Up and coming author, K. M. Awad writes about bullying in her book, Reflections of the Past (ISBN 978-1952263309)Up and coming author, K. M. Awad writes about bullying in her book, Reflections of the Past. The protagonist, Amira, is bullied and alienated throughout the elementary and middle school as she is a middle-eastern Muslim. Awad relates this to her personal experience in school and how she was bullied because of her ethnicity and religion. Unfortunately, bullying is very common in American schools. It is a problem that needs to be resolved, as its impact is very strong on children.
While schools are taking an initiative against bullying for years now, they have done very little to prevent it within their walls. And as technology is advancing, different forms of bullying are becoming common among students, which adults are not very familiar with. As per Sound Vision, here are some statistics regarding bullying in the U.S. to help better understand the margin of the problem:
· According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly a third of all students aged 12 - 18 reported having been bullied at school in 2007, some almost daily.
· Fifty-six percent of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.
· In the school year 2008–09, some 7,066,000 U.S. students ages 12 through 18, or 28.0 percent of all such students, reported they were bullied at school, and about 1,521,000.
· 6.0 percent reported they were cyber-bullied anywhere (i.e., on or off school property).
· Each day 160,000 students miss school for fear of being bullied.
· 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.
· 25% of teachers see nothing wrong with bullying or putdowns and consequently intervene in only 4% of bullying incidents.
· Over two-thirds of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.
· Direct, physical bullying increases in elementary school, peaks in middle school, and declines in high school. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that younger students are more likely to be bullied than older students.
· Studies have shown that obese children are 63% more likely to be targets of bullying.
· Kids with learning disabilities, speech impediments, ADHD, and medical conditions that affect their appearance (such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spina bifida) are also at higher risk of being bullied.
· One study found that 83% of adults who stuttered when they were kids reported they had been teased or bullied for it.
· Young bullies carry a one-in-four chance of having a criminal record by age 30.
· In one survey, 23% of bully-victims in middle school and 20% of high school bully-victims reported having been physically hurt by a family member during the past year. Also, 19% of middle school bullies and 14% of high school bullies had been subjected to familial violence, compared to 14% of middle school victims and 13% of high school victims.
· More youth violence occurs on school grounds as opposed to on the way to school.
· School bullying statistics reveal that 43% fear harassment in the bathroom at school.
· Playground school bullying statistics - Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. Adult intervention - 4%. Peer intervention - 11%. No intervention - 85%.
· Overall, 19% of teens report they have been harassed or bullied online, and the incidence of online harassment is higher (23%) among 16 and 17 year-olds. Girls are more likely to be harassed or bullied than boys (21% vs. 17%).
· Other studies claim that over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyberbullying.. The protagonist, Amira, is bullied and alienated throughout the elementary and middle school as she is a middle-eastern Muslim. Awad relates this to her personal experience in school and how she was bullied because of her ethnicity and religion. Unfortunately, bullying is very common in American schools. It is a problem that needs to be resolved, as its impact is very strong on children.
While schools are taking an initiative against bullying for years now, they have done very little to prevent it within their walls. And as technology is advancing, different forms of bullying are becoming common among students, which adults are not very familiar with. As per Sound Vision, here are some statistics regarding bullying in the U.S. to help better understand the margin of the problem:
· According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly a third of all students aged 12 - 18 reported having been bullied at school in 2007, some almost daily.
· Fifty-six percent of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.
· In the school year 2008–09, some 7,066,000 U.S. students ages 12 through 18, or 28.0 percent of all such students, reported they were bullied at school, and about 1,521,000.
· 6.0 percent reported they were cyber-bullied anywhere (i.e., on or off school property).
· Each day 160,000 students miss school for fear of being bullied.
· 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.
· 25% of teachers see nothing wrong with bullying or putdowns and consequently intervene in only 4% of bullying incidents.
· Over two-thirds of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.
· Direct, physical bullying increases in elementary school, peaks in middle school, and declines in high school. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that younger students are more likely to be bullied than older students.
· Studies have shown that obese children are 63% more likely to be targets of bullying.
· Kids with learning disabilities, speech impediments, ADHD, and medical conditions that affect their appearance (such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spina bifida) are also at higher risk of being bullied.
· One study found that 83% of adults who stuttered when they were kids reported they had been teased or bullied for it.
· Young bullies carry a one-in-four chance of having a criminal record by age 30.
· In one survey, 23% of bully-victims in middle school and 20% of high school bully-victims reported having been physically hurt by a family member during the past year. Also, 19% of middle school bullies and 14% of high school bullies had been subjected to familial violence, compared to 14% of middle school victims and 13% of high school victims.
· More youth violence occurs on school grounds as opposed to on the way to school.
· School bullying statistics reveal that 43% fear harassment in the bathroom at school.
· Playground school bullying statistics - Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. Adult intervention - 4%. Peer intervention - 11%. No intervention - 85%.
· Overall, 19% of teens report they have been harassed or bullied online, and the incidence of online harassment is higher (23%) among 16 and 17 year-olds. Girls are more likely to be harassed or bullied than boys (21% vs. 17%).
· Other studies claim that over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyberbullying.
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