The Effects of Bullying on Student Achievement

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In today’s world there are many laws that have been established in order to protect everyday civilians from being harmed or robbed of their possessions or piece of mind. However, in school, children play by different rules. Rules do not seem as imperative as say a law being broken. For example, imagine if it did not matter what the robber stole, but how much he took that lets him off the hook. One would still be upset that his valuables were interfered with without permission. This scenario can be compared to bullying and how adults sometimes overlook the seriousness of the effects (no matter how big or small) it can have on a student and his or her achievements. Sometimes bullying is acknowledged, but is ultimately cast off as mere “child’s play,” but it can become so much more. A bullying incident does not stop in the school yard simply because a teacher puts an end to it; bullying must be addressed from all angles of parents, guardians, media, and everyday civilians that are children’s immediate examples of proper ways to behave. Again, bullying spans beyond school walls and cannot ultimately be controlled by teacher discipline alone. The effects bullying can have on student achievement may interfere with their life choices, their physical and mental stability, and of course their future behaviors as a reaction to such behavior that was shown to them.

It is arguable that broken citizenship among students is not as harmful as everyday citizens breaking common laws, but I argue that it is. However, this paper is not to argue; it is to inform every one of the issue at hand, so that it may be reduced, and that can only be done with harmony, not coercion, or plainly “bullying.” What exactly is bullying, to the extent that I am spea...

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...l abuse. However, it is not a situation exclusive to occurring in school, it happens outside as well; the effects of it are simply more noticeable through the results of student work or lack thereof. If bullying is not addressed, dropout rates, youth suicide, and lack of positive future leaders are in store for future generations of education.

Works Cited

"Bullying." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2012.

Web. 16 April 2012.

Kritsonis, W. PhD. School Discipline: The Art of Survival. Mansfield, Ohio: BookMasters, Inc.

1999. Print.

Meyer, E. Gender, Bullying, and Harassment: Strategies to End Sexism and Homophobia in Schools. New

York: Teachers College Press. 2009. Print.

Singer, L. Jerome, and Dorothy G. Singer. Television, Imagination, and Aggression: A Study of

Preschoolers. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1989. Print.

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