A rising epedemic

Bullying.

As a youth pastor, I hear this time and time again.  I remember school.  Sure, I remember getting picked on.  However, the extent now compared to then is appalling.  A few slanderous words, maybe even a shoulder check in the hallway is about all I had to fear in school.  Then, after a few days, it was over and we moved on.

Not so any more.  Bullying has come to name-calling, shoving, ganging up on others, pitting others against each other, cyber-bullying, lies, anger. And telling the bullied child to "ignore it, it will go away" is no longer an option.  The bully-er continues relentlessly.

And quite frankly, I am getting sick of it.

Before I move on, let's look at some statistics and information I have pulled from the internet.....

What is bullying?

"A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself."

This definition includes three important components:

1. Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions.
2. Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time.
3. Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength.

Types of bullying...

1. Verbal bullying including derogatory comments and bad names
2. Bullying through social exclusion or isolation
3. Physical bullying such as hitting, kicking, shoving, and spitting
4. Bullying through lies and false rumors
5. Having money or other things taken or damaged by students who bully
6. Being threatened or being forced to do things by students who bully
7. Racial bullying
8. Sexual bullying
9. Cyber bullying (via cell phone or Internet)

Impact of bullying...

Students deserve to feel safe at school. But when they experience bullying, these types of effects can last long into their future:

• Depression
• Low self-esteem
• Health problems
• Poor grades
• Suicidal thoughts

BULLYING IS A SERIOUS ISSUE!

• Statistics show that 23 percent of students in grades 4-6 had been bullied "several times" or more; 20 percent had bullied others
• Statistics show that 17 percent of students in grades 6-10 reported having been bullied "sometimes" or more, with 8 percent being bullied once a week. 19 percent said they had been a bully to others "sometimes" or more.

I have read countless articles and have watched numerous news reports on how children have commited suicide due to bullying, even cyber bullying.  I have read reports of children as young as 11 have committed suicide due to this....11!   And yet we look the other way?

Schools have 'anti-bullying' programs in place.  These are ineffective.  The child being bullied is fearful to go report an incident for fear of further bullying...and they say "the school won't do anything but sit us down and talk".   They have boxes so students can report the incidents anonymously.  And yet the punishment?  Sit down and discuss it.

I know of numerous incidents that I have been made aware of where teachers were present as a child was being bullied.  I also know of an incident where parents partook in the name-calling and bullying (and this was to a 6th grader).  So you tell me.....where does it stop?!   A child feels that death is better than living in a bullied environment.  And 90% of bullying occurs in the place we send our children to better themselves - SCHOOL.

This topic has completely infuriated me.  I am wanting to get inside the schools and spread the love of Jesus.  The schools today are nothing like the schools I went to back in the 90's.  Why?  What has gone wrong?  Does it boil down to the parents?  I think this generation is so out of control that the parents just as soon look the other way than to put their foot down and say - enough!  There is no respect for authority and that sort of value starts in the home.

As I see children dread going to school because of what a pit of vipers it has become, I sit and think how God has to turn this around.  Wouldn't it be phenomenal if we start hearing how the Holy Spirit takes over and school is in utter chaos because kids are praying over one another and the sick are being healed and the love of Jesus is being proclaimed!?  That's the kind of phone call I want to get.  That is the kind of news report I want to see.  I want a phone call saying I need to come pick up my daughter because she is standing on the table proclaiming JESUS SAVES - not because she is being bullied to the point she has made herself sick.

God has laid the schools on my heart lately.  Not just because of the bullying, though that has a large part to do with it, but because God has been so stripped of the schools that it is no longer valued.

Revival.  It has to start somewhere.....why not here?

**information taken from - http://www.olweus.org/public/bullying.page**