10T speech

 The negative impact of bullying in schools 

Have you ever been bullied? I know I have and it is not a nice experience

Hi, my name is Ella and my speech topic is the negative impact of bullying in schools.

Bullying in schools is a global problem that has a significant effect on students. It affects the student's right to learn in a safe environment without fear. As a student, school life isn't easy. Being bullied makes it that much harder. In New Zealand, 94% of New Zealand teachers said bullying occurs in their schools. Around 45% of teachers and staff say that social and verbal bullying had been brought to their attention and 25% heard of physical bullying weekly In 2013. 4 out of 9, year 9s students reported being bullied monthly or weekly.

Bullying impacts the whole school community, the bully's family, and the bullied. Bullying has a harmful effect on the victim's physical health and emotional well-being. It can cause the victim to feel unhappy, frightened and unwanted, or even suicidal. Bullying can affect everything about the victim whether it's how they see themself, their future, friends, family, school, or their health. It’s not just the bullied who are affected. The person behind it could be unhappy and is more likely to have problems in their home or outside and could even be depressed. 

 

Bullying has such a big impact on everyone but it is one we can control. The bully makes them look more powerful than the victims which makes them insecure. A bully appears to be stronger or bigger and even more popular, but they are neither. Deep inside they feel insecure and powerless. When you stand up to a bully, show them you are not powerless and insecure and take control away from them. I see this a lot in schools, especially with years 11s and 9s

As a student, there are many ways to stop someone from being bullied. If you ever witness someone being bullied, stand up for them. You can do this by getting a teacher or adult, and reporting it to a teacher after if you want to stay anonymous. In my opinion, the best way to get a bully to stand down is to get an adult or teacher so they can de-escalate the situation so it doesn't get out of hand. If you are being bullied, seek out help from either an adult, a friend, the school counselor, or a family member. Many organizations can help you with this like Kapiti youth support. I think it is completely inappropriate to bully someone and tear down their self-esteem. This will cause more damage than you realize and once it is said there is no taking it back.

In my personal opinion, I believe that the bully should have consequences like being stood down, if it is severe enough they should get their family involved and even the police if it is bad enough. We don’t see much counseling getting offered to the bully. The biggest reason behind someone's bullying is other things are going on at homelife or outside of school. I don't believe there is enough done to address the situation and that there is more we can do. So stand up and don’t be a witness to bullying