As I have been previously blogging about, bullying is a very real problem facing schools and educators today. I have touched upon, in previous blogs, some other types of bullying such as emotional bullying, physical bullying and cyber bullying. Today I wish to discuss an incredibly sensitive type of bullying, bullying that occurs because of the color of one’s skin or his or her cultural or religious background.
As a teacher, it is incredibly disheartening to even think about this type of bullying occurring. I firmly believe that every child, no matter the color of his skin or his religious beliefs are created equally. It literally breaks my heart when one child feels superior to another child simply because he thinks his skin color makes him a better person than others who aren’t of the same race. It breaks my heart that a child would even feel the need to bring race or religion into school and bully another child because of it.
Racist bullying occurs when a child is offensive to another peer due to that peer’s religious beliefs or race. This type of bullying can occur in the following ways:
-Acting out physically towards that child
-Spray painting or graffiti on a peer’s property
-Acting out verbally towards that child
-Insulting the child, degrading the child due to skin color or belief system
-Making fun of the child’s customs, music, accent, or way of dressing
-Refusing to work or play with a child of a different race or religious organization
What can a school do if a child is a victim of this type of bullying? To begin with, like any other types of bullying, schools need to make it clear from day one that this type of bullying and racism is not allowed in their school. It won’t be tolerated and it needs to be reported. Schools should have curriculum and lessons that deal with racism and children. Even if your child doesn’t attend a school with a large mixed race population, it is still a smart thing for schools to have school-wide assemblies that deal with racism and school. A child can’t learn about it if it isn’t taught to them.
Schools should have a set consequence that deals specifically with racist bullying. Every child should know about it and every staff member should be trained in how to deal specifically with this bullying. If your child is a victim of racist bullying, please report it to the school and contact your local police department. The school should move forward with its racist bully policy and the police may be able to assist in ensuring that this type of bullying doesn’t occur.
Racist bullying is a problem in schools today. It interferes with other children’s ability to learn and on top of that, can cause tension in a community. One thing to keep in mind, racism is often something that is learned. It is often something passed down from generation to generation. I am hopeful, with school’s beginning to educate children about this horrible type of bullying, that the cycle of racism may be stopped.
For more information please see the following website:
http://www.antibullying.net/racistinfo3.htm
It is not a site in the United States but it gives great information about racist bullying.