General Purpose: To inform my audience about the effects bullying can have on society
Central Idea: Bullying has effects on our society at large and has become an increasingly important problem for school administrators, teachers, parents, and students.
Introduction
1. Attention grabber: Raise your hand if you have been a victim of bullying in high school? Raise your hand if you were the person bullying others in high school?
2. What if I told you that according to the National Bullying Prevention Center that one out of every five students are bullied more than once or twice a month.
a. Think about it, that means that when you compare it to a classroom of about 25 students, 5 of them are currently a victim or have been bullied at one point or another. In addition, 1 in 10 students end up dropping out of school because they are bullied. This statistic is staggering.
3. Believe it or not, teenagers not only have to face bullying daily at school and but now out of school during extracurricular activities or even online.
a. Bullying is becoming an increasingly important problem for parents, teachers, students, and school administrators, and it affects our society at large.
4. In my research I have discovered that according to Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin, Youth who experienced ta form of bullying whether on the giving or receiving side, had more suicidal thoughts and were more likely to attempt suicide. In addition to experiencing dealing first hand bullying at my job at a school, this is a recurrent issue that needs to be solved.
5. Many of us wonder how we as students, parents, teachers, and bystanders can prevent bullying, and how we can learn to stand up against school bullies.
6. The key is to empower ourselves first. Throughout this speech I will be presenting the types of bullying, its effects on a student, and how to stop and give support to bullying victims.
Transition: To start off, the three top ways to get bullied are physical, emotional, and cyber bullying. Think about each of these bullying types and try to think back the types that you had in school whether you were the victim or the perpetrator or the bystander.
Body
1. Section 37.0832, subsection (a)(1) of the Texas Compilation of School Discipline Laws and Regulations (2015), “Bullying” means “engaging in written or verbal expression that has or will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm.”
a. Bullying is considered intentional, aggressive behavior that is repeated over time. It is not what they call “rough play,” or “fighting,” it is a combination of both and is unwanted by everyone.
2. This is through any type of bullying. The most first form of bullying that came about is physical bullying.
a. Physical bullying – physical bullying is using one’s body force to inflict pain on another student. This can be shown by bruising, scratches, bumps, or even limping. Physical bullying can be seen with the naked eye whether or not it was direct pain on the student or associated pain like picking up a students backpack and throwing it at them causing the student to fall over and hurt themselves.
3. The next form of bullying is emotional bullying
a. Emotional bullying cannot be seen with the naked eye but it more a form of hurtful words towards a student. This can be in demonstrated in hurtful ways “you are a loser” or “you are ugly because you have red hair”. These words ultimately stick with this child as they grow up and can affect their self confidence.
4. The last and most common form of bullying today is cyberbullying
a. Cyberbullying – is similar to emotional bullying but it is a way to hide behind a screen while doing it. This form of bullying is done through social media platforms like Facebook, snapchat, Instagram, twitter and other messaging sites. It can be done through screen nicknames so oftentimes the student will never know who is doing t
Transition: Now that we have a central idea around what bullying is, let’s discuss some of the effects that it has on our students. Think about the effects bullying had on you as a child.
1. While it is unclear why some students bully, some believe that kids do it to get attention, while others say that it is because they are bullied at home, and they grew up thinking it is okay.
2. No matter what the cause is for bullying, the effects run deep
3. Students who are victims suffer in their daily lives lacking confidence and self-esteem. It is not uncommon for victims to lose their personal interests, strive in school, and have increased depression, loneliness, anxiety, and sadness.
4. According to an article published by the government called “Get help now” while some victims cope with this how they can, others can turn to hurting themselves using a gateway like drugs, alcohol, or physically hurting themselves, whether it is cutting, or as severe as suicide.
a. It is also not uncommon for others to turn into a bully themselves because they turn their anger against others, and cause other victims the pain that they feel in an effort to feel better. This is not only wrong, but ultimately has a negative impact on that student.
b. Victims hide because they feel like they do not belong. It is extremely damaging to our lives and have negative impacts later on. It not only robs victims of their hopes and dreams, but can rob us of our life and others occupying it.
Transition: Now, moving on to how bullying can be stopped. Think back on if it was stopped or intervened when you were in school, and what was done to prevent it.
1. Bullying can be prevented in many ways.
a. Like educating the public and children in schools about bullying and self-esteem.
b. It can be prevented by having therapists open to talk to. As long as there are open lines of communication, it will make it easier for the child to talk to an adult to stop this issue before it even starts.
c. Also, encouraging kids to do what they love whether it is their interests, hobbies, special activities, or spending time with their friends and family.
d. Lastly, having role models and plans set up showing students how to treat others with kindness and respect can go a long way. If children have a positive role model in their lives, they will ultimately positively affect them and change them
in to becoming a better person than they were before.
Conclusion
7. In conclusion, bullying is detrimental to schools.
a. Emotional, physical, and cyber bullying are the types of bullying that is apparent in schools today that needs to subside.
b. Their negative effect on students can impact them for the rest of their life, if they chose to live it in some situations.
c. It is very important to ensure that bullying is intervened and is stopped before it is too late.
8. Vivid ending: After listening to the effects on bullying, who here should have raised their hands to either question in the beginning?
a. Who here believes that bullying is an issue within the Gainesville community and should be stopped?
Bibliography
Bullying Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/stats.asp
Get Help Now. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.stopbullying.gov/get-help-now/index.html
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. (2010, July 22). Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13811118.2010.494133
Department of Education – BULLYING. SEC. 37.0832. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/education-code/educ-sect-37-0832.html
