Bullying among students: how to recognize and prevent?

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One day, a math teacher noticed how a new fifth-grader was being called by his peers.

It would seem to be a common story before children get to know each other and become friends. But according to psychologists, offensive nicknames can be one of the signs that bullying is emerging in the classroom. As a result, students may suffer from psychological trauma and have difficulties focusing on the assignments. In this case, students can buy term paper to aid their studies.

Public humiliation and insults, ridicule, damage to personal belongings, offensive or threatening comments on social media are all manifestations of bullying among schoolchildren. Psychologists of the Psychological Assistance Service have prepared special memos for teachers and parents on how to recognize the first signs of bullying.

 

What should the teacher pay attention to:

  • children laugh at the same student, give offensive nicknames.
  • the child has a shabby appearance (clothes and hair);
  • there are traces of violence on the body, a reddened or too pale face, traces of tears;
  • other children clamp the child in a circle, in a corner;
  • the question of what is happening is not answered by the child himself;
  • the child’s grades became worse;
  • the child is systematically late for lessons or delayed in class after a call;
  • children in a group are delayed after lessons;
  • there is a child who does not regularly participate in group work and spends the changes alone.

 

What should parents pay attention to:

  • the child began to express unwillingness to go to school.
  • his sleep and appetite were disturbed;
  • the child does not tell how things are at school;
  • there are traces of violence on the body – bruises, abrasions;
  • things are often damaged (clothes, school supplies);
  • the child’s academic performance has decreased;
  • there were complaints of various pains, poor health, began to get sick more often;
  • the child has no friends;
  • the child became more emotional (tearfulness, irritability, fits of anger);
  • the child has withdrawn into himself, has less contact with his family.

 

Experts note that these are not universal, but alarming signs: if you notice something from the above, it is necessary to clarify the situation.

 

Why do children become aggressive?

Most often, the aggressive child is prepared by the environment in which he lives. If a student regularly sees aggressive behavior directed at himself or his loved ones, this increases the chances that the child will broadcast this model.

Psychological violence, the scenes of which a child sees in the family or the immediate environment, becomes the norm for him and the main way of communicating with peers, as well as a way of demonstrating power over another person. The ideas of the attractiveness of power are often supported by certain computer games.

It turns out that such a child becomes aggressive not because he is bad in principle. Just on an unconscious level, he considers aggressive behavior and power over others a normal phenomenon.

It is not difficult to recognize the aggressor: he uses ridicule, as well as humiliating, insulting or insulting words or actions, in which he is always “on top”.

Another reason why children become aggressive is mental abnormalities.

 

Who can become a victim?

Any child can become a victim of bullying. But there are predisposition factors: emotional sensitivity, susceptibility, low self-esteem, self-doubt, a general experience of one’s wrongness, loneliness, and powerlessness. Often these signs develop in a family where parents do not support children. The child is sure that he has no one to share his sorrows and joys with.

Situation No. 1. The child grows very receptive and sensitive, he quickly reacts with tears or closes up. This means that he has not mastered more effective ways to cope with the difficulties that may arise in society. Such a student can become the target of malicious jokes.

Situation No. 2. The child, in principle, can cope with various situations but meets with systematic aggressive influences from peers. And he begins to doubt himself: “Maybe I’m wrong since I’m constantly being picked on?”. The inner background of a child who has fallen into the position of a victim is silence, a sense of trap, and a sense of powerlessness.

 

Bullying in high school children is harder to recognize than in elementary school. Elementary school students are almost always in front of one teacher, they are more spontaneous, they are not yet used to the fact that their actions are noticeable and understandable. In addition, they trust adults more” comments Natalia Taylor, author of the book “Bullying. How to stop child harassment”, Head of the Department of Information Policy and Communications of the Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population.

According to the expert, teenagers, being in the process of separation from adults, form a zone of inviolable space, so their manifestations of bullying are less noticeable.

“High school students are more willing to move into the space of Internet communications, then we can talk about cyberbullying. It is extremely important for both teachers and parents not only to keep in touch with a teenage child but also to explain to children the signs of bullying. And also to give them effective coping tools – “don’t be silent” – even in elementary school,” explains Natalia.

 

Two rules for a teacher

A good teacher at school not only transmits knowledge to children but also helps them to organize communication on the principles of mutual respect. Bullying in the children’s environment becomes the norm to the extent that adults allow it, leaving it without proper attention.

 

  1. It is better to warn than to treat

It is necessary to create such a psychological microclimate in the classroom so that each student feels comfortable, calm, and safe in a team of peers. This will be helped by working in groups for trust and mutual assistance, unifying games, and warm-ups at recess. When working with high school students, it is necessary to make allowances for their desire for independence.

 

  1. You can not humiliate children

The teacher should not humiliate or insult the child because of bad behavior, level of intellectual abilities, appearance, and so on – either verbally or in any other way.

Some teachers do not announce grades to the whole class in order not to form a field for comparisons and possible ridicule. Each child can come up and find out their assessment along with an explanation from the teacher. The communication should be constructive.

 

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