Bullying draft

A reflection on a current educational issue in Sydney relating to culture and identity

Bullying

Bullying is a serious issue in Australian education. We know that it can happen anywhere, anytime, and can have devastating consequences. Any child can be bullied. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional.

Bullying is an educational issue relating to culture and identity. A student is bullied maybe due to his/her cultural background therefore harming ones self-identity. Recent media articles have shown large amounts of bullying leading to victims being hurt or serious cases of suicide. Children may be more vulnerable to bullying if they live with a disability, express a sexual preference different from the mainstream, or come from a minority ethnic or cultural group or a certain socio-economic background.

In my school peer support programmes and anti bullying seminars helped reduce and educate students on the effects of bullying in education.  In the younger years of my school, years 7-10, I witnessed bullying and it was occurring frequently. I could see that the particular student had:

-       Low self-esteem

-       Difficulty in trusting others

-       Lack of assertiveness

-       Aggression

-       Difficulty controlling anger

-       Isolation

This student was bullied particularly due to socio economic background, colour and beliefs.

Bullying is connected with the topic ‘race and whiteness in education’. “Whiteness is part of critical scholarship that is not meant as an attack on white people but rather, an assault on the socially constructed and constantly reinforced power of white identifications and interests (Gillborn, 2008:33)”. This emphasises that the victim is a minority and the bully has the power. It proves white the ideology of white privilege is seen in education. Also in Lacocque’s journal article the ideas of critical race theory and micro-aggressions add to the educational issue of bullying. It argues that “racial micro-aggressions should be conceived as they originally were: as derogatory acts that are most often unconscious on the part of the perpetrator, as commonplace occurrences, and as offenses that have alternative, non–racially motivated explanations that often cause the targets to feel conflicted and invalidated.” (Lacocque 2012:459)

A person’s culture or identity shouldn’t be a target for ridicule. Throughout my schooling life I have been a victim and perpetrator to bullying. It is an educational issue that should be understood greater and taught in schools more. It should highlight the effects and dangers of being bullied. America have legislated bullying and Australian education is lagging behind and needs to more vocal of the issue at hand.

REFERENCES:

Gillborn, D. (2008). Racism and education: Coincidence or conspiracy? New York and London: Routledge.

Minikel-Lacocque, J. (2013). Racism, college and the power of words: Racial microaggressions reconsidered. American Educational Research Journal, 50, 432. DOI: 10.3102/0002831212468048

Vass, G. (2012). The racialised educational landscape in Australia: listening to the whispering elephant. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1-26. doi: 10.1080/13613324.2012.674505

by manuel angelopoulos