Wednesday May 9, 8:17 AM
More students call for help against bullies
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SINGAPORE: More cases of bullying in schools have been reported in
the past year and according to experts, the bullies are also
getting younger.
Last week, Channel NewsAsia ran a report on how one special needs
student was beaten up by his classmates in front of his
mother.
Two weeks ago, police received two reports on bullying.
One involved a girl who was slapped, stripped and filmed by her
schoolmates.
The other - a boy beaten up by his friends on his birthday - had to
be hospitalised.
And now, a parent has called the Channel NewsAsia hotline about how
her daughter's schoolmates were beating up their peers in the
toilet, and locking them in the washroom.
The parent, who did not want to be identified, said this took place
in a girls school.
Is bullying a problem in Singapore schools?
In 2005, the Singapore Children's Society received 120 calls for
help from victims of bullying.
Last year, this number was 176.
The fact is, most students do not even know about the existence of
such a helpline.
Furthermore, for every bullying case reported, there are dozens
more who choose to remain silent out of fear.
The Coalition Against Bullying, who have been working with schools,
say bullying is occurring at a younger age, even in
pre-schools.
And with more students toting mobile phones, and innovations such
as You Tube, cyber bullying is also becoming more rampant.
An increasing number of disturbing clips are also being posted
online, prompting copy-cat behaviour.
"We have seen a few cases where they are very fearful to go to
school because bullying happens in school. And recently one of my
colleagues actually handled a case, this Primary 2 girl, she's
[having] suicidal thoughts because the parents force her to go to
school and the parents don't know that bullying happens in school,"
says Tan Bee Joo, Head, Student Service Hub, Singapore Children's
Society.
The Education Ministry says besides taking appropriate disciplinary
action on bullies, counselling and other preventive actions are
also carried out.
This include programmes which raise a student's awareness of
bullying.
And although more counsellors have been deployed to schools,
experts say teachers can also help.
Says Chia Poh Yok, President, Coalition Against Bullying, "There
are not many counsellors in schools, at most two in the secondary
schools, and for teachers to rely on them, it would mean that
teachers would just dump the cases on them.
"And also these bullying cases
[happen] in classrooms, or toilets,
or corridors, and these are all places where teachers are around
and not the counsellors. So teachers actually have more
opportunities to work with the students, in reality, they are the
ones who are there."
The Education Ministry says other than school counsellors, most
secondary schools have teachers who are Honorary Volunteer Special
Constabulary Officers with the skills to conduct investigations
into bullying cases, if they occur.
They add, all trainee teachers would also have gone through a
module of "Classroom Management" in the National Institute of
Education, which equips them with the necessary skills to manage
general discipline issues, including bullying in schools.
But organisations like the Singapore Children's Society and the
Coalition Against Bullying, who both work with schools on bullying
awareness programmes, say that more must be done to train teachers
to identify and deal with bullying.
An increasing number of schools have been running anti-bullying
programmes. - CNA/yy
source from yahoo:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/070509/5/singapore275013.html
last time, i always think, why nt the school jus expel the students
involved in bullying? but think abt it, if u expel dem and nobody
takes dem in, den it will cause more social problems. share ur
views =)
