BULLYING IN TEXAS SCHOOLS: A BETTER FUTURE

“Abusive behavior with potentially serious social and mental health consequences for children and adolescents” is the definition given the word bully by the American Medical Association. Bullying affects the entire school system – not only the bully and the person being bullied, but the entire student body. The Michael Tiger Human Rights Center reports that 40% of Texas students reported being verbally bullied last year. This does not include other forms of bullying such as striking another student or cyber bullying. Implications of bullying include depression, thoughts of suicide, loss of self-esteem, anxiety, body aches, insomnia, and violent behavior which may include carrying weapons to school.
Listed below are the top (ten) 10 reasons children are bullied:

o Being fat or thin
o Being tall or short
o Being quiet or creative
o Having big ears or small ears
o Being from a different culture or having a different religion or ethnicity
o Having different tastes or likes
o Having the "wrong" clothes (wearing clothes that are not "cool" at the time)
o Wearing glasses or braces
o Being homosexual or believed to be gay or lesbian
o Being unwilling to use strength to defend him or herself

In other words, any imaginative "excuse" will do.

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