reason of bullying essay

School Bullying: Causes and Effects

Bullying has become one of the most urgent problems in modern society. It comes from different sources and affects victims’ psychological state and quality of life. In this essay, we analyze the causes of bullying in school, its effects on victims, and mitigation measures that should be taken.

Cause and Effect of Bullying: Essay Introduction

Cause of bullying in school, bullying causes and effects: mitigation measures, works cited.

Bullying is one of the main challenges children face at school. It is a global problem that is currently affecting many youth. The rate at which bullying cases are reported causes many worries to parents. The issue is severe to the extent that many children have learned to live with it, and some have created the notion that bullying is part of their life in the early years of their development. Several cases, especially in the United States and Japan, have been reported about children’s humiliation, mistreatment, physical attacks, and even rape cases of young female learners.

The effects of bullying on a child can be very traumatizing if not carefully addressed. These effects sometimes are long-lasting and can provoke the victim to take dangerous measures to forget the incidents. According to Rigby (64), bullying experiences can cost the lives of the victims if not prevented in time. In New York, it is reported that a young immigrant killed herself due to excessive bullying. This researcher argues that it is high time for the issue of bullying in schools to be addressed. The notion that bullying is a rite of passage should be eliminated. This research paper aims to explore the causes, effects, and possible solutions to bullying in schools.

According to Olweus (34), many reasons lead to bullying in schools. One of the main causes is the cultural factor. This includes race and ethnicity. A child may be a bully or a victim if he or she comes from a majority or minority race, respectively. Another cause of bullying in schools is the nature of life a child is exposed to. In many families in developed countries, children can comfortably watch TV even in their bedrooms. Instead of studying, such children spend their time playing computer games. Their games make them bullies because they see others practice the same.

According to Tattumand Lane (27), high expectations of parents of their children contribute to bullying. The reason is that a child will spend much time studying to perform well and meet the parents’ expectations. Failure to achieve the target may develop stress in a child, and they will express anger through shouting or bullying fellow learners. Another cause of bullying in schools emanates from the family’s social status. A child from a humble background will always have some pressurizing needs that are not met. This child will always want to express this frustration to fellow learners, especially those from stable families, by bullying them.

The effects of bullying, as mentioned above, can be very traumatizing. Victims of bullying may opt to drop out of school because of the trauma they experience. Others may develop irresponsible behavior that involves missing classes on most occasions. School irregularities among the learners result in poor performance. Bullying leads to stress among the victims. This, in turn, results in poor communication with these children. McGrath (44) argues that, in some cases, excessive bullying can lead to victims committing suicide to escape from painful experiences and memories.

Some of the effects are short-term, but if not well addressed, they can result in serious complications. The victims may have bed-wetting problems, unexplained worries, and digestive problems because of the fear instilled in them. Some victims with the intention of hitting back may develop very destructive behavior. Other victims may end up engaging in drug abuse to make them forget their painful experiences. Bullying affects the normal development of victims and makes them have low self-esteem (Dupper 62). 

Mitigating bullying in schools is not a one-person battle. Since it is a global issue, it calls for a collaborative and participatory approach to addressing the problem. Teachers, parents, and policymakers have a significant role in curbing this bad behavior in schools. Teachers spend much of their time with the learners and, therefore, can easily control their behavior while in school. They should be tough and keen to identify the bullies and expel or suspend them from school to avoid spreading such behaviors among other learners. School administrators should seriously punish the physically strong learners who take advantage of the weak ones by mistreating them. The administration should not tolerate any sign of bullying within the school (Tattum&Lane 53). 

Parents should also be strict with their children and avoid anything that may turn them into bullies. Watching TV and playing computer games must be regulated at home. The child should be seriously punished if he or she shows some bullying behavior while at home. The government also has an essential role in curbing this vice. Policymakers must enact policies that address bullying in schools. These policies should be implemented and strictly adhered to, and whoever violates them should face the law irrespective of age. All the stakeholders, including the humanitarian non-governmental organizations, must join hands to curb this vice in society. Through this collaborative approach, success will be achieved.

Dupper, David. School Bullying: New Perspectives on a Growing Problem . New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.

McGrath, Mary. School Bullying: Tools for Avoiding Harm and Liability . Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press, 2007. Print.

Olweus, Dan. Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do . Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1993. Print.

Rigby, Ken. Bullying in Schools and What to Do About It . Melbourne, Vic: ACER, 2007. Print.

Tattum, Delwyn, and David Lane. Bullying in Schools . Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham, 1988. Print.

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School Bullying: Causes and Police Prevention Essay

Introduction, bullying in schools, what the police can do to prevent bullying in schools, community policing strategies, reference list.

Bullying is a form of scurrilous treatment which mainly entails emotional, physical or verbal harassment directed towards people of certain levels, gender, race and religion just to mention but a few. It mainly occurs when there is imbalance in power such that those deemed to be on the lower physical or social levels are bullied by those in the higher levels of power and social status.

Bullying can occur in many contexts especially where human beings interact with each other such as in the work places, learning institutions, family, churches among others. It is however more prone in schools as compared to the other areas. When bullying occurs, it causes oppression to the affected parties thus affecting their social life and studies in the case of students.

This paper is therefore an analysis of the possible causes and ways of preventing instances of bullying in schools by the police. Past and present approaches of addressing the issue of bullying in schools will further be discussed.

The problem of bullying in schools has been a major problem for many school going children and individuals. This is mainly because those who have undergone it or have seen fellow students in that situation will always have the fear of being in the same environment with the bullies.

As a matter of fact, recent research has shown that the instances of bullying in schools have been on the rise. This has been caused by the absence of ethos making some of the students or rather the bullies to obtain aggressive behavior to bully others.

It is for this reason that there has been need for the intervention of the community and the government to address the issue of bullying schools lest the school environment becomes the worst place to be in.

The fact that bullying in schools is very detrimental to the growth and psychological effects of most school going children leading to instances of depression, low self-esteem and in some cases suicide makes it require immediate causes of action to prevent it.

If this vice is left untreated, the school bullies end up being the societal criminals. School bullying has been identified to result into other antisocial behaviors such as shop lifting, drug and alcohol addicts, vandalism just to mention but a few. It therefore because of this reason that the police force comes in to prevent this act before it develops into more serious crimes.

To begin with is the enactment of the School Bullying Prevention Act which states regulates the control and discipline of school children thus prohibiting them from any form of harassment, bullying or intimidation in the school environment. Through the guidance of this policy, the police are therefore in a position to act in accordance to its provisions thus making any offender punishable under the law.

The police force can prevent instances of bullying in schools by visiting the nearby schools to give them presentation on bullying. This way, the students will understand the effects and consequences of bullying thus shun away from this practice.

Through the establishment of a good relationship with the school, the police force will educate the students on violent prevention and how they can deal with cases of bullying. This is to make sure that the students that nave been bullied report the matter to the authorities without fear since they are well informed of the measures to be taken. Through this information, the rate of bullying in schools will be reduced since the bullies will be aware of the impacts they could face after such acts.

A major obligation of the police force is that of provision of safety in the society. Therefore, the police force can use this as one way of dealing with bullying in schools. This is such that they ensure the school’s environment is very safe by making routine visits to the surrounding.

This will reduce bullying instances as the bullies usually use the hidden or the not-open ground to bully others. Thus in the instance that they are ware of police making visits in the school compound, they will deter from doing such acts for the fear of being caught.

Last but not least, the school’s administration should have direct hotline link with the police forces to ensure immediate response in case of bullying.

The problem of bullying in schools is not for a few but for everyone in the society. This is because the school children will at one point in time be members or leaders of the society. Therefore the community is no exception when it comes to dealing with the issue of bullying in schools. There are various community policy strategies that are applicable in stopping bullying in schools some of which include the following;

• Involving professionals, parents, volunteers and the youth in the fight against bullying in school- This entails involving different groups and categories of people to advice and guide the children on bullying effects and impacts. These people could include the counselors who will have counseling sessions in schools to educate the children on how to deal with the problem of bullying for those addicted to it or on how to report it for the victims of bullying. Parents also play a great role by raising their children in a disciplined manner. All the aforementioned groups of people can again come together and form ‘stop bullying in schools’ campaign.
• Raising community awareness; since bullying is often difficult at most times to understand, the community can raise awareness and inform people of how they can predict and recognize bullying. This will be through educating them on the signs of bullying and the consequent measures be taken.
• Assessing the strength and needs of the community- This entails finding out how the society perceives the bullying vice and measures that have been put in place to deal with it. This way, one will be in a good position to know the requirements of the community in terms of the issue of bullying in schools.

From the above discussion, it can be clearly seen that bullying is a bone of contention for many people. Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of all ambers of the society to deal with the issue of bullying in schools and not to be left on the hands of the school administrators only. Despite the fact that bullying instances have been on the rise in the recent past, ideal measures have been put in place to deal with the issue unlike it was in the past years.

Carey, T. (2003) Improving the success of anti-bullying intervention programs: A tool for matching programs with purposes. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 23(2), 16-23

Whitted, K.and Dupper, D. (2005). Best Practices for Preventing or Reducing

Bullying in Schools. Children and Schools , Vol. 27, No. 3, July 2005, pp. 167-175(9).

• School Bullying: Case Analysis
• Bullying in the Schools
• “Adolescents’ Perception of Bullying” by Frisen et al.
• Critique of the Argument: Is the Cost of A College A Bargain?
• Maintaining Safety in the Primary School: The Importance of Duty of Care for Students
• Duty of Care Policy Explained
• Current Educational Issues
• Most Popular Educational Issues and Points to Improve It
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IvyPanda. (2019, March 20). School Bullying: Causes and Police Prevention. https://ivypanda.com/essays/bullying-in-schools/

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IvyPanda . "School Bullying: Causes and Police Prevention." March 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/bullying-in-schools/.

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The causes of bullying: results from the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE)

Wanderlei abadio de oliveira.

1 Doctoral student, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

Marta Angélica Iossi Silva

2 PhD, Associate Professor, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

Flávia Carvalho Malta de Mello

Denise lopes porto.

3 MSc, Statistician, Coordenação Geral de Informações e Análise Epidemiológica, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, DF, Brazil

Andréa Cristina Mariano Yoshinaga

4 Master´s student, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

Deborah Carvalho Malta

5 PhD, Adjunct Professor, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Director, Departamento de Vigilância de Doenças e Agravos não Transmissíveis e Promoção da Saúde, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Brazil

to identify the characteristics and reasons reported by Brazilian students for school bullying.

this cross-sectional study uses data from an epidemiological survey (National Survey of School Health) conducted in 2012. A total of 109,104 9th grade students from private and public schools participated. Data were collected through a self-applied questionnaire and the analysis was performed using SPSS, version 20, Complex Samples Module.

the prevalence of bullying was 7.2%, most frequently affecting Afro-descendant or indigenous younger boys, whose mothers were characterized by low levels of education. In regard to the reasons/causes of bullying, 51.2% did not specify; the second highest frequency of victimization was related to body appearance (18.6%); followed by facial appearance (16.2%); race/color (6.8%); sexual orientation 2.9%; religion 2.5%; and region of origin 1.7%. The results are similar to those found in other sociocultural contexts.

Conclusion:

the problem belongs to the health field because it gathers aspects that determine the students' health-disease-care continuum.

Introduction

The term bullying refers to a specific form of aggressive and violent behavior among peers in the school context. It is characterized by three criteria: intentionality, repeatability and imbalance of power ( 1 ) . Given the emphasis of this definition, school bullying are acts that repeat over time and involve a desire to harm colleagues or expose them to negative situations, while those exposed to negative situations have difficulty defending themselves ( 1 - 2 ) . This phenomenon may manifest directly and physically (e.g., hitting, spitting), verbally (derogatory nicknames, threats, insults, gossip), or through cyber-bullying (using social, electronic or communication media - internet, phone) or indirectly in situations where there is no direct confrontation among those involved (social exclusion, gossip) ( 3 - 4 ) .

Bullying is acknowledged as a relationship problem in which power is claimed through the use of violence and is a reality among school-aged children and adolescents in different cultural contexts ( 4 ) and a severe problem in many countries ( 3 - 5 ) . This phenomenon may lead students to experience psychological distress, compromise the teaching-learning process and influence how individuals respond to social demands over the course of their lives. These negative consequences ( 4 , 6 ) , entailed for all those involved and associated with increased prevalence and frequency with which bullying occurs ( 7 - 8 ) , transformed bullying into a severe public health problem worldwide ( 9 - 10 ) .

Studies show that both boys and girls become involved in situations of violence at school, though the actions in which they engage are different. Boys are more likely to experience physical bullying, while girls engage in indirect or verbal exchanges ( 1 , 5 , 10 ) . Even though there are an increased number of studies addressing school bullying, few of them address causal factors or the reasons determining the phenomenon. In general, the focus of investigations is on the characteristics of the students involved, the phenomenon's variables and the nuances it assumes in the school context without, however, establishing the reasons that explain this phenomenon.

In this sense, evidence from the scientific literature addressing this subject suggests that the dynamics of bullying is a result of the students' characteristics, the vulnerability or social status of one student in relation to another, that differentiate and segregate peers ( 3 ) . A study conducted in Netherlands with 80,770 students reports that the reasons students presented for the practice of bullying were physical appearance, individual behavior, level of school performance, physical or mental disabilities, religious aspects, gender issues, sexual orientation, and the inappropriate manner some students dealt with punishment ( 11 ) . The average prevalence of students identified as involved in bullying was 32.5% ( 11 ) .

A longitudinal studied conducted in the United States reports empirical evidence of increased school bullying beginning in the second half of the 2000s, with a prevalence of 25.8% in 2009 ( 12 ) . The study reports bullying was more common and more intense among boys, Afro-descendants, from rural areas, living with single parents, with low school performance and a low level of religious identification ( 12 ) . A Swedish study, reporting a prevalence of 44% of victims and aggressors, reports that adolescents tend to explain the phenomenon in terms of individual reasons instead of offering other dimensions like peer groups, school context, or social issues ( 5 ) . The study also reveals that aggressors were more likely to blame the victim ( 5 ) .

In Brazil, the complexity of concrete problems such as bullying and a concern with school health culminated in 2007 with the implementation of the Programa Saúde na Escola [Health Program at School], an inter-sector policy promoting the delivery of integral healthcare to school-aged children and adolescents. According to this proposal, primary healthcare (PHC) teams must put into practice actions that are focused on the promotion of health according to the principles and guidelines of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), addressing the dimensions of a culture of peace and fighting the various expressions of violence within schools and the community ( 13 ) .

Therefore, identifying the causes and reasons students become involved with bullying is essential to implementing coping strategies focused on human development and health promotion in the school context. From this perspective, this study's aim was to identify the reasons associated with school bullying reported by adolescents in public and private schools in Brazil.

Study's design

This cross-sectional study used data from the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE), conducted in 2012. PeNSE addressed behavioral factors of risk and health protection in a sample of 8 th grade students attending daytime programs of public and private schools located in urban or rural areas from the entire Brazilian territory. The 9 th grade was chosen because it is the minimum level of education required to complete the self-administered questionnaire during data collection.

Study setting and sampling

The 2010 School Census was used to select the sample and those schools reporting 9 th grade classes administered during daytime hours were included in the list; nighttime programs were excluded. The sample was sized to estimate population parameters (proportions or prevalence) in diverse geographic domains comprising the 26 state capitals along with the Federal District; the set of capitals; the five geographic regions (North, Northeast, Southeast, South, and Midwest) in addition to the country as a whole. A probabilistic sample was used and the sampling plan was formed by schools (primary sampling units) and the schools' classes (secondary sampling units). In the case of non-capital cities, the primary sampling units were groups of cities and the secondary sampling units were schools, while classrooms were the tertiary sampling units. A total of 134,310 9 th grade students were enrolled in the selected classes administered during daytime hours by public and private schools located in urban and rural areas in the entire Brazilian territory. Of these, 132,123 students were considered regular students and 110,873 were present in classrooms on the day the questionnaire was applied. The final sample included 109,104 students, i.e., 83% of those considered eligible for the study ( 14 ) .

A total of 86% of students in the sample surveyed in 2012 were between 13 and 15 years old; 47.8% were male and 52.2% were female; and 17.2% students were from private schools and 82.8% were from public schools ( 14 ) .

Data were collected using smartphones, which were included in the structured, self-applied questionnaires with thematic modules that varied in the number of questions contained. Bullying was one of the dimensions addressed. Data collection was implemented by previously trained agents from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in schools during classes from April to September 2012. Further details concerning the methodology can be obtained in specific publications ( 14 ) .

Studied variables

The variable bullying was obtained through the question: "How often did some of your friends belittle, mock, scorn, intimidate or scoff at you IN THE LAST 30 DAYS to the point that you became hurt, bothered, annoyed, offended, or humiliated? The answers were categorized as NO (never, rarely, sometimes) and YES (most of the time, always).

Reasons/causes related to why one experiences bullying were verified through the question: "What is the reason/cause your friends have belittled, mocked, scorned, intimidated or scoffed at you IN THE LAST 30 DAYS?" The answers to this question were analyzed according to the following options: (a) My race or color; b) My religion; c) The appearance of my face; d) the appearance of my body; e) My sexual orientation; f) My region of origin; g) Other reasons.

Statistical Analysis

The analysis was performed through the computation of the prevalence of the variables experiencing bullying and their respective confidence intervals of 95%, according to the sociodemographic aspects of experiencing bullying (sex, age, race/color, religion, public or private school, mother's education). The reasons/causes of experiencing bullying reported by the students were analyzed according to sociodemographic aspects stratified by race or color, religion, facial appearance, body appearance, sexual orientation, region of origin, others.

When the reason one experienced bullying was reported to be the appearance of body, it was cross-tabulated with the variable Body Image, which was verified by the question: In regard to your body, do you consider yourself: Too thin, Thin, Normal, Fat, Too fat?

These analyses were performed using SPSS, version 20, with the Complex Samples Module, appropriate for data analyses obtained by a complex sampling plan ( 15 ) .

Ethical issues

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board according to referee report No. 192/2012 Registry No. 16805, CONEP/MS on March 27, 2012.

Table 1 shows that 7.2% (CI95% 6.6-7.8) of the students reported having experienced bullying, always or almost always felt humiliated, by schoolmates. The percentages were higher among male students, 7.9% (CI95% 7.0-9.1), in comparison to female students, 6.5% (CI95% 6.2-6.7); among students whose mothers were characterized by low levels of education, 8.3% (CI95% 7.2-9.4); among those who reported themselves to be Afro-descendant, 8.1% (CI 95%: 7.2-9.1); and among those self-reported as indigenous people 7.9% (CI95%: 7.3-8.5). No difference was found between private schools, 7.6% (CI95%: 6.9-8.3) and private school students, 7.1% (CI95%: 6.2-8.0).

Most times, 51.2% (CI95% 48.6-53.7%), causes of bullying were not identified followed by body image or appearance, 18.6% (CI95% 16.5-21); facial appearance, 16.2% (15.4%-17.1%); race or color, 6.8% (CI95% 6.4-7.3); sexual orientation, 2.9% (CI95% 2.5-3.5); religion, 2.5% (CI95% 1.9-3.2); and region of origin, 1.7 (CI95%1.5-2). The frequencies of those reporting having experienced bullying and those reporting always or almost always experienced bullying in the last 30 days were similar, except for those reporting the reason was their race/color, among whom frequency increased to always, as shown in Table 2 .

Body appearance was cross-tabulated with the variable body image for those reporting that the appearance of their bodies was the reason they suffered bullying, which showed bullying was more frequent among those reporting they were either too fat or too thin, 19.2% (CI95% 15.1-24) and 12.1% (CI95% 10.4-14.0), respectively ( Table 3 ).

The reasons did not vary according to age, except in regard to sexual orientation among students younger than 13 years of age (15% - CI95%: 7.2-28.6). In regard to sex, boys were more frequently bullied than girls and also more frequently reported experiencing bullying triggered by their race or color 8.9% (CI95% 8.19-9.9), while 4.5% (CI95% 3.8-5.2) of the girls reported bullying was triggered for this reason. A total of 3.9% (CI95% 3.5-4.5) of the boys and 1.8% (CI95% 1.2-2.0) of the girls reporting bullying was triggered by their sexual orientation. Race/color shows considerable difference in regard to how often bullying is experienced: Afro-descendant boys report four times more bullying, 23.2% (CI95% 21.8-24.7), while indigenous students report bullying at twice the frequency, 12.5% (CI95%7.5-20.3). Students of mixed race (3.8% CI95% 2.9-4.8), Caucasian (3.1% CI95% 2.5-3.9), and Asian (4.7% CI95% 1.4-14.4), reported bullying is experienced less frequently. Public schools also present a higher number of reports of bullying triggered by race/color, 7.2% (CI95% 6.6-8.0). Bullying triggered by race/color also increased among children of mothers with no education, 11.6% (CI95% 8.5-15.6), as shown in Table 4 .

This study's findings show that 7.2% of the students experienced bullying, which was more frequently reported by younger boys, whose mothers present lower levels of education, and are of Afro-descent or indigenous. Most did not report the reason or cause that triggers bullying. In regard to differences between sexes, the causes reported by boys and girls were similar, mostly appearance of the face and body, however, boys most frequently reported bullying triggered by race/color and sexual orientation.

This study highlights that "other reasons/causes" is the most frequent option chosen to explain bullying. The frequency with which this option was chosen may be due to the poor understanding of students concerning the process of victimization or how they qualify jokes or the experience of being bullied. The process of victimization is characterized by receiving negative attention or aggressive behavior from peers over time and what determines its occurrence is being different or behaving differently others ( 2 ) . Investigating what causes the phenomenon based on self-reports addresses these dimensions and the sensitive nature of the issues implicated in the issue.

Almost a fifth of the students reported body appearance, followed by facial appearance, as being causes of bullying. Similar results were found in other contexts that indicate that physical appearance is one of the main reasons a student becomes a victim of bullying ( 16 ) . A potential interpretation for this information involves culturally valued social standards in which diversity and differences are not tolerated. One epidemiological study conducted with 1,230 students from a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, identified that 30.1% were overweight or obese, showing that students dissatisfied with their body image were three times more likely to be victims of bullying. Statistically, however, excess weight was not significantly associated with the phenomenon ( 16 ) . In turn one study, similar to this study, that was developed in Ireland reports that body image, such as considering oneself to be thin or too thin, was significantly associated with being a victim ( 17 ) .

Classical studies addressing this phenomenon do not report evidence that body image is a determinant factor in the process of victimization ( 1 ) . Other studies however, verify that victims often present characteristics that distinguish them from most of their peers, such as obesity, thinness, or the use of prosthetics or orthotics ( 18 - 19 ) .

A student's skin color or race was also reported as being significantly associated with victimization. Afro-descendant students were four times more likely to experience bullying, while indigenous people were two times more likely to experience bullying. This dimension is also linked to social and cultural issues, to racism and prejudice, since there is a hegemonic pattern of valuing white skin ( 20 - 23 ) . One study in the United States correlated race with gender and identified that these variables were significant predictors of bullying. The study shows that boys were 25.5% more likely to become victims than girls, while Afro-descendant students were 46.3% more likely to become victims at school than Caucasian students ( 23 ) . Afro-descendant and indigenous students addressed in this study were also more likely to become victims due to their race/color. It is worth noting that individuals of mixed race did not present the same rates of being bullied, an aspect that shows the importance of verifying whether students from different races have different criteria to identify and assess violent practices.

We cannot ignore the factors and individual variables that explain the phenomenon, as we cannot ignore contextual factors, such as mother's education, in the determination of bullying. As observed, the indication of no maternal education was the most prevalent for victimization and the scientific literature considers this variable to be a demographic predictor of students' success or failure at school. One study recently conducted in the United States reports that students whose mothers presented low levels of education were more likely to become victims ( 12 ) . In general, results concerning association between mother's education and involvement with bullying are explored because the mother's education is considered to be relevant within the families' set of social and cultural characteristics.

Other issues, such as the students' sexual orientation, religion and region of origin, are not shown to be expressive causes for victimization. In fact, these individual characteristics of students are less frequently observed than other characteristics. Nonetheless, they are manifested differently between sexes; for instance, boys more frequently report victimization associated with sexual orientation than do girls. Additionally, the literature shows that sexual orientation is one of the reasons related to bullying ( 11 ) . Therefore, these are important variables through which the phenomenon may be approached and related to proposing interventions intended to understand diversity, especially considering the diffuse nature of these in modern times and the emergence of other expressions of sexuality, religiosity, and migratory movements that require understanding and tolerance of diversity ( 4 , 23 - 24 ) .

Overall, the results are relevant and contribute to the understanding of bullying and enable discussing the problem of violence within the school environment. Bullying is manifested through different signs, behaviors, and prejudice in interpersonal relationships among students. Because of its specificity and complexity, bullying in an interdisciplinary and inter-sector object that demands solutions follow the same logic and direction, such as the Health School Project. Education actions and health promotion at school are different ways for PHC workers to encourage new forms in which students may relate with each other and with the world ( 10 , 13 ) .

Finally we mention some of the study's limitations. Despite the survey's validity and reliability, its cross-sectional design hinders causal/temporal inferences between exposure to or involvement with school bullying. This limits addressing the issue of causality, though this study's results agree with those reported by prospective studies. In this sense, the individual characteristics of victims do not justify aggressive and violent behavior that is inherent to bullying, as they cannot be isolated, assessed and exclusively seen as causes or motivations to become involved with the phenomenon. Another limitation is the large number of references to the option "other causes/reasons" in the experience of bullying. Hence, we suggest that other psychological characteristics or social relationships be addressed by the instrument, such as shyness, reservation in resolving conflicts, low self-esteem, among other factors. Additionally, students should be asked to indicate causes and reasons they suffer bullying even after providing alternative answers, as an opportunity to fill in some of the gaps observed.

Conclusions

This study's results concerning the identification of reasons associated with bullying among Brazilian students show that some individual characteristics are related to the phenomenon and contextual aspects that determine it. Bullying is a common experience in the lives of Brazilian students and a problem within the domain of the health field since it gathers determinants of the health-disease-care process for school-aged children and adolescents. This debate is highly important because it support tools for the development of other studies and health practices, especially in primary healthcare and in the interface between health and education.

We expect these data to encourage attention being paid to public policies concerning this issue, resulting in indicators being provided that can support the development of coping strategies at the inter-sector and inter-disciplinary levels, with a view to encourage a non-violent culture, partnering the health and education sectors. Further studies are needed, especially those providing qualitative analyses or triangulation methods and approaches, to understand the meanings and processes in which bullying emerges in the school context and its dynamics in the reality of Brazilian schools.

Bullying Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on bullying.

Bullying refers to aggressive behavior so as to dominate the other person. It refers to the coercion of power over others so that one individual can dominate others. It is an act that is not one time, instead, it keeps on repeating over frequent intervals.  The person(s) who bullies others can be termed as bullies, who make fun of others due to several reasons. Bullying is a result of someone’s perception of the imbalance of power.

Types of bullying :

There can be various types of bullying, like:

• Physical bullying:  When the bullies try to physically hurt or torture someone, or even touch someone without his/her consent can be termed as physical bullying .
• Verbal bullying:  It is when a person taunts or teases the other person.
• Psychological bullying:  When a person or group of persons gossip about another person or exclude them from being part of the group, can be termed as psychological bullying.
• Cyber bullying:  When bullies make use of social media to insult or hurt someone. They may make comments bad and degrading comments on the person at the public forum and hence make the other person feel embarrassed. Bullies may also post personal information, pictures or videos on social media to deteriorate some one’s public image.

Read Essay on Cyber Bullying

Bullying can happen at any stage of life, such as school bullying, College bullying, Workplace bullying, Public Place bullying, etc. Many times not only the other persons but the family members or parents also unknowingly bully an individual by making constant discouraging remarks. Hence the victim gradually starts losing his/her self-esteem, and may also suffer from psychological disorders.

A UNESCO report says that 32% of students are bullied at schools worldwide. In our country as well, bullying is becoming quite common. Instead, bullying is becoming a major problem worldwide. It has been noted that physical bullying is prevalent amongst boys and psychological bullying is prevalent amongst girls.

Prevention strategies:

In the case of school bullying, parents and teachers can play an important role. They should try and notice the early symptoms of children/students such as behavioral change, lack of self-esteem, concentration deficit, etc. Early recognition of symptoms, prompt action and timely counseling can reduce the after-effects of bullying on the victim.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Anti-bullying laws :

One should be aware of the anti-bullying laws in India. Awareness about such laws may also create discouragement to the act of bullying amongst children and youngsters. Some information about anti-bullying laws is as follows:

• Laws in School: To put a notice on the notice board that if any student is found bullying other students then he/she can be rusticated. A committee should be formed which can have representatives from school, parents, legal, etc.
• Laws in Colleges: The government of India, in order to prevent ragging , has created guideline called “UGC regulations on curbing the menace of ragging in Higher Education Institutions,2009”.
• Cyber Bullying Laws: The victim can file a complaint under the Indian Penal Code .

Conclusion:

It is the duty of the parents to constantly preach their children about not bullying anyone and that it is wrong. Hence, if we, as a society need to grow and develop then we have to collectively work towards discouraging the act of bullying and hence make our children feel secure.

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Cause & Effect Essay: Bullying

Most people know that bullying is wrong. Calling someone names has absolutely no beneficial purpose. Moreover, hitting someone makes a bully feel good in the moment while doing permanent damage to the person being victimized. With the Internet, people now have even more opportunities to bully through cyberbullying. This includes sending crude pictures, posting fake web pages, or tweeting slanderous messages. Cyberbullying has subsequently led to a rise in a completely new kind of bullying.

One of the effects of bullying is that it can change the victim’s personality. It can cause people who are normally confident and happy to become self-conscious, shy, and unsure. Additionally, victims of bullying may also become sad or depressed. Their confidence might completely disappear, keeping them from trying new things or trusting people. Once a person has been bullied, they may hesitate to participate in situations where he or she might be ridiculed, such as in public speaking or in sports. A bullying victim might even begin to possess previously absent anxious behavior.

Despite all the negative effects of bullying, there are even far more serious consequences. People who have been bullied sometimes become so upset, scared, or depressed that they see no worth in themselves and no way out of their torment. There have been countless reports over the past few years of students committing suicide because they were bullied. Meanwhile, there are times when victims see no recourse but to seek revenge by serious acts of violence against the bully and instigators. As a result of bullying, people can lose their ability to love and trust, denying them the chance to experience a quality relationship later in their life. They might find themselves as a submissive partner or they may want to be completely alone. Compounding all of these problems, victims often develop eating disorders, begin to self-injure, or require extensive counseling. Social bullying can also leave people without a supportive group of friends that they can lean on and spend time with.

Another unfortunate consequence of this is that bullying is often cyclical. People who have been bullied can, in an attempt to gain their power and self-esteem back, become bullies themselves. In relation to this, bullies who are not confronted or stopped may find themselves in future positions where they can bully as adults. This is where manipulative bosses and child abusers come from.

Aside from its long-term effects, some consequences of bullying can be seen and felt immediately. When one child calls another child names, the victim might cry and a bruise might appear after a punch to the arm. However, some effects of bullying are not always obvious to the naked eye. The results of bullying might grow and appear over time, damaging a person in profound ways for the long term. There are so many effects of bullying that they are impossible to count or predict. This is why it is so important to stop bullying.

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Advocates vow to return to bullying definition after Youngkin veto

Earlier this year, members of the General Assembly approved legislation that would have changed the definition of bullying. But the governor vetoed that bill.

Are some students bullied more than others? Delegate Joshua Cole is a Democrat from Fredericksburg who thinks so, and he wanted to change the definition of bullying to protect the most vulnerable students.

"Whether it's students with disabilities, Black and brown students, students who may have moved from various different areas, LGBTQIA students; there's even data that proves that those particular groups are the brunt of bullying more so than others," Cole says. "And if they can be protected in the workplace with the Virginia Human Rights Act, certainly our students could be protected in the same manner."

Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed the bill saying that it might cause confusion for teachers and school administrators by excluding some groups. Todd Gathje at the Family Foundation says he agrees with the governor's veto.

"Now we have an effort to elevate sexual orientation [and] gender identity to some type of special class for bullying, and we just did not feel that that's right," Gathje says. "We want to treat every student equally across the board so that regardless of how someone may identify if they are bullied, that's wrong. If it's based on their religion or ethnicity, that is wrong."

Cole says he's still hoping he'll be able to change the definition of bullying after the next election for governor.

This report, provided by  Virginia Public Radio , was made possible with support from the  Virginia Education Association .

Helen Keller’s Early Life: when she Went Blind and Deaf

This essay is about when Helen Keller went blind and deaf and how it shaped her life. At 19 months old, Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing due to an illness, likely scarlet fever or meningitis. Her early years were filled with frustration and isolation until Anne Sullivan became her teacher in 1887, using the manual alphabet to help Helen communicate. This breakthrough allowed Helen to learn Braille, use a typewriter, and eventually master several languages. She became the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Keller’s achievements as a writer and advocate for people with disabilities highlight her remarkable perseverance and the impact of compassionate teaching.

How it works

Helen Keller epitomizes triumph in the face of adversity. Born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, she entered the world as a healthy infant with a promising future. However, fate dealt a harsh blow when, at a tender age of 19 months, Helen Keller succumbed to an illness that robbed her of both sight and hearing, drastically altering the trajectory of her life. The precise nature of her affliction remains shrouded in uncertainty, though prevailing conjecture suggests it was either scarlet fever or meningitis, prevalent and perilous maladies of the era.

Before the onset of her malady, Helen basked in the joys of childhood, imbued with a boundless sense of curiosity about the world around her. The sudden onset of her sensory deprivation plunged her parents, Captain Arthur Keller and Kate Adams Keller, into the depths of despair. Helen’s plunge into darkness and silence rendered communication virtually impossible, precipitating bouts of frustration and tantrums. Undeterred, her family embarked on a quest to bridge the chasm and impart her with an education.

In 1887, a pivotal juncture arrived with the advent of Anne Sullivan, a 20-year-old alumna of the Perkins School for the Blind, who assumed the mantle of Helen’s mentor and lifelong confidante. Sullivan’s arrival heralded a watershed moment in Helen’s life. Anne, herself visually impaired, possessed an acute insight into Helen’s tribulations. Commencing her tutelage with the “manual alphabet” method, whereupon words are conveyed through tactile signals traced upon the palm, Sullivan orchestrated a transformative breakthrough when she spelled out “water” upon Helen’s palm while dousing her other hand with the precious liquid. This epiphanic juncture ushered in a new epoch for Helen, as the nexus between tactile sensations and linguistic comprehension dawned upon her.

Helen’s ascension was meteoric. Swiftly mastering communication via the manual alphabet, she subsequently acquired proficiency in Braille literacy and typewriting. Her intellectual voracity knew no bounds, as she delved into the realms of diverse languages, including French, German, and Latin. Helen’s scholastic prowess reached its zenith when she clinched the distinction of being the premier deaf-blind individual to attain a Bachelor of Arts degree, a feat consummated at Radcliffe College in 1904.

The saga of Helen Keller transcends the realm of individual triumph to embody a saga of indomitable fortitude, erudition, and the indomitable human spirit. Her corpus of life’s work as an advocate for the differently-abled, coupled with her prolific literary output and eloquent oratory, indelibly imprinted society’s collective consciousness. The symbiotic rapport she shared with Anne Sullivan serves as a testament to the transformative potential of dedicated and empathetic pedagogy.

Across the annals of her existence, Helen Keller confronted formidable trials, yet also savored prodigious triumphs. Penning a dozen published tomes and myriad articles, she lent a resonant voice to the narratives and prerogatives of individuals grappling with disabilities. Her seminal autobiography, “The Story of My Life,” penned in 1903, endures as a poignant testament to her formative years and her odyssey in surmounting the hurdles erected by her disabilities.

Helen Keller’s legacy transcends the precincts of her personal conquests. Tirelessly advocating for the amelioration of the lives of fellow individuals with disabilities, she championed the causes of education, rehabilitation, and inclusivity. Her endeavors engendered a paradigm shift in public perceptions and policies pertaining to disability, charting the trajectory for future strides in accessibility and equity.

In denouement, Helen Keller’s narrative is one of resilience and redemption, underpinned by an unwavering commitment to enlightenment and empowerment. Her saga serves as a perennial source of inspiration, a poignant reminder of the indomitable resilience latent within the human spirit, and the boundless potential inherent in each individual, irrespective of the hurdles they encounter.

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I'm a single mom of 3 living in Anguilla. My kids are safer than in the US and there's a bigger sense of community.

• Vanessa Croft is a 39-year-old single mom of three children, aged 17, 12, and 3.
• When she had her first child, she decided to raise her family in Anguilla.
• She said she appreciates the simple life, safety, and collective responsibility for the community.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Vanessa Croft. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Before moving to Anguilla when I was 13, I lived with my single mom in Oregon, Florida, and California. My dad is from Anguilla, so my mom always had a connection to the island. I remember hating Anguilla when we first moved.

I planned to return to the US as soon as I finished high school and saved some money, but when I got pregnant with my oldest child at 20, I decided to stay in Anguilla. Childhood in Anguilla is much superior to childhood in the US.

There are no school shootings

One of the main reasons I stayed here to raise my children was because I didn't feel safe going back to the US. We don't have school shootings in Anguilla. Even as a teacher, it isn't something I consider a threat.

Some people have guns, but we don't have the problem of people going around randomly using them.

Like any other society, there is crime here, but it isn't highly prevalent. I leave my house unlocked at times, and people often leave their cars unlocked. As a single mother, I'm not afraid someone will come into my house to steal or hurt my family.

There's a sense of community

Since there are only around 15,000 people on the island, everyone knows each other and watches out for one another in Anguilla . Strangers don't exist here.

Related stories

There is a collective responsibility for children especially. People don't ever ignore children.

When I was in the US, people were just in their own little zones, moving forward for themselves. I remember being taught to never talk to or accept anything from a stranger. But here, if I didn't have money as a mother and needed to feed my children, I could go anywhere to ask for food, and it would be given to me.

My kids don't experience bullying

I'm always reading about how bad bullying is in the US . It's a major theme of American TV shows. Children are being told they are worthless, and fake accounts are made online to bombard kids with. Kids are bullied so badly that they kill themselves.

That would never happen in Anguilla. We've had a couple of instances of bullying, but not close to the magnitude of that in the States.

I think the difference might come down to parental expectations. Here, if a parent is called out on how their child is treating another child, the parent reacts, making sure their child stops.

We don't spend money on things we don't need

There aren't a lot of stores in Anguilla. If you buy something, it has to be imported, and you have to pay customs duty, so the price is often double what it would be in America.

It has meant my kids have learned to value the things they do have.

When my daughter was 7, a friend from the US came to visit with her little girl. After using markers to color, my friend's daughter left all the tops off, and mine went behind her, putting the tops back on each marker.

We just don't have excessive consumerism. If your toaster breaks, you take it to the electronic repair guy. If a shoe breaks, you take it to the shoemaker.

We don't experience racism as a Black family

The population of Anguilla is 85% Black, so we don't experience the same plight as African Americans in the States.

Since most people are people of color, we aren't worried that something is going to happen to us if the police pull us over. Having a son, if he were living in the US, it would be something I worried about. But it isn't even on the radar here.

Things like education and healthcare could be better

We don't have a lot of specialist doctors here on a consistent basis. They rotate through on a monthly basis. If you need to see someone quickly, you must go off-island.

But healthcare is much cheaper here. For instance, to give birth to each of my kids without insurance, I paid $500.

When my kids get ready to go to college, they will be leaving to go to the US. There isn't a lot of access to further education here. We have one community college and one branch of the University of the West Indies Open Campus. There's not a lot of opportunities here — you'd have to leave.

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How to Stop Bullying: Exploring The Causes, Effects, and Strategies

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Words: 948 |

Published: Feb 7, 2024

Words: 948 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, causes of bullying, effects of bullying, strategies to prevent bullying, strategies to address bullying.

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What a Proposed Ban on AI-Assisted ‘Deep Fakes’ Would Mean for Cyberbullying

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Last fall, students in New Jersey and Washington state used artificial intelligence tools to create fake, pornographic images of their female classmates.

If bipartisan legislation recently introduced in Congress is enacted, these kinds of activities would be against federal law and students who undertake them could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in damages.

The legislation—nicknamed the “No AI Fraud Act”—gives “all Americans the tools to protect their digital personas,” said Rep. Madeline Dean, D-Pa., who introduced the bill with Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., “By shielding individuals’ images and voices from manipulation, the [bill] prevents artificial intelligence from being used for harassment, bullying, or abuse.”

The bill text specifically references the New Jersey incident, citing it as a reason that legislation is needed. “From October 16 to 20, 2023, AI technology was used to create, false, non-consensual intimate images of high school girls in Westfield, N.J,” it says. It also highlights other incidents where AI created images of celebrities and others that were used without permission, such as an ad that used the actor Tom Hanks’ face to advertise a dental plan.

Specifically, the bill would make it clear that every individual’s likeness and identity is protected, and everyone has the right to control the use of their own image and voice.

It would allow people to sue for thousands of dollars in damages if they have been negatively impacted—including emotionally—when others create or spread AI frauds using their identifying characteristics, without their permission.

At least five states—Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington—have introduced bills for upcoming legislative sessions to deal with deepfakes, said Amelia Vance, the president of the Public Interest Privacy Center, a nonprofit that works on child and student data privacy issues.

Educators have been warily eyeing the events in New Jersey and Washington, she said.

“It’s obviously causing massive concern across the country. You have a lot of districts who are saying they don’t know what to do about it,” Vance said. “Despite open First Amendment questions, it seems like there is solid legal ground for legislators and others to pass laws restricting these fabricated, intimate or sexually explicit images and depictions.”

But Vance isn’t sure whether the proposed laws—federal or state—are as necessary when it’s “kids generating these images of other kids,” she said.

“Kids are like, ‘Oh, I wonder if I could do this!’” she said, equating it to when past generations might take a yearbook photo of their teacher’s face and place it on the body of, say, a dragon or monster and pass it around class.

Vance emphasized the importance of clear policies from districts for students to understand that distributing AI-generated images of classmates is inappropriate, against the rules, and has consequences.

When those policies are violated, schools can already discipline students in age-appropriate ways, Vance said. State cyberbullying laws can already be used to bring in local law enforcement if schools need to stop the distribution of AI-created intimate images at school, she added.

“It is great these bills are being put forward, it will clarify the landscape more generally, which will hopefully keep more 12-year-olds from experimenting,” Vance said. “But it isn’t absolutely necessary to address the problem in schools specifically.”

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What’s a Teenage Summer For?

Why some young high schoolers are forgoing that last bittersweet summer at camp..

When I think back to the seven summers I spent at sleepaway camp in Maine, I have mostly sense memories: the sound of screen doors slamming, joyous singing in the dining hall, the scent of pine needles on the path to the (always too cold) lake. Those summers feel dreamy and expansive, full of togetherness and growth.

For kids who go to overnight camp for several weeks or more, it’s a multi-summer experience that typically culminates in a final teenage summer or two—often, the summer after ninth grade or 10 th grade—full of special privileges, capstone projects, and sought-after leadership roles. To skip that summer, for Camp People, is to miss the cherry on top, the End of the Era, the coda to the camp experience.

But more and more families today, with college on the brain earlier than ever, are looking at those early teenage summers and reevaluating. The singing, the swimming, the sitting around the campfire may not be enough. “They are thinking [about] ‘how that looks’ on some future college application down the road,” says Corey Dockswell, the director of Camp Wicosuta , a sleepaway camp in New Hampshire, who has been noticing families reconsidering their young teenage kids’ final summers for a number of years.

“Parents will reach out to me and ask about the experience that kids have in the last year at camp—really worried about if it’s ‘a rich enough experience.’ While I don’t think it’s a judgment on camp, I think it’s coming from a place of pressure that’s building earlier and earlier,” Dockswell says. “Pressure from all sides—what parents are hearing, what kids are hearing.”

Another factor, says J.D. Lichtman, the director of Camp Tapawingo , a sleepaway camp in Maine, seems to also be a bit of “pent-up travel bug that is part of the long tail of the pandemic.” (Tapawingo is where I went for many summers as a kid, and where I send my own daughters, who are 10 and 14, so naturally J.D. was one of the first people I called to ask about this issue—especially in light of the conversations I’ve overheard among some of my teenager’s friends lately.)

Lichtman sees kids and families wanting to take more trips—family trips as well as solo enrichment ventures for the kids—which can cut into camp sessions, which may also require a significant time commitment. Social media plays into this, says Lichtman. “Kids see peers posting all these amazing photos from here and there—and then those campers tell me, ‘I saw my friend do this or this thing,’ and that makes them reconsider camp,” Lichtman says.

Chloe (some names have been changed), an 8 th grader in New York City who has been attending camp for four weeks every summer since she was 9, says she probably won’t go back after ninth grade: “There are so many other things I should be doing by now, like so many places to travel instead of just being in one place. I want to do a program in Europe next summer.” That “should” is key: For Chloe, it means that her burgeoning ambitions for the future align better, given what she sees in her social context, with something like traveling abroad.

Skipping the final year of camp was the best decision for writer and college admissions consultant Samantha Shanley’s teenagers, who started attending a YMCA camp in New Hampshire in 2015. The time commitment (six weeks) just didn’t work anymore for her son—who chose to do an intense, monthlong NOLS wilderness program that summer—and the generalized program they offered wasn’t challenging enough anymore for his increasingly specific interests in backpacking and survival skills.

Carrie, a mother in Maryland who sent both of her kids to sleepaway camp, considers herself a true Camp Person. “Our kids are under so much pressure all the time and so, for me, giving camp is a gift. It’s a time warp where there are no devices, and they are completely in a bubble—that is such a gift.”

Nevertheless, instead of spending the summer after 10 th grade as a counselor-in-training at his beloved camp, this summer her son will be taking classes at a university and doing a brief internship—activities designed to help his college résumé. The motivation for the switch is coming from her kid, says Carrie; he feels that “it’s time for him to do something different and build up a certain narrative on his college app.”

A lot of this handwringing is moot, says Sara Harberson, a college adviser based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “Camp is not a ‘reportable activity,’ but neither are any pay-to-play programs and trips overseas kids may take, or ‘early college’ programs either,” she says. The privilege these programs require is not something you want to highlight in the current admissions climate, she notes, where spotlighting an applicant’s life advantages is not desirable. While they may be entirely fun and educational in their own right—and yes, could lead to amazing experiences that could help a kid hone their interests or “find themselves”—doing these types of activities with an eye to your college app is not advisable, agrees Alexis White (aka Alexis College Expert), a college admissions adviser based in Southern California.

What you do in the summer after ninth grade rarely gets reported on your college application, says Harberson. Some of this is purely pragmatic, she notes, since the Common Application only has room for 10 activities—including school, athletics, music, and community service—and the chance you will even have room to include what you were doing after ninth or 10 th grade is slim.

For parents who ask her, “I always say that the summer after ninth is a ‘free summer,’ and even the summer after 10 th is not a big deal—it’s really that summer between junior and senior year that you might want to dig into something that interests you in a real and significant way, with a volunteer opportunity or a job,” says Harberson.

Still, if an older high school student wants to spend summer at sleepaway camp and that is enriching to them—especially if it’s in a counselor-in-training role, which offers leadership training—they absolutely should, because you cannot pick every activity with an eye to pleasing a college, says White. “You have to please yourself and feel refreshed and ready to start the new school year. So many of these kids really need a break,” says Harberson.

What is more problematic, however, is this kind of early “summer optimization” overall, says Ruby, a consultant and parent in Portland with a son who will probably start sleepaway camp in a few years. Ruby “lived ten for two” when she was a kid, and now yearns for the freedom of those days. (Despite the fact that most camps no longer run for eight full weeks, this catchphrase, about how much some kids love camp and count down to it all year, has stuck around in some circles.) “Why does everything have to have real-world payoff? Why does everything have to advance you?” says Ruby. “Can’t something just be diddling around because it’s fun? The panic about college choice has made people sort of get hysterical that their kid is going to get left out; if the kid wants to be at camp and dick around with his friends at the lake, go do that! How many more years are you going to not have this much fun? As adults, we spend so much time trying to recapture that lightness and joy that we have at camp.”

Another way to think of it, says Dockswell, is long game versus short game. “To me, the short game is college—and by that, I mean focusing on your summer activities in terms of how they will help your college prospects. The long game, though, is raising a child to be a citizen of the world who is steeped in good values, has learned how to navigate conflict, work as a team, and have resilience.”

To camp fans, that is exactly what happens around the campfire. Free of digital distractions for the first time in a year, the kids fight and make up. They create and collaborate. They forge new friendships and learn how to live with someone who drives them crazy. (College roommate prep!)

There is a pure sense of childhood at camp that allows them to be a kid for a bit longer—and this dichotomy of fun versus future can be confusing for some parents. “The résumé building feels quantitative— I did this program, I went here, here, and here —whereas camp is sort of qualitative,” says Dockswell. But she insists that the skills they are learning at camp at age 13, 14, and 15 are head and shoulders above those from other programs. “If your kid has an internship at 15 in a psych lab, other than being able to say that—are they really developmentally mature enough to absorb what they are doing? They are developmentally ready to learn to work as a team, to handle conflict—the stuff of camp. I can’t take your kids to Spain, but if you want a kid who is resilient and independent and cooperative—I can do that.”

The last year of camp is a true culminating experience, full of key role-modeling for the younger campers, as well as real responsibilities and privileges. “It’s not nothing. It’s not just one more year, it’s the last piece of a puzzle. It’s the end of an experience,” says Dockswell.

There is no endless summer, this much we know. And part of the beauty of summer—no matter how old you are—is how fleeting it truly is. Whatever the boys and girls of summer choose to do, I think as parents we hope it’s full of memories and lessons that last long past college apps.

One central part of Camp Tapawingo lore is that the camp’s name means “Place of Joy.” For me, and now my kids, having that place— even if just in memories—is everything.

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10-Year-Old Killed Himself After Being Relentlessly Bullied, Dad Says: How His Family Fights for Change

"This can't be fixed. So I have to create something to fix it for others"

Courtesy of Sam Teusch

• Indiana fourth-grader Sammy Teusch died by suicide earlier this month after what his family calls severe bullying, including from other students
• His father is now urging change, including speaking openly about the issue
• Police say they are also looking to speak with other kids about what happened

One Saturday earlier this month, 10-year-old Sammy Teusch was at his big brothers' soccer game when he pointed out another kid to his dad — a young student who, along with multiple others, had been relentlessly bullying Sammy, his dad says. The next morning, Sammy died by suicide.

“Sammy loved life more than anybody I’d ever known. Why did he take his own? How do I answer that question?” Sam Teusch tells PEOPLE in an emotional interview. “It makes no sense. None.”

The two weeks since Sammy was found dead in his bedroom by his 13-year-old brother Xander have been almost unbearable for his family, if not for the opportunity to stop it from happening to someone else.

“This can’t be fixed,” says Teusch, 47, a corporate director for engineering at MHG Hotels. “So I have to create something to fix it for others.”

He is asking people  to sign a petition  urging Congress to take up legislation to curb bullying nationwide, seen as a nearly endemic childhood problem but one that can have disastrous consequences. And he is speaking out.

“I want to talk,” Teusch says. “I think that part of the problem is that other parents that this has happened to in the past stopped talking about it. You go through this tragedy and then nobody ever talks about it again. … I think the only way the world is going to be fixed is if we fix it through the children.”

Still, he struggles to push past the sadness of his son’s death to be “positive and loving and kind.”

“How do you do that in a situation like this?” he says. “This is never, ever, ever, ever going to be positive. Never. There is nothing positive about this. … There is no positive out of this unless we make it.”

'He was a gift'

Sammy was growing up as the youngest of nine children in a blended family.

“When we met, she had three and I had two,” Teusch says of his wife, 49-year-old Nichole Teusch. 

Together they also share 13-year-old twin boys Oliver and Xander, an 11-year-old daughter, Scarlett, and their youngest, Sammy, a fourth grader who loved playing soccer, going fishing and leading his family around to gather up trash whenever they went to the beach or on a nature hike.

Sammy, ever helpful, always amazing, was “an adventurer” and a “traveler” who “loved it all,” Sam Teusch says.

“He was a gift,” he says of his son.

But in recent years, he had begun to be tormented, according to his family.

They moved to Greenfield, Indiana, in 2022 from Pensacola, Florida, and the bullying began not long after, Teusch says: “Sammy was smaller than a lot of the other kids, so it started with that.”

When other children would target his son, Teusch told him to be caring and compassionate — to think about the other kids who might not have a good home with a loving mommy and daddy. “I said, ‘Just turn the other cheek,’” his dad remembers. “I would contact the school, it would slow down for a little bit, and then ramp back up.”

After Sammy got glasses in spring 2022, the bullying got worse. He thought he’d picked out cool frames that “he absolutely loved … until he went to school the next day,” Teusch says. When Sammy got home, with his glasses clenched in his hand, “He said, ‘I’m never wearing these things again. Today was horrible,’” his dad says. “They were tearing him apart at school and on the bus.”

Teusch says that in response to the bullying, Sammy "hid under the desk. He hid in the bathroom and locked himself in and they had to go in and unlock the door. I’d talk to the school. They’re like, ‘Sammy’s a discipline problem.’ And I’m like, ‘What? Isn’t it obvious — he’s hiding under a desk and hiding in a closet and hiding in the bathroom. What’s he hiding from?’”

(The Greenfield school district referred PEOPLE to the superintendent, who did not respond to a request for comment on Monday on Sammy’s death or his family’s account of him being bullied.)

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It wasn’t just his size or his looks that the other kids went after, Sammy’s dad says. They also focused on his mom, who works as a custodian at the local middle school. “That was 100,000 times worse than calling him names,” Teusch says. “He would stand up when it came to her. 'You don't talk about my mommy.'"

At school, some of the older, bigger children called Sammy names and chased him down the hallways, his dad says. At one point, a kid cornered Sammy in a school bathroom, called his sister names and threatened to beat him up.

In another incident, a kid "took Sammy’s iPad out of his hand and hit him in the head with it as hard as he could. He broke his glasses, he cut his face, he gave him a black eye. And they kicked Sammy off the bus," Teusch says. "This was the fifth or sixth time he was in trouble for hiding or getting hit.”

His parents documented the cuts and scrapes and bumps he came home with from school, Teusch says.

“The more I talked to other kids. The more I found out: It’s scary to the kids,” he says. “Back in my day, if you had a kid picking on you, your six friends came over. Now, the kids are scared to help their other friends because they’re going to be kicked out of school and punished.”

While Teusch emphasizes that he doesn’t advocate violence, and always told his son to feel compassion and kindness and ignore the bullies, he struggles with that decision, too.

“That’s where I feel guilty. I teach my kids turn the other cheek,” he says. “I’m not just thinking about my kids. I’m still trying to teach them how to be a caring human being that is understanding and loving and giving.”

‘I’m getting you’

Sammy died on Sunday, May 5. 

The day before was when Sammy pointed out one of his regular bullies to his dad at his brother’s soccer game.

“Sammy’s like, ‘That’s him. That’s the kid,” Teusch says. He encouraged his son to stand up to the tormentor, with Teusch by his side. “I was thinking me being there would give him some stand up strength to tell the kid, ‘Leave me alone.’” He didn’t.

After the game, the family went on an outing to downtown Indianapolis, returning home for grilled hotdogs and roasted marshmallows.

“We had a blast, everybody was laughing. We were having a good time,” Teusch says.

Sammy's sister had a friend over, and the bully from the soccer game kept calling his sister’s friend’s phone and telling Sammy, “Oh, you wait until Monday. I’m getting you. I’m getting you,” his dad says. “That happened several times.”

Sammy’s older brother Xander took him to another room to play Roblox and the boys fell asleep on the couch.

The next morning at breakfast time, Teusch found Sammy lying down with his mom. He asked for pancakes, so Teusch grabbed his wallet and took Xander with him to the store.

When Teusch got home, his wife asked Xander to go get Sammy — who by then had gone up to his room — so they could call their grandmother and wish her a happy birthday.

Xander opened Sammy’s bedroom door and started screaming, according to the family. “Sammy’s dead, Sammy’s dead,” he said. “I’m not kidding, I’m not kidding, I’m not kidding.”

Even before Teusch reached his son’s room, he had called 911, he says. 

“I see Sammy and I grab him, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, no, no, no, no, no,’” Teusch remembers. “I started doing compressions, breathing into him, trying to get some kind of resuscitation.”

Emergency personnel then spent another 30 minutes working on Sammy and initially determined they had gotten his pulse, Teusch says. “We’re thinking, ‘Oh, thank God, thank God. But when they got him to the hospital, they worked on him for another hour and he just didn’t make it.”

Teusch did not disclose details of how Sammy ended his life, but he does want to quash any claim that his son used an unsecured gun. “This was not a firearm. I need to smash that rumor,” he says.

Greenfield’s police chief, Brian Hartman, tells PEOPLE that because the death is classified as unattended, meaning Sammy was alone, there is an open investigation “until that time that the coroner lets us know what their ruling is.”

“The coroner at this point has not completed their investigation either,” Hartman says.

“We're trying to talk to school teachers and we're trying to talk to other students and we're trying to talk to family members,” he says.

“I get choked up about it. At the end of the day, regardless [of] the reason for this, it is a sad and devastating time in our society that we actually have children that are 10 years old, younger than that, older than that, who feel that their life is that bad that they have to take their life,” Hartman says. “And it is sad that a 10-year-old even knows how to do this. And I know there's a lot of blame going around.”

‘He’s forever going to be 10’

The Teusch family buried their youngest on Wednesday. It’s the longest he’s ever been away from them.

A  GoFundMe  was organized to help the family; to date it has raised more than $60,000.

On Mother’s Day, Sammy’s friends brought flowers to his mom, Nichole. Just two weeks earlier, Sammy and his brothers had rescued a bench that his dad was refurbishing. They had planned to all sign their names as a gift to Nichole. But the siblings wouldn’t sign without him. 

So the bench sits in their yard, beneath “Sammy’s Tree,” where he had hoped one day to build a treehouse as it grew taller. 

“I love him. He’s forever going to be 10,” Teusch says. 

As Sammy’s story spreads around the country, “There was a few thousand people in our [town] and a few million people everywhere else that loved him,” Teusch says. “A lot of those people didn’t know him, but they do now.”

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