L. H., DeOrnellas, K., & Scott, S. R. (Eds.). (2017). Bullying in School: Perspectives
from School Staff, Students, and Parents. Springer.
Zych, I., Baldry, A. C., & Farrington, D. P. (2017). School bullying and cyberbullying:
Prevalence, characteristics, outcomes, and prevention. In Handbook of Behavioral
Criminology (pp. 113-138). Springer, Cham.