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MUHI English; Empowering Your English

Task 5
Read the text below carefully. Then, write any unfamiliar words that you have under-
lined and use your dictionary to find their meanings.

School Bullying

Education is a very important part of a child’s life, and yet an increasing
number of children are showing no interest to attend school. It is not
that they find the work too difficult or are afraid of the teachers. No, it
is because they are being bullied. The following will illustrate why we
should save the children from bullying actions in schools.

School bullies can make other children’s lives a misery and their bul-
lying takes different forms. Often they will use their physical size to in-
timidate those who are smaller and weaker than themselves. They will
threaten their victims with a beating if they do not do as they say, often
using physical force to extort money, and will steal possessions from
them by force.

Bullies use verbal abuse as well as physical abuse on their victims. The
target of this abuse may often simply be slightly different in some way
from the rest of the class. A child may have red hair, wear eyeglasses,
not have the latest fashion in shoes, have only one parent, or be of a
different race, for example. This can make them a target for the school
bullies, who will enjoy in the most insulting name-calling.

Some psychologists state that the desire of the class bully to dominate
the others is a result of an inferiority complex or some personal unhap-
piness, but this does not help those who are on the receiving end of the
abuse. So great is the bullying problem that many schools have been
forced to design an official strategy for dealing with it.

Teachers encourage the victims of bullying to report the problem to
one of them, but many of them are afraid to do so, for fear of more
physical attack or more taunts. The bullies will cause them of telling
tales and make them suffer more. Furthermore, those who browbeat
others, although domineering, can often appear to be charming to
those who are in authority. Because it is so difficult to get victims to re-
port bullies, and often difficult to prove coercion, many bullies escape
unpunished. We must protect the children from this persecution. They
have a right to enjoy their schoolboys.

Adapted from: Kirkpatrick and Mok (2005:17)

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