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Apr. 13, 2001 Bullying: A New Sense of Need in the US Educational System Miya Omori, Ed.D.

Bullying has been a large problem in the Japanese educational system for quite some time now. However, when I found an article in the newspaper (source listed below) talking about bullying around the world, and various implementation programs, I was disappointed to find that Japan was not mentioned. This is probably because Japan has yet to come up with a policy regarding bullying in the schools. In Norway, all schools now have a proven anti-bullying program. In England, since 1999, schools are required to have anti-bullying policies. Other countries with this kind of policy include Sweden and Wales, as well as some US states. Since much of the problem seems to be that parents and teachers, as well as peers tend to look the other way, or not intervene enough when a child is being bullied, anti-bullying programs work from various angles, trying to change the attitudes of children, teachers and parents to protect the victims. Researchers and policy-makers in the US are now looking to other countries to implement such anti-bullying programs in the schools. The shooting incidents in Santee, California, and Colorado have sparked a new urgency to find a good anti-bullying program. Bullying not only affects children immediately, it also has long-term debilitating effects on psychological well-being possibly leading to depression and low self-esteem in adulthood. The immediate effects include anxiety, depression, withdrawal and in some cases aggression. Victims of bullying tend to dislike school, causing them to avoid it or perform poorly. Those schools which have already implemented such programs reveal that not only is there a decline in the number of bullying incidences, but also in truancy, vandalism and alcohol use. The programs which have succeeded are those that involve non-bullying students as well as the bullies and bullied. Those that deal occasionally with the issue of bullying in mass pep-talks or those that only deal with the bullies and bullied have not been successful. With the amount of bullying incidents in Japan, it seems like a good time to begin implementing some anti-bullying policies to protect the humanity and fundamental rights of school children in Japan. Do you know of successful programs in your school or country dealing with the issues of anti-bullying? Is bullying considered a problem in your country's schools? Let us know! Source: Mestel, R. and Groves, M. When Push Comes to Shove. Los Angeles Times: Tuesday April 3, 2001.

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