Introduction.

What words come to your mind when you think of bullying? Depression, emotionally disturbed, and low self-esteem are all words that probably come to your mind. A bully can be stronger, bigger, smaller, higher on the social ladder, a different race, opposite sex, or more verbally aggressive. One out of four teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4%percent of the time. If teachers here in American keep this up what will the future hold for the innocent teens getting bullied? It happens every day, in all high schools. Most high school students see it happen right before their own eyes, but don't report it. The effects of bullying are endless. There is a rising toll in bullying today. Are you going to take a stand? Or are you just going to let it happen right before your eyes?

Story Behind My Topic.

I have had friends who have been bullied, and I have been friends with those were the bullies. I have had horrible experiences with this issue. I believe that this issue is taking a huge toll in today’s society especially in high schools. Bullying hurts people in many ways. I have seen it happen right in front of my eyes, why I was didn't report it, I will never know. I have been bullied and I hope to never experience it again. At one point in time, I didn't even want to go to school because of it. I was simply being bullied because of my weight, not fitting in with all the "preps" at my school, and just hanging out with the people that I could truly call my friends. Bullying made a huge impact on my life and now because of it, I do not only see people for the way they look on the outside, but how they look on the inside also. It is hard to believe that anyone would be in the state of mind to put someone down just because of simple things like looking different, being different, and being "real". Bullying lowers self-esteem and seems to leave that one person in horrible state of mind. Teens these days don't realize how bad this has gotten. But at this point in time, I do believe everyone needs to take control of their actions and open their eyes to see that bullying does hurt people; not just them self’s, not just the people that they are bullying, not everyone around them, but everyone in the world.

Introduction Questions

What kind of programs are in place are set up in high schools to bring about awareness? What are the main causes of bullying? What are the basic signs of bullying? What are the long term effects of bullying? What are the short term effects of bullying? Why does a teen "like" to bully? Why to teenagers not report bullying? Do the teens being bullied tell their parents? What percentages of parents know about their kids being bullied? Why do teens want to be a bully? 

Research Memo #1

Section 1 Hypothesis:  How does bullying affect the kids in middle and high school in America? I believe that more attention needs to be drawn to this issue.  Most people know what a “bully” is, and have witnessed someone being bullied. Kids see bullying happen right in front of their eyes, but chose not to do anything about it. I had people in my class take a survey; they see an average of two people being bullied every day. According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, 160,000 kids miss school each day to avoid being bullied. One question on my survey asked, “What do you think the main causes of bullying is in middle and high schools?” People mostly answered that simply being different, self-preservation, sexual orientation, and popularity among their peers.

Section 2 Context:  My target audience is middle and high school students. I chose my class and people outside of my class to take my survey because that who I am targeting. I think my results are valid and reasonable. Everyone agreed that bullying is a problem and everyone agrees about the topic.

Section 3 Results:  Figure one displays how many students in the US miss school each day to avoid being bullied. This is based on the surveys I put out.

Questions:	How Citizens Responded:
Have you ever witnessed bullying?	100% have witnessed bullying.
Do you think bullying is a problem in your school?	Yes-50% No- 20% Unsure- 30%
What is a bully?	100% know what a bully is.
Are you in middle school or high school?	100% high school students.

Section 4 Data & Analysis: Throughout my data I noticed that most people thought that 80,000 students missed school. Only one person thought that 160,000 students miss school each day to avoid bullying. 160,000 is the correct answer. Everyone that answered my survey said that they have witnessed bullying, but most of them didn’t report it. Most people thought that the leading causes in bullying were mostly just being different, looking different, sexual preference (gay, straight, bi).  Most people have been bullied, and think it is a problem in their school. On an average everyone who answered my survey said that they witness bullying 2 times a day.

Section 5 Conclusion: In conclusion most people agree that bullying is an issue in today’s society. I believe that people need to be more informed about the effects bullying can have on today’s upcoming future. I don’t think people realize the rising toll that bullying to taking. I know most people are aware that it is an issue but has chosen not to do anything to do anything about it.

Section 6 Follow up: For research memo number two, I would like to research more information on the effects that bullying has on middle and high kids. One other thing I would like to research is what programs are in place in most middle and high schools to help prevent bullying. I have no changed my research questions and I will do my best to continue to find more information on my topic.

Research Memo #2

Effects of Bullying in High School and Middle School Kids

            What are the effects on bullying? Rates of absenteeism are higher among victimized students than rates among non-bullied peers, as are drop-out rates. Nansel et al (2001) observed that "youths who are bullied generally show higher levels of insecurity, anxiety, depression, loneliness, unhappiness, physical and mental symptoms, and low-self esteem. Students who are targeted by bullies often have difficulty concentrating on their school work, and their academic performance tends to move from "marginal to poor" (Ballard, Tucky & Remley, 1999). Typically, bullied students feel anxious, and this anxiety may in turn produce a variety of physical or emotional ailments. As a result of being bullied, 16% boys and 31% girls reported being absent from school in attempt to avoid being victimized (Rigby, 1997). Bullying can cause physical, academic, social and psychological problems. Some of the physical symptoms include headaches and migraines, skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, athletes foot, ulcers, sweating, trembling, shaking, palpitations and panic attacks, irritable bowel syndrome, aches and pains in the joints and muscles; and frequent illness such as viral infections and second, for the bully, they are seldom able to conclude friendship, they are often anti-social adults and the bullying is sometimes the first stepping stone to juvenile crime and criminal activities (Aluede, 2006; Wet, 2005).

            Parents are often unaware of the bullying problem and talk about it with their children only to a limited extent (Olweus, 1993). Student surveys reveal that a low percentage of students seem to believe that adults will help. Students feel that adult intervention is infrequent and ineffective, and that telling adults will only bring more harassment from bullies. Students report that teachers seldom or never talk to their classes about bullying (Charach, Pepler, & Ziegler, 1995). School personnel may view bullying as a harmless right of passage that is best ignored unless verbal and psychological intimidation crosses the line into physical assault or theft. Teachers can work with students at the class level to develop class rules against bullying. Many programs engage students in a series of formal role-playing exercises and related assignments that can teach those students directly involved in bullying alternative methods of interaction. A parental awareness campaign can be conducted during parent-teacher conference days, through parent newsletters, and at PTA meetings. The goal is to increase parental awareness of the problem, point out the importance of parental involvement for program success, and encourage parental support of program goals. Other components of anti-bullying programs include individualized interventions with the bullies and victims, the implementation of cooperative learning activities to reduce social isolation, and increasing adult supervision at key times (e.g., recess or lunch). Bullying is a serious problem that can dramatically affect the ability of students to progress academically and socially. A comprehensive intervention plan that involves all students, parents, and school staff is required to ensure that all students can learn in a safe and fear-free environment.  

Research Memo #3

http://youtu.be/IudDeP7Xs3Y
I chose this video because it is trying to promote anti-bullying. I am a strong supporter of anti-bullying. This song basically tells you what a bully is, a bully is someone that tries to make them self superior to everyone around them. Bullying puts people down, and bring them down, talk hate. Only the one person has the power to stand up against bullying. That is you. If you don't take a stand who will? This is a current problem in today's society. The world would be a much better place if just one person would stand up to a bully. You need to think about what you have said to people at night when you go home. You need to spread the word and get people involved in anti-bullying. Is you make a comment, it's never to late to say sorry. Be careful with what you say to someone, it could effect them greatly. This helped me reflect one of my questions about my topic;why do teens like the bully other teens? The reason I think teens like to bully is because they just want to fit in with the rest of everyone, to be funny, or to even be cool. It makes them feel like it is something they must do to fit in with others. One joke could affect another teen deeply. Think before you say something. Join the movement and try to help aware other people about bullying.