by Kodjo Adadevoh

Created on: April 28, 2010   Last Updated: May 26, 2010

Bullying occurs when an individual is repeatedly exposed to negative actions, either verbally or physically by one or more other students.  In order for one student to bully another, the perpetrator must have power over the victim.

Bullying occurs in many settings, for younger kids, bullying typically occurs on the play ground or during recess.  Girls and boys bully in different ways, for girls, the predominant form the bullying takes is through verbal abuse or other indirect forms, whereas for boys bullying is direct and often physical in nature.  Bullying takes on forms such as spreading of rumors about someone, making racially motivated stereotypical statements or making uninvited sexual overtures. Many students believe that they are bullied because of their race, superior academic performance, sex or sexual orientation.

Bullying is an innate trait amongst all advanced species.  The natural instinct to elevate one’s self and to take advantage of the way someone looks, speaks, dresses, or express themselves is not totally foreign. Throughout history, people have always found ways to differentiate themselves from others; it is this drive to be different, the drive to have an edge on someone else that leads to bullying.

Bullying usually works when the victim’s spirits are broken, when the victim shows signs of weakness and is dramatically affected by the bully’s persistence with ridiculing them.  Bullies draw power from their ability to affect another person’s life and make them uncomfortable, feel less confident in themselves. Bullies put their needs ahead of everyone else’s and are often self centered and manipulative people.

A bully can only be effective if the victim caves in, if the victim acts intimidated and if the victim allows the bully to have the upper hand. Parents need to instill in their children the importance of self confidence, and self assurance. No one ever has to allow another individual to encroach on their space. No human being should have the power to negatively influence a peer’s life by intimidating their peer.

Social skills are a critical skill to have these days; the ability to meet people and communicate effectively with them is a very important skill to have.  People who can develop friendships easily tend to have more friends. As a result of having many friends, social people tend to feel a lot safer as a result of the number of friends around them looking out for

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