Notes

It’s an old action: bullying. Stress in the household, children who are neglected and young people who believe they are more important are the biggest offenders when it comes to bullying but they are not the only ones who do it. A child’s best friend may be a bully without even knowing it!

***Non-Physical Bullying Scenarios

Bullying doesn’t always have to be directed at one specific individual and it isn’t always as obvious as you might think. Take for example the following indirect bullying scenario:

The “popular kids” at school won’t allow non-clique members to sit at their lunch table. At first glance this may not seem like a bullying scenario, but in reality these kids are bullying by excluding others in a social environment. By refusing to let others join them, the popular kids are publicly rejecting and ignoring others.

In most other circumstances bullying is directed a one specific person. Take the following examples:

1. A couple of boys create a false e-mail account using the information of a fellow student. They send e-mails to other male students in the form of fraudulent love letters. They then print the e-mails and display them both on and off the school campus and proceed to verbally tease the student against whom they committed fraud. This type of action can be extremely embarrassing and traumatic for the student who is being bullied. His own friends and classmates may even take to excluding him from activities.

2. A female large-bodied female student is embarrassed to change into her gym outfit at school because the other girls tease her about being “fat” and call her names. They have even taken pictures of her with their cell phones and sent them to several other schoolmates. Bullying to this degree can be humiliating and psychologically debilitating to a young girl and is often the basis behind disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

3. A girl precariously balances her food tray as she exits the lunch line. She moved to the area a few months ago and because she is very shy, she has not yet made any friends at school. As she tries to find her way to a seat, she realizes that most of the tables in the cafeteria are full. She shyly asks a group of cheerleaders if she can sit at their table, at which point one girl shoves her handbag into the only spare seat at the table and replies that there isn’t any room left.

Physical Bullying Scenarios:

Physical bullying can be just as emotionally traumatizing with the addition of the actual trauma to the body. The following bullying scenarios are ones that portray physical bullying:

1. A few of the school jocks are standing in a hallways joking when they spot a smaller classmate struggling to carry his school books. One of the jocks stick his foot out and deliberately trips the smaller boy and they all laugh and call the boy names, like “clumsy” and “dork.”


2. A boy has had trouble coping with things since his parents got divorced. Over the last few months he has neglected his school work, started wearing all-black clothing, and has gotten a few face piercings. A few of his schoolmates have become hostile towards him because of the sudden physical changes and his lack of social etiquette. The altercations have suddenly escalated as they have pushed him onto the ground, kicked him in the stomach, and locked him in the bathroom.


3. During lunch period a girl is making her way through the lunch line when a classmate approaches to ask her if they can cut in front of her place in line. The girl replies no, reasoning that it isn’t fair to the people behind her. Annoyed, her classmate shoves her forcefully and takes her place in the line.


Cheryl, Candace, and Alicia are friends and in 7 th grade. Cheryl and Alicia live in a trailer park with their families. All three girls ride the school bus home in the afternoon. Amanda and Sarah, both 8 th graders, also ride the same bus in the afternoon. During the fall, Amanda and Sarah start repeatedly calling Cheryl and Alicia “White trailer trash” and make fun of theirclothes and belongings. One day, Candace, frustrated with the on­going treatment of her friends, shouts at Amanda and Sarah, “Why don’t you two stupid snobs shut up and leave Cheryl and Alicia alone!”  Amanda gets up, hits Candace and says, “You shut up! You’re just a stupid 7 th grader. Why do you hang out with those two trailer trash idiots anyway?” Several students and the bus driver witness the interaction.

Rebecca Rabinowitz is Jewish and in the 6 th grade. In October she missed a few days ofschool while her family observed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. When Rebecca returned to school after Yom Kippur she was teased by some of her classmates while walking home from school. Her classmates made comments about how Jews get special treatment at school and about how Jews always have a lot of money. When Rebecca gets home, she is in tears and tells her mother what happened.  Mrs. Rabinowitz calls the school immediately and tells Rebecca’s homeroom teacher what happened. 

Edgar is in 4 th grade and is much taller and heavier than most of his peers. However, because he has a tremendous sense of humor, he is very popular and well­liked by most of his peers. One day during recess, during a game of dodge ball, Edgar trips on the ball and falls down. Steven, a 5 th grader, yells, “Look at the beached whale on the playground!” and Steven and the other 5 th graders with him laugh. Edgar turns red but picks himself up and starts to get ready to play again. Several of Edgar’s friends get angry and tell Steven and his friends to “shut up.” A shouting match ensues until a teacher comes over to break it up.

Kendra and Alexander are friends in 2 nd grade together. One day during lunch, Alexander saysto Kendra, “I know why you like chocolate milk so much!”  Kendra asks, “Why?” and Alexander responds, “Because it keeps your skin brown!”  Kendra looks at Alexander quizzically and says, “No it doesn’t!”  Alexander says nothing and the two go on eating their lunch together. The next day Kendra’s mother calls the school outraged about what Alexander said to Kendra at lunch the day before.


*****That’s Risky Stuff

“My older brother Li keeps using our father’s login to sign up for online things he
shouldn’t be doing. I’m pretty sure he’s even using his credit card sometimes to
buy things. My father never checks that stuff closely. I told Li I was going to dob him
in because what he’s doing is really stupid but then he threatened to tell on me for
having a Facebook account. I’m only 11 so I’m not supposed to have one yet.”


********Cyber bullying scenarios. A child is on YouTube and they see a video created by classmates who are spreading rumors about other students. The child who discovered the video does not report it; instead he thinks it is entertaining and shares it on Facebook (Siegle, 2010). The children who are mentioned in the YouTube video get harassed by others in school and on social networking. One of these children finds the video and views it. She then takes her own life because of the continuous teasing and ostracizing both in person and on the Internet.
Another girl is online and she gets a message from a boy she likes. The boy sets up a rendezvous. The girl, excited, goes to the rendezvous place. He is not there, and does not show up. The next day there are pictures posed on Instagram showing the “pathetic girl waiting for the boy who never came.” She sees the pictures and becomes distraught. She cannot stop crying. Everyone laughs at her for being so “pathetic.” The boy did not invite her, but other girls did to be mean to her.