#2 Interviews About Bullying
My second interview aligned with my first interview in saying that part of the problem of bullying is not only caused by the bully but also by the bystanders. In my first interview, one person (D. Ellis) said “When it is not just the bully but..the bystanders, the bully plays to the bystanders and amplifies the situation…” which is similar to what the other interviewee (J. Novotny) remarked “When bullies feel… some positive peer reinforcement, they inadvertently find a reason to continue acting that way.” My thinking is changing because I did not fully consider how important to bullying the bystanders are. This idea is changing what I think about what could be done about bullying from only trying to get bystanders to take action to that and trying to get people to recognize how lack of appreciation of empathy fuels bullying. I received two very different answers about what could be done about bullying. One answer was “To teach people how to build their self esteem through empathy rather than dominance.” To me, that would be a successful, but difficult, way to combat bullying. On the other hand, the other answer was “We need to build safer, caring, structures.” The one shared idea between those points was building a caring community. Both of them agreed that bullying was a big problem. One remarked “It seems to be a big problem. ” The other one elaborated on that idea by saying “I think it is bigger than people know.” Furthermore, other thoughts included “It seems that only in recent years has it been considered a problem,” as well as “Bullying is sometimes a young person’s way of determining boundaries. They push boundaries to find a social position relative to someone,” and “I think that for a long time, the people in power in our society thought bullying was okay.” The point of “All people are important, not just the popular or powerful ones,” was a topic which I agreed on and I have been working on making recognized in my school and community.
Image by M.A.E.N.
E. N., M. A., et al. “Opinions on Bullying.” 20-21 Sept. 2017.
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Welcome to WtS! I’m excited that you are part of the program. I think that your topic on bullying is a very important one for members of our community to be aware of. Your interviews were very informational and thought-provoking. I particularly liked when you realized that “My thinking is changing because I did not fully consider how important to bullying the bystanders are.” Also, you’ve taken this new information that you are processing and are focusing on how that is impacting how you want to take action and further your learning on this topic. When you mention that “All people are important, not just the popular or powerful ones” that really struck me. So, it seems to me that you want to put a more positive spin of an awareness campaign and promote, as you say, “building a caring community.” I look forward to seeing where your research leads you next. You are off to a great start!
Best,
Dianne Baroz