To Get Students to Achieve Academically, Address Bullying
Surveys show that almost all children are bullied at some point during their school years. Being bullied makes a child feel miserable. A bullied child not only feels flawed, but also feels rejected by peers.
But more than just making a child deeply unhappy, bullying also negatively affects a child’s academic performance. Research shows that bullied students, even in mild cases, are preoccupied with their social standing among their peers. This concern about friendships and social status makes bullied students unable to focus on their schoolwork and do their best academically. In addition, severe emotional distress caused by bullying can lead to physical illness, further undermining a child’s ability to achieve academically.
Comprehensive bullying prevention in schools not only helps to ensure student happiness, but also helps students to achieve their academic best by eliminating the distraction caused by peer social rejection. According to statistics, 17-20% of students in a school are being bullied, meaning up to one-fifth of students at any one time are not achieving their academic best. Not only does this impact the bullied students’ education, but it also affects other students’ education by lowering the overall average academic level of instruction in the classroom and impacts the entire school in terms of statewide standardized test scores. Imagine the immediate benefit to a school by having one-fifth of the students performing better.
Just as bullying is no longer viewed as a childhood rite of passage, bullying prevention in schools cannot be seen as an effort secondary to academics or merely a minimum set of tasks to complete in order to maintain compliance with state or district mandates. Bullying prevention must consist of a comprehensive set of studied and practiced actions proactively used daily by all members of a school community who understand the mental, physical, and academic harm bullying can cause a student. Comprehensive and effective bullying prevention must be embraced as a foundational component of education and a primary goal by all educators.