School bullies operate in buses, on the streets and right in the classroom

SCHOOL bullies are not just children attending schools; they are in every opportune position where they can negatively affect the lives of these young ones. While some of the bullies are actually in the school system, others may be recent drop-outs; crisscrossing schools to do mischief; truants; and generally young people who may have no problem making others uncomfortable or breaking the law.

Dolly Murphy (only last name real), who is a 15-year-old, told the Pepperpot Magazine, “I feel that our schools should get many more school mentors, who are able to understand children and also talk to them much more because I believe that some children have real problems and really need help. I attend a school in Campbellville and so I have to travel by bus to come to school every day and wow, it is not easy at all!”

She continued, “Even though I am from a single-parent home, my mother helps me to be strong – she would talk to me, ask me questions and always, always encourage me, and that is what has been making me strong and not afraid of those children who are out here as bullies all the time; they are on the streets; they are on the buses; they are in the schoolyard and even in the classroom, but I stay strong,” Murphy stated.

Lionel Jones (only last name real), who attends a school on Woolford Avenue told the Pepperpot Magazine that he feels that a lot the bullying is coming from his school, or at least from children within the “Avenue”, as he puts it.

“You wouldn’t believe it. I think that sometimes the teachers are fed up of complaints, and the thing is, that they don’t know everything because a lot of times children do not go to them to talk because they are afraid,” he said. “I am about to finish school since I came here after writing the SSEE in 2013. I got set back in one class, but that is okay because I will still soon write the CXC examinations and I am writing seven subjects because I feel that I can handle all of them well. However, from the time I came here in 2013, until now the bullying has not changed. I am young but sometimes I feel that something is wrong with too many of us young people,” Jones offered.

He said that he too came out of a single-parent home, even though his mother is married; he explained that his father is hardly ever present in the home and would neglect him, his mother and his siblings financially and otherwise.

Jones pointed out that the boys in school love to do deliberate ‘tripping’ – causing others to fall or stumble and then they have a good laugh; he said that they also use ‘accidental’ or open kicking of other boys they feel they can take advantage of; teasing, name-calling, insults, especially about a loved one such as sister, aunty or mother; they also terrorise others in all forms of bullying that are being used in the school system.

It was reported that while some of the situations are quite similar with the girls, there seems to be a trend where ‘girl fights’ tend to happen at a faster rate and sadly this occurs mainly over ‘the boys’. In addition, many of the girls end up in ‘war’ over gossiping; exerting control over other girls who may seem physically and or mentally weaker, while generally practising many of the same bullying tactics the boys follow.

ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Jade Agustin (only last name real), another student who attends school in Campbelville, stated that parents should be wary of giving their children the best smartphone and other electronic devices to carry to school.

“Unless they are a bad boy or bad girl, they suffer at the hands of the other students. You should see what other students do to them with their phones – the expensive phones that their parents buy; they have to put in the credit for the other ‘bully’ student to make calls; some of them have to allow them to have the phone all day and only get it back when they are ready to go home; others may borrow their phone and then tell them that they had it in their bag and it ‘loss’ and then they cannot do anything, except to go home and tell their parents that the phone ‘loss’,” she explained.

GENERAL AGREEMENT
All the students spoken withheld strong views against bullying; at the same time, each one of them felt that there should be more involvement of parents, the school welfare officers, mentors, peer groups and also teachers.

“It is my humble opinion that school bullies cannot be completely gotten rid of; there will always be some of them around. However, I believe that this situation can be changed for the better. I think that it is worth a try – involve the peer groups with all the other adults and see what can happen. Too many school children are going down the wrong road and it must be stopped,” Jones implored.

They all agreed that teachers have a lot of work to do and while their involvement is very important, the involvement of parents, especially at parent-teachers meetings, the involvement of trained mentors and also the involvement of the schools’ welfare officers, are all equally important in the fight to help get rid of the high level of bullying in schools.