Explaining Character in Shakespeare

Understanding Bullying

Becoming aware of the possibility that bullying may be occurring at your school is the first step to making a change in your school climate and the success of your students. Knowing how to identify the behaviors of both bullies and the common types of bullying is an important place to start.

Types of Bullying

1. Verbal-name calling
2. Social exclusion
3. Physical-Hitting, kicking, shoving, and spitting
4. Spreading of lies and rumors
5. Taking or damaging money or possessions
6. Being threatened or forced to do things
7. Racial
8. Sexual
9. Cyber

Many of these behaviors may not be apparent in the elementary school classroom. In my unit I have chosen scenes that fit the common types of bullying between seven and eight year olds. The scenes I have chosen highlight insults, name- calling, exclusion, rumors, racial slurs and hurtful comments.

Physical Bullying

Physical bullying is one of the most common forms of bullying. Pushing, hitting, slapping, kicking, nudging, spitting, tugging on hair, stepping on someone’s toe, tripping, inappropriate touching, or throwing an object at the victim are all examples. This also includes actions that result in depriving a person of their personal belongings, or failing to return an item, or intentionally damaging an item, or coercing someone to give a gift. Generally children in grades K-3 are engaging in random, unorganized play both in the classroom and on the playground. Bullies can take these situations and use them to mask their behavior. When they get tuckered out from all this exertion they might employ some little friend to do it for them. These individuals operate as “henchman.”

Is Bullying Teasing?

It might be hard to actually tell the difference between kidding around and bullying. Teasing is when two or more people are involved in playfulness that is equally divided. It is usually between friends and never involves physical or emotional abuse. Remembering the definition that bullying is intentional and repeated can help distinguish between what is teasing and what is outright bullying.

Causes of Bullying

Scientific research is based on identifying a problem and finding evidence that supports the specific cause of that problem. This link between factors proves causality. This is a very complicated process in the case of identifying causes of bullying. When pointing to the possibility of exposure to violence as a cause of bullying, it might be said that

There is biological plausibility to the idea that exposure to violence increases risk of perpetration, in that stress increases cortisol levels, which can impact normal neuro-logical development, which can put someone at risk for acting aggressively.⁵

When examing the causes of bullying in a school setting there are a multitude of variables-the reaction of the child being bullied, support of the bully being given by peers, the environment (both school and home)-these make if difficult to pinpoint one cause with exactitude. It is more widely theorized that violence-related behavior is due to a great number of factors.

Biological

Aggressive behaviors have been linked to brain malfunctions caused during pregnancy, genetics, neurotransmitters, hormones, and abnormal brain development. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a jolt or blow to the head that is severe enough to cause injury to the brain. Depending on the injury victims may suffer from impaired reasoning and emotions that can result in violence-related behaviors such as acting out or inappropriate reactions to social situations.

Alcohol and other drugs can have an indirect effect on behavior. If students witness violence in the home that is alcohol related they are at greater risk of bullying themselves, or victimization.

Learned Behavior

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) proposes that children learn violence by watching others engage in violence. SCT stresses that witnessing threats, hitting, slapping, punching beating, and attacking with a weapon are likely to develop violence-related behaviors. It also may influence those who do not engage the violent acts, but are bystanders by creating an increased willingness to participate in such acts in the future. This type of exposure can later lead to depression, poor grades, and possible alcohol abuse in later years.

One component of SCT is observational learning. Younger students learn by watching older students, newcomers learn by watching those who have been in the school community a long time. If a student observes another student bullying and the bully gets away with it they come to believe that such behavior is acceptable. If students observe bullying and none of the other students step in to stop the behavior they may attempt to bully themselves. Bullies may actually be rewarded for their acts either with recognition, power, or control. They may gain a personal possession or monetary reward from the victim.

Role of the Henchmen

Henchmen are defined as being unscrupulous supporters and subordinates. That is a chilling concept when applied to children. During the German Holocaust some 10 million people of various ethnicities were killed. The Nazi party was able to commit these acts due to their power and the cooperation of henchman who did not question their racist tactics and lived in fear of retaliation. Dr. Stanley Milgrim developed a theory of Condition of Obedience based on his experiments where participants were instructed by authority figures to give others electric shocks of up to 450 volts. Milgrim found that 6 out of 10 people would follow the directions of the authority figures even though they were aware that their actions would be unethical or harmful. His research theorized that people are dependent on others and those who obey social leaders are less likely to become expelled from a group and more likely to survive.

Milgrim called the state of social obedience “agentic state.” In bullying, follower and supporter henchmen are often in an agentic state.⁶

Followers may find themselves doing things they might not do on their own and of their own volition.

Genovese Syndrome

It’s hard to comprehend how a woman could be fatally attacked while others looked on, but this was what happened to Kitty Genovese on March 13, 1964. This incident attracted nationwide attention and focused on the upsetting issue of the indifference of bystanders. This phenomenon was researched in a study called the Bystander Effect (Darley & Latane, 1968) that found,

With the diffusion of responsibility, the liability of action or inaction is diffused across a larger group of people. Each person feels less pressure or duty to act. The concept of diffusion of responsibility is used in firing squads. Procedurally, one shooter is given a blank or dummy cartridge and the other shooters are given live ammunitions. None of the shooters know who has the blanks and who has the live ammunition.⁷

Bullies act as if they are in charge. Others perceive them as being in a position of authority and do their biding. Bystanders are fearful and remain silent thus perpetuating the bullying. Calling out the henchman as well as the bully and actively involving students in discussions can bring awareness and alter the environment where this behavior is thought of as the norm.