Bullying remains a hot topic these days. We still hear about various incidents of bullying in high school, despite our efforts to eradicate all signs of bullying. We all know that the longer an individual is bullied, the greater the impact on his or her life, leaving scars that can be either physical or psychological. Victims of bullying typically become withdrawn and feel insecure, suffering from various ailments including headaches, stomachaches, or panic attacks. Their school performance drops as the ability to focus on classwork decreases. School performance is also affected by increased absences from school. In extreme cases, bullied individuals turn to suicide, as they see no other way out.

Studies indicate that most episodes of bullying in high school happen in the presence of peer witnesses. Unfortunately, peers tend to not intervene. However, those times when peers did intervene by standing up for the victim either verbally or physically, the bullies often stopped.

Implementing Peer Intervention to Stop Bullying in High School

It would appear that one way to effectively stop acts of bullying in high school is to rally the other students around the idea of stepping up and supporting victims of bullying. If our students understand that they do have the power to make a difference, then I believe that many more will be willing to step up. We need to teach our students how to speak up. The students also need to feel safe and feel that the school staff will support them in their intervention attempts.

While this method focuses on stopping bullying incidents as they occur, perhaps as the bullies understand that the other students will no longer tolerate their bullying methods, the bullying in high school will stop altogether. We can all agree that this would be an amazing accomplishment.

Attaboy Assemblies has a powerful message to help combat Bullying in High School, contact us today to have us play at your next school assembly!