When and Where Does Bullying Happen Most?
By Antoine G Larosiliere
As a child, I remember the places I had to avoid to keep from getting bullied. Now as an adult, I wonder if things have changed and I keep trying to figure out, when and where does bullying happen most?
No one wants their child to be bullied, and I remember how I felt when my son came home and told me he got bullied. As his father, I felt it was my responsibility to not only protect him, but to prepare him the best way I could. I found myself researching: When and where does bullying happen most? I had to research all over the place, but wouldn’t it be awesome if there was one article that could answer that question for you? I promise if you keep reading, this article will do just that. When and where does bullying happen most— in suburban areas where many kids take the school bus, during recess on grammar school playgrounds, and in middle school hallways and stairwells when most teachers are in their classrooms. Other places that have a high frequency of bullying are places with no cameras. Such places include locker rooms and bathrooms. The cafeteria is another place where bullying often occurs due to its high traffic of children clique off into groups.
Why doesn’t most bullying happen on the school bus?
Depending on where you live and what percentage of the student population takes the bus, the school bus could be a potential hotspot for bullying. In suburban areas where many kids take the school bus, the children express how bus rides are their greatest threat. There’s very little supervision that the bus driver can provide while still driving the bus. Bus drivers are not teachers, so they have little to no qualifications in dealing with our kids. Some of them are not interested in doing so, and feel it isn’t their job to do so.
I teach in an inner city school in the Bronx, and most students don’t take the bus. They either walk to school or get dropped off. Therefore, most of the bullying that’s reported at my school isn’t from a bus ride, either.
“Most of the bullying that takes place in grammar school happens on the playground.”
In Grammar School, most bullying happens on the playground.
Recess is a huge component of grammar school, not middle school. Most of the bullying that occurs in grammar school happens on the playground. The playground is one of those areas where there are more students than adults can manage. Students are usually cliqued off into groups and are engaged in some kind of activity. Often the activity involves a level of competitiveness, which breeds aggressiveness and trash-talking. The trash-talking often leads to bullying. Even though the playground is where bullying happens most in grammar schools, that is not the case in middle school and high school.
Most bullying happens in the middle school
According to the NICHD survey, as well as many other studies, bullying typically peaks after elementary school in the middle school years. Researchers hypothesized that this is due to the “transitioning that happens from grammar school to middle and the need to re-establish peer relationships.” Puberty also plays a part in why this happens in middle school, and more specifically within middle school hallways and stairwells.
Why does most of it happen in the hallway/stairwell?
The hallway and the stairwell in many surveys came up as the main places students are bullied. One 16-year-old student in a survey commented that, “Most of the time the teachers are in their classrooms, so they are not really in the halls – and that’s where everything takes place.” Many schools do ask that during transitioning from class to class, teachers be present in the hallway. Some schools have cameras in the hallway now, but rarely in the stairwell. That leaves the issues of bullying in the stairwell hard to monitor unless a teacher or aide is placed there during transitioning.
According to a nationwide survey found on stopbullying.gov, students aged 12-18 experience bullying in the hallway or stairwell 43.4% of the time.
“For the most part, bullies don’t bully with the intention of getting caught.”
Pay attention to the places that don’t have cameras.
Often the places that have a high occurrence of bullying are places that have little surveillance. For the most part, bullies don’t bully with the intention of getting caught. Bullies are aware of the no bullying policies every school has, so most of their acts of bullying are done in places with no cameras— places that include the locker rooms and bathrooms. According to a study by Garbarino and DeLara, “Locker rooms are a major area where bullying and hazing takes place.” One 15-year-old boy from the study admits, “I don’t like going to the bathrooms. I go in there only when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you learn to just wait until you get home. You have to always be looking over your shoulder. The locker rooms are the same way. My brother never used the bathrooms here in his whole four years of high school.”
Why is the cafeteria not a big problem anymore?
The cafeteria is another place that children have to navigate during their day. The supervision has improved somewhat over the years, but still needs improving in most schools. With so many cliques and groups, it’s easy to feel outcast if you’re alone. Those who are being bullied have to worry about running into their bullies or finding an appropriate spot to sit. At my school, we have an assistant principal and 3 aides to assist in the cafeteria, leaving less of a chance for bullying to go unchecked. I can see how other schools who aren’t equipped to do the same can have a bullying problem in the cafeteria.
What can we do about it?
–Sit at the front of the bus: Make sure you’re in close proximity to the bus driver. If the abuse is that close to the bus driver, they are more likely to say or do something.
–Play near an adult: During the school’s recess things can get a little out of hand. Try not to be off and alone somewhere, you’ll be an easy target. Make sure you’re with a group or at least one other person. If you have to be alone, stay in close proximity to a teacher or school aide.
–No hallway hanging: Don’t hang out in the hallway, get to your destination as quickly as possible. Ask your last teacher if it’s possible for them to stay by the door and watch you walking in the hallway. If you need to go to the water fountain, go to the one near a teacher.
–Avoid the stairwell: If it is possible to avoid the stairwell, then do so. If you need the stairs to make it to your next destination, do it quickly or bring a friend with you.
–Change in the locker room quickly: Try to be the first one in and the first one out. Locker rooms do have adult supervision, so make sure you’re in close proximity to the gym teacher. Ask the gym teacher if your locker can be moved closer to the door or to where the teacher is stationed.
I hope this has been helpful! Many strategies including the one I just mentioned can also be found in the novel The Bully Experience: Daniel’s Story . Also subscribe to the YouTube channel for more insight to these topics.
The Bully Experience "Daniel's Story"
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