by Manda Sanko

Created on: December 26, 2008

There are several problems that arise in schools these days and bullying is the number one problem children are facing. Bullying has been an ongoing problem for several years, but only recently has it become an increasingly horrific dilemma. As a direct result of their bottled up emotions from being bullied, more children are seeking revenge and becoming bullies themselves. When bullies take their anger and aggression out on innocent people, more serious problems are to follow. The act of bullying can lead to much more severe violence such as homicide and suicide. Bullying is an increasingly severe problem that must be extinguished.

Bullying involves the physical, emotional, and social attack on a person who is unable to fend for themselves. Bullies have two specific components: repeating harmful crimes and an imbalance of power. This means that bullies often repeat the harmful crimes they commit as well as target people who are smaller, mentally incompetent, or both, but if the victim is bigger or perceived as competent they have a greater chance of escaping bullying.

Bullies can take on different roles from minor innocents of pushing, hitting, spitting, or spreading rumors, to more dangerous acts such as assault, theft, public humiliation, or assault with weapons. When bullies are not punished sufficiently situations become more dangerous, putting children at risk for further injuries.

Males tend to bully more often than females and they often do it in a much more physical manor. Females, on the other hand, are more likely to damage mental and emotional states when bullying. Generally, it has been found that males rarely act alone when taking on the role of a bully. Unfortunately, bullying does not end at elementary school; rather it is the beginning of a long string of actions that cannot be cured per say, but is usually grown out of. Most males stop bullying at age 15, shortly after most females give up the act at age 14. However, as you may notice, the act of bullying never really goes away entirely.

Bullying can lead to more extensive problems, many of which have been seen in the news often over the past decade. Clearly, the largest problem in this aspect is school shootings. Most school shootings and acts of violence are a direct result of bullies and bullying. While there were such acts of violence beforehand, Columbine was the first school shooting that hit home and truly rocked the nation. Following Columbine was Virginia Tech, Jokela High School, SuccessTech

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