July 3, 2006
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Two vicious cases of school bullying have got everyone
talking. Both cases -one involving boys (Kota Tinggi), and the other girls
(Miri) – were recorded on phone videos and widely circulated on the internet (on YouTube too, until it was removed!)The
Malaysian Psychological Association wants to propose the implementation of a
bullying intervention programme developed by Dr D. Olweus. “The programme attempts
to restructure the existing school environment to reduce opportunities for
bullying. We have submitted our proposal to the ministry (of education),” said Malaysian
Psychological Association council member Datin Dr Noran Fauziah YaakubThe programme has met with success in schools where it is
used in Scandinavian countries as well as the US. Basically it’s all about
increased supervision, more parent-teacher interaction, a curriculum of
courtesy and respect, and sanctions for aggressive behaviour (which I imagine
are all a given in the first place). Schools are also expected to do the
following:- Place
primary responsibility for solving the problem with the adults at school
rather than with parents or students. - Project
a clear moral stand against bullying. - Include
both systems-oriented and individual-oriented components. - Set
long-term and short-term goals. - Target
the entire school population, not just a few problem students. - Make
the program a permanent component of the school environment, not a
temporary remedial program. - Implement
strategies that have a positive effect on students and on the school
climate that go beyond the problem of bullying.
Anyway, I say go ahead and give it a shot. What piqued my
interest however was the first point – we’re to expect adult teachers at school
to deal with bullying. The programme assumes that if bullying occurs, very
likely the parents of victim and aggressor are not informed, or do not
recognize the signs. That’s when schools step in to talk to all parties
involved. There’s some merit in having an outside party to take charge, but it
won’t amount to anything if the student and his/her family do not also take as
firm a stand as schools.I think it all boils down to character, which in the final
analysis, is best inculcated at home.
Why then are parents failing in their job to instruct their kids in
basic decency and respect? Why do we
keep hearing about the importance of ‘socialising’ when the only social skill kids are picking up
at home and school is to ‘look out for number 1’? When a cynical media in an
indifferent society displaces the basis for values and virtues, we should not
be surprised when our kids turn violent. We make the world what it is today.
I can almost hear
you ask: what if the parents are unable or will not do their job? - Place
Comments (2)
Actually, the solution to the Miri bullying case isn’t education or psychology. It’s law enforcement.
The greater tragedy in the Miri clip is not what was filmed, but the events that allowed it to happen — and continue to do so. Miri has got quite the reputation among Sarawakians as a ‘gangster town’. I do not mean to put down Miri, but I am expressing what I feel to be a sentiment echoed by many Sarawakians, many of them Miri folk themselves. When Mirians continually speak up on the Net for more law enforcement in the town against rising crimes, you know that this is not ‘smoke without fire’.
Grapevine goes: the Ni You Mei You girl is the daughter of a leading Triad head. Only minimal action was taken against the students involved because educators were afraid of their personal safety, and no newspaper in Miri dare report the incident (I do not know about Kuching papers). It was said that a journalist who took a photograph of a car involved in an accident in Miri was violently threatened by Triad members.
I do not know about other cases of bullying, but in the case of the Miri fight, the children were only immitating what was permitted in the adult world.
Which is my point exactly. I read somewhere that while the Miri students have been suspended, nof further action has been taken pending submission of a report from their school.