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Proposed Bill May Help Fight Bullying in Schools

A new bill hopes to prevent bullying in order to promote a better educational environment.

The California State Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) proposed a bill Thursday aimed at preventing bullying.

The bill, AB 1156, will reduce incidents of bullying and redefine California's anti-bullying law by linking academic achievement to bullying. It encourages each school to develop its School Safety Plan by including training of the school's personnel and allowing the target of bullying the option to leave the school. The bill will also expand the definition of bullying by linking it to the damaging effects it can have on the target of such behavior.

Assemblymember Mike Eng says when students worry about harassment from their peers, the school prevents an environment conducive to learning.

"The bill looks at poor academic achievement as a result, as a symptom, of bullying," Eng said.

According to the PTA, about 160,000 U.S. students skip school to avoid bullying. Advocates of the legislation said the issue is more important than most believe.

"As early as kindergarten and second grade bullies are learning they can get their way by violence," Kathy Moffat of the PTA said.

The bill hopes to change beliefs that bullying is a part of the school environment and stresses children have the right to a safe learning environment. Garvey School District Board Clerk Bob Bruesch said the passage of the bill is crucial.

Despite the support of the PTA and Eng, some say it will not be much of a benefit to students."

"I personally got bullied, I didn't die. It made me a stronger person," Mandy Lai, a USC master student, said.

COMMENTS

[...] Proposed Bill May Help Fight Bullying in Schools [...]

Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior that either manifest itself as abusive treatment with the use of force or coercion to affect others (targeted victims) in a dominance social and/or psychological power-play, It may involve verbal harassment, physical assault or coercion and may be directed persistently towards particular perceived weaker victims for reasons of race, religion, gender, sexuality, or ability. This "imbalance of power" may be social power and/or physical power. As such, bullying consists of three basic types of abuse – emotional, verbal, and physical, and often involves subtle methods of coercion such as intimidation. Bullying behavior may include name calling, verbal or written abuse, exclusion from activities, exclusion from social situations, physical abuse, or coercion. Causations of bullying behavior is that some bullies may behave this way to be perceived as popular or tough or to get attention. They may also bully out of jealousy or be acting out because they themselves are bullied. Or the worse case scenario, they have psychopathic personalities and bullying is a masterful tool to them to easily meet a selfish personal objective in which to gain an advantage or perceived benefit.

Furthermore, bullying ranges from simple one-on-one bullying to more complex bullying in which the bully may have one or more subordinate confederates who may seem to be willing to assist the primary dominate bully in his anti-social bullying activities. Bullying can occur in any context in which people (re: children and adults) interact with each other. This includes school, church, family, the workplace, home, and neighborhoods. (Note: Bullying in school and the workplace is also referred to as peer abuse).

For those in authority (parents, teachers, school officials, social workers, etcetera) to control and prevent this type of demeaning aggressive behavior involving children and teenagers is simple but a highly involved re-socialization process.

First, the on-going bulling problem needs to be clearly defined and fully evaluated by the authority figures involved. Second, the bully (or bullies) needs full "hands-on" attention by relevant authorities in which to introduce and educate a bully into productive interactive values and conduct concerning inter-personal social behavior. Long-term continual monitoring is especially necessary in which to determine if this particular educational process of social skills and good behavior are being facilitative as determine by the instructee’s personal attitude and behavior change for the better. Thirdly, the target victim(s) needs valuable mentoring on how to effectively deal with bullies and how to become less susceptible as targets for such abuse. Moreover, to further boost their self-esteem and confidence so they don't appear weak and vulnerable to bullies, may require undergoing a focused program of psychological counseling and/or taking self-defense classes in martial arts or boxing in how physically fend for themselves when aggressively challenged physically by a bully (re: hitting or punching, forcefully pushing, etcetera).

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