Brady Young

Ms. Sanchez

ERWC Period 4

2 February 2017

Unsuccessful Endeavors

It seems as if bullying has always been a problem among all humans, and especially in

children at school. Many programs have been enforced by government, and despite some

positive results, nothing has provided a true solution yet. Some may say that there will never be a

true solution, but there is no harm in striving towards a solution if the right measures are taken.

New ideas and methods must be enforced in order to move towards that solution. Bullying

should be addressed by programs that encourages peers to stop bullying, addresses the

importance of emotional health, and is taken seriously by school staff.

Putting an emphasis on peer confrontation in bullying programs will help the bullying

problem. In order to develop a program to lessen bullying, a better understanding of psychology

is necessary. According to psychology lecturer Sven Morch, teens today will only respect the

relationships that they have with their friends. Unfortunately, most adolescents do not respect

authority and will not listen to their teachers, but they will listen to their friends. The solution to

bullying is in the hands of the bystander. If one friend tells another to stop bullying, then they are

way more likely to respect their opinion and realize that they are bullying. University of

Copenhagen lecturer Morch also stated that part of todays youths are so caught up in their own

self-centeredness that no authorities exist in their minds(Karkov). Reaching the mind of teen is

a hard task in todays works, but new measures must be taken because the methods enforced

today have fueled an anti-authority mindset in students.

 The current bullying prevention programs are ineffective because they arent focusing on

the root of the problem. Bullying is now classified as a mental health problem according to the

Federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a newer piece of information that not

many people are aware of. Students may take bullying more serious when they realize the extent

of the problem. Present day anti-bullying programs are ineffective because they address

symptoms and not underlying causes (Brackett, Divecha). Bullying can be more preventable

when students are more educated in terms of emotional and social learning. Students must also

learn to take these programs more seriously. Studies shows that successful education in social

and emotional learning can enhance ones overall education, while lower emotional intelligence

draws correlation with drug and alcohol use, anxiety and depression. To conclude, dealing with

emotional health will help prevent bullying from starting.

Investing in expensive anti bully programs is not the best solution. In Bracketts article in

the Hartford Courant, he claims that these ineffective programs are costing about $6 billion per

year. If these programs are not completely effective, billions of dollars should be spent on

something that will work instead. A study in 2013 found that students who attended schools

with bullying-prevention programs were more likely to have reported experiencing victimization

themselves(Oglesby). These programs are possibly causing more wrong than right. Zero

tolerance programs lead to suspensions and expulsions. In a Huffington Post article by Carolyn

Laub, she writes about how students that are expelled are significantly more likely to get caught

up in the juvenile justice system. This is the idea that deviance will lead to more deviance. If we

harshly punish the bully, that will discourage them and lead to more deviance.

Todays anti bullying programs have instilled the wrong view of bullying to the students

and parents. A student survey showed that 57% percent of students do not help the victim when
being bullied. Strict policies have made students want to get as far away from bullying as

possible to avoid punishment. Parents and adults are usually unaware of the bullying

problem(Banks 141). Because the parents are unaware, it leaves their children feeling like

nobody can help them. School personnel will also view some bullying as a right of passage in

school (Banks 141). This mindset makes the government paid programs almost pointless if the

enforcers dont take the programs seriously.

We must realize that our present-day methods to solve the bullying problem are not

successful. We need to experiment with and adopt new methods in order to move closer to the

common goal of a world with less bullying.

Works Cited

Brackett, Marc, and Diana Divecha. "School Anti-Bullying Programs Ineffective."

Courant.com. N.p., 06 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

Emdin, Christopher. "Why Current Anti-Bullying Initiatives Don't Work." The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

 Karkov, Rasmus. "Understanding Today's Rude Teens." Sciencenordic.com. N.p., 25 Mar.

2012. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

Oglesby, Amanda. "Researchers Unsure of Success of Anti-bullying Programs." USA Today.

Gannett Satellite Information Network, 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

Laub, Carolyn. "Why Zero Tolerance Is Not the Solution to School Bullying." The Huffington

Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 May 2012. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

CSU Expository Reading and Writing Course Advisory Committee. "Bullying: A Research

Project." Expository Reading and Writing Course. Long Beach: California State UP, 2013. 141. Print.