Bullying in Schools: Causes, Effects and Possible Solutions

Pansy, nerd, drip, and creep: these are just a few of the horrible slurs that schoolyard bullies, and many other popular students, direct toward their ostracized, vulnerable peers in the hallowed halls that form the American public school system. In and of themselves, these malicious words can quickly erode the self-esteem of their victims; however, words are not the only tool employed in the oppression of unpopular students. Violence towards the weak and emotionally unstable is a common theme in many American schools, and it is a grave threat to those students who cannot readily defend themselves. Following the infamous Columbine High School shootings, in which two students, both victims of bullying, embarked upon a murderous rampage through their school, many schools have enacted zero tolerance policies towards planned, or even implied, violence within schools. However noble these policies are, they effectively allow bullies to continue their harassment of weaker students. School administrators then reserve the right to punish, and even expel, the weaker students who choose to defend themselves, whether vocally or physically, while ignoring the root cause of these insurrections. Whatever the reasons or methods, bullying in American schools is detrimental to the physical, intellectual, and emotional growth of the victims; bullied students are undoubtedly the "other" in schools, unable to seek help from school officials, which can leave the victims with emotional problems, and can lead to suicide and Columbine-style violence. One of the largest hurdles in the fight against schoolyard bullying is teachers and school administrators who could not readily identify the bulk of student bullies. From our vantage point as playground observers, we concluded that these poorly regulated children comprised the most visible, but not necessarily the most abusive aggressors on the playground. Model students sometimes held that distinction; ones that teachers

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