Bullying in Primary and Secondary Schools

â€Å"Bullying. This means threatening, harassing, persecuting or insulting others. Especially those who are weaker. It is a daily terror for many children, possibly your child without knowing it. And schools, some more than others are becoming infested with bullies taking advantage of smaller or timid ones. Is your child being bullied at school? This statement made by Professor Ramesh Deosaran is taken from one of his articles (Bullying, The Silent Terror, dated October 17, 2010) which has brought the problem of bullies and bullying within the school system of Trinidad and Tobago into the public domain.Professor Deosaran is an internationally renowned scholar in criminology and social sciences; he has been recently conferred with the title Professor Emeritus at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. Today I would like to present some facts on â€Å"Bullying in Primary and Secondary Schools†. However due to time constraints, I will foc us on three major aspects in hopes that I may raise your awareness on the severity of the issue. What is bullying?It can be defined as persistent aggressive behavior by one pupil towards another, intended to cause the victim to suffer. It can range from verbal to physical and even indirect. (Chris Kyriacou, â€Å"Helping Troubled Pupils†). The incidence of it in primary and secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago is quite difficult to estimate since a small proportion of cases are reported to teachers and administrators. These reports are often ignored or some corrective action is taken such as summoning of parents, suspension or even counseling by professionals. Why Do Some People Become Bullies?Most times, they are average students who come from households where discipline is excessive or inconsistent, where family relationships show little warmth and to act aggressively towards others, including adults is the norm. This is possibly because they are not listened to or valu ed by their family. To compensate for this lack of value at home, the bully finds it in other places such as school, in inappropriate or unhealthy ways. Others might be victims themselves, not only of being bullied but because of these personal problems in the home or even parental bereavement.Many times, a bully does not feel that they can find any other means of fitting in, so they turn to being powerful in a way that they feel brings them respect. They feel that being feared is the way to gain friends and surround themselves with people who look up to them. â€Å"Psychologists used to believe that bullies have low self-esteem and put down other people to feel better about themselves. While many bullies are themselves being bullied at home or in school, new research shows that they actually have excellent self-esteem.They usually have a sense of entitlement and superiority over others and lack compassion, impulse control and social skills. (St Clair, 2011). What Is The Impact Of Bullying On Victimized Students? According to a report done by the Global School Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) in 2007 on selected schools in Trinidad and Tobago, â€Å"victims of bullying have increased stress and a reduced ability to concentrate and are at increased risk for substance abuse, aggressive behavior and suicide attempts.† Victims develop mental health problems, become truants or school refusers, perform less well at school academically than they otherwise would have done, especially those who are subjected to frequent and prolonged bullying. They are likely to have lower levels of self-esteem and they appear to have difficulty making friends. This is because they are labeled as â€Å"different† by the bully and peer pressure stops other students from standing up for them. In addition, the high level of depression for victims stems directly from the act itself.(Roland, 2002). Sometimes victims are encouraged to believe that this something which all st udents must endure as a part of growing up. By accepting this mentality, the student’s emotional health and well-being are put at stake and the learning process undermined. The student may even develop a decrease ability to devise coping strategies. It may mean that these students may never learn to cope as adults and they cannot form long term relationships. What Is Being Done By the Authorities In Trinidad and Tobago?Thus far, the Ministry of Education has placed Human and Family Life Education (HFLE) on secondary schools’ curriculum and it is taught in most schools. â€Å"The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is looking at the preventative aspect and at early detection and treatment of the problem. † This statement made by The Minister of Education, Tim Gopeesingh, on the 14th of April, 2012. He added that there were preventative measures implemented such as â€Å"The Leader in Me† programme for preschool right up to secondary schools.Student Guidance Support Units in schools are being expanded and a hotline is being set up for children who are bullied. Furthermore, the Chief Education Officer has sent a curricular to all schools asking principals to allow students to have one class per week (Form Teacher Period) in which they can tell of the difficulties they are experiencing. Challenges and Evaluation of Sources In gathering the information required for my research, I had encountered certain challenges along the way. I had an over-abundance of information.It was extremely time consuming to summarize and pick out the most valid and relevant points. However trusted sites were used such as ttparliament. org, bullyonline. org, stopbullying. gov and youthoria. org. These sites were reliable as they were maintained by their organizations consistently and the articles were up to date. A book entitled â€Å"Helping Troubled Pupils† by Chris Kyriacou was very useful as it contained an entire chapter on the topic of bullying from which I was able to extract several valid points.I considered the book a valid source since it was written by a psychologist specifically to help teachers and parents. Conclusion Recent increases in the incidence of bullying among youths in Trinidad and Tobago have led to growing concern about this serious issue. The Government is currently tackling the issue by implementation of preventative measures and by education of students and the public. Although bullying in primary and secondary in schools may never be eradicated,