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All Schools Should Implement Bullying Awareness Programs
Bullying refers to the use of force to intimidate or impose domination on others. The history of bullying dates back to the 18th century. During the time, it was defined as a form of physical and verbal harassment meted out of weaker children. This definition did not cover older students in school. Because of the changing dynamics in schools, older children have become victims of bullying in learning institutions. In its initial stages, bullying was viewed by the public as an innocent misadventure among school going children.
The thought of bullying as a misadventure by innocent children was reexamined after one student at King’s School in England was killed by bullies (Rigby 198). During the time, authorities did not recognize bullying as an offense and as a result, the school was not held responsible for the death. The student had engaged in a scuffle with other boys after classes. According to students who witnessed the brawl, one of the older boys had an object, which he used to hit the boy on the back of the head. Witness accounts vary on the type of object used but police reports stated that he was hit by a blunt object. The boy did not pass out immediately but developed complications on the way to the hospital.
This was the first bullying incident to be reported to the police. Even though the case was reported, action was not taken against the school. One of the reasons was that bullying had not been recognized as an offense; therefore, the school would not be held accountable. Another reason was that the definition of bullying at the time made it impossible for the police to link bullying to the death of the pupil. The incident at King’s School opened the debate on whether bullying was a major threat to leaning in British schools.
Cases of bullying in the United States are at an all time high. Bullying varies from physical to verbal intimidation (Sharp, 132). According to Becky, her first bullying experience occurred when she was with her mother. As a young girl, she had just entered the car when she noticed a group of boys leaving the schoolyard. The group confronted a smaller group of younger boys and started pushing the boys towards the road. Motorists were forced to swerve to avoid hitting the younger boys. What caught her eye was the attitude of the older boys who ran away leaving their victims on the road.
Cyber space has become the new frontier in bullying. Experts warn that cyber bullying has more adverse effects compared to physical bullying. This is because cyber bullying is a psychological concept that affects self-confidence. According to statistics, 56 percent of the victims of cyber bullying do not report the cases to relevant authorities (Smith, 143). This dangerous trend has made cyberspace the most preferred platform by bullies.
Cyber bullying occurs when a child is humiliated, embarrassed, and tormented by older children using the internet and other interactive digital technologies. Cases of children committing suicide because of cyber bullying have been reported in Japan and America. It is usually not a onetime communication but a persistent activity that leaves the victim hopeless.
Anti bullying projects are some of the best platforms for carrying out awareness programs. Under the anti bullying projects, awareness programs can be split into different categories depending on the form of bullying. Programs aimed at stopping cyber bullying should be different from those aimed at stopping physical bullying.
The awareness programs will be aimed at empowering the student with the knowledge required to deal with bullying incidences. Some of these programs may include bullying detection programs. In bullying detection programs, students are taken through the signs or characteristics of bullies together with strategies that can be employed to avoid them. The students can also be educated on areas that leave them vulnerable to bullies and how to avoid them.
Management programs will be aimed at repairing the psychological damage caused by bullying to students. These programs include rehabilitation, psychological counseling, and lectures on how to cope with bullying. The management program will be driven by peer leaders as opposed to teachers. This will increase the level of interaction among students thereby making it a success. All the same, all programs should be implemented with care to avoid situations when some students raise concerns of being perceived or treated as bullies and avoided by other students; this might create scenarios when some stakeholders like parents reject the programs in question.
According to statistics, schools that have implemented the programs have recorded a 60 percent drop in bullying incidents. This drop has been attributed to increased awareness and the ability of students to cope with the effects of bullying. The drop in bullying cases is also attributed to the ability of the would-be victims to avoid areas that would predispose them to bullying. Peer education has also improved cooperation among students thereby establishing healthy relationships between the younger and older students. This has significantly reduced bullying since it is mainly perpetrated by the older students.
Psychologists point out that long term effects of bullying vary depending on the context of the activity. Under severe circumstances, it may lead to suicides among the student population. This usually happens after a prolonged bullying process. Other long-term effects include school dropout and poor academic performance. Experts have also pointed out that anti social behavior is one of the long-term effects of bullying in schools (FitzGerald 130).

Works Cited
FitzGerald, Jason. Bullying in Our Schools: Understanding and Tackling Bullying : a Guide for Schools. New York: Blackhall, 1999. Print.
Rigby, Ken. Bullying in Schools and What to Do about It: Revised and Updated. Washington: Aust Council for Ed Research, 2007. Print.
Sharp, Alan. Bullying: Effective Strategies for Long-term Change. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2002. Print.
Smith, Peter. Bullying in Schools: How Successful Can Interventions Be? Washington: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.