Ch.4 - What Social Problems Affect Todays Students?, by Edith Mendoza

Bullying is defined as the act of intentionally causing harm to others either by physical assault or verbal harassment. I consider bullying to be the most serious social problem in schools today. Bullying is a serious issue because not only is it a common occurrence in most schools; it can also lead to other social problems like school violence, adolescent suicide, or even drug abuse by those who are being bullied.
Bullying can be as simple as name calling,gossiping, and nowadays can be done anywhere, including the internet, which is known as cyber bullying. Cyber bullying has recently grown rapidly because of the popularity of the social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook. Kids who are being bullied show certain signs of stress. Their grades begin to drop and they refuse to go to school. Some kids just exclude themselves from socializing altogether.

I believe that with the implementation of zero-tolerance policies in schools, bullying can be reduced significantly. Another way to lower the amount of bullying incidents is to simply educate students. Students need to be aware of the consequences of bullying someone and of the damages done to someone who is at the other end. In regards to cyber bullying, I believe that parents should monitor their children’s internet use and make sure that there is good communication between child and parent.