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The main characters’ name is Arnold but most people call him junior, he’s a 14 year old Indian that lived in a Indian reservation. Junior was born with brain damage which affected his physical appearance, which was the cause of him getting bullied

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Bullying is the repeatedness of malintent actions towards others. School bullying can come about in school or outside of school.

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According to Arnold this is what he looks like

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There are a couple of types of bullying out there here are a few that Junior experienced

Direct

Physical- physical harm to a person

Emotional- ganging up against an individual to put others against them

Verbal- saying harmful things, commenting on appearance and teasing

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All 50 states have bullying laws but these laws don’t necessarily prevent bullying.For example, in Juniors’ school (The Rez) the teachers and everyone else knew that would get bullied all the time but they never took action.

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With bullying comes consequences that affect the ones being bullied

Low self esteem which could lead to depression

Physical/ emotional distress

Potential trauma

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Some of the reason of why students decide to bully are...

Difficult home situations

Low self esteem

Poor social skills

Desire to be on top (popularity/“respect”)

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More than 1 in 5 students repot of being bullied in their life

Bullying mostly happens in the hallway with a 42% and inside the classroom with a 32%

Top reason why students get bullied

Physical appearance

Race/ethnicity

Gender

Religion

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Bullying in schools is a common problem, but it doesn’t have to be! Find out what makes a bully, what to do if there is bullying in your school and how to prevent bullying in schools.

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“Do you know what happens to retards on the Rez? beat up, at least once a month.” (Alexie 6).

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“Those were bad enough names...I knew I’d have to put a stop to it eventually... but I was scared.” (Alexie 52).

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“I was afraid those monsters were going to kill me...I don’t mean “kill” as a metaphor I mean “kill” as in beat me to death.” (Alexie 52).

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“I know,” he said. “And we let it happen. We let them pick on you.” (Alexie 35).

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“His father is drinking hard and throwing hard punches, so Rowdy and his mother are always walking around with bruised and bloody faces.” (Alexie 13).

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Rowdy is also a 14 yr old Indian that lives on the same Rez as Arnold. They’ve been best friends most of their lives. Rowdy’s home life is physically and emotionally abusive an he tends to take his problems with others by fighting them. But he’s always there to defend Arnold.

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“I'm not even writing down this story the way I actually talk, because I'd have to fill with stutters and lisps, and then you'd be wondering why you're reading a story written by such a retard.” (Alexie 5)

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Even though Jr went through a lot, bullying, family loss, and much more he still had hope at the end of the day, he never gave up and he wanted to be better, he wanted to succeed.

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“So I draw because I want to talk to the world. And I want the world to pay attention to me. I feel important with a pen in my hand. I feel like I might grow up to be somebody important. An artist. Maybe a famous artist. Maybe a rich artist.” (Alexie 6).

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Bullying among 12- to 18-year-old students has declined over the past decade, but approximately 1 in 5 students still experience bullying on school property, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports (PDF, 4.6 MB). To create bully-free schools that allow students to focus on learning, administrators and teachers can better understand how bullying occurs. The USC Rossier School of Education, which offers the MAT online program, has put together the following guide to help schools navigate this pressing issue.

The NCES says bullying is often characterized by three of the following elements:

The aggressor seeks to inflict physical, social and/or emotional harm.

The aggressor's behavior is recurrent.

The victim feels inferior to or less powerful than the aggressor.

More than half of bullied students ages 12 to 18 said the student who bullied them had the ability to influence what others thought of them.
Go to the bottom of the page to review tabular data about the perceptions of power imbalances for students who are bullied.
Students were also asked whether bullying was related to specific characteristics. The most common characteristics bullying was related to included:

Physical appearance

Race

Gender

Disability

Ethnicity

Religion

Sexual orientation

Nearly 12% of public schools reported bullying at school at least once a week in 2017, according to NCES data. That percentage was highest for middle schools (21.8%), followed by high schools (14.7%) and primary schools (8.1%).

Stopbullying.gov identifies common bullying tactics students use, including:

The most common types of bullying experienced by students in 2017 included being the subject of rumors (13.4%) and being insulted or called names (13%).
Go to the bottom of the page to review tabular data about the types of bullying experienced by students.
Of students who reported bullying, more than 40% said they believed it would occur again.

With more students constantly connected to digital devices and social media, schools are having to address electronic bullying. According to NCES:

According to a bullying prevention fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control (PDF, 600 KB), bullying can have a number of negative outcomes. Students who are bullied may experience:

Physical injury

Social and emotional distress

Increased risk of depression and anxiety

Difficulties sleeping

Lower academic achievement

Increased likelihood to drop out of school

Self-harm

Death

About a quarter of bullied students ages 12 to 18 said bullying negatively affected how they felt about themselves.
Go to the bottom of the page to review tabular data about the negative effects of bullying.
However, the harmful effects of bullying are not limited to those who experience it. Students who bully face increased risk of substance misuse, academic problems and violence later in life. Those who bully others and are bullied experience the most serious behavioral and mental health problems.

Creating a safe learning space for children requires buy-in from the top down. Bullying.gov highlights the unique role administrators play in preventing bullying (PDF, 173 KB), including:

Providing bullying prevention training so staff are better equipped to intervene.

Establishing and consistently enforcing policies against bullying.

Talking with students about their concerns and helping them build social and emotional skills to help address the issue.

Collecting data on bullying to understand how frequently and where it's occurring on school grounds.

More than 40% of bullied students said the incidents took place in hallways, stairwells and classrooms.
Go to the bottom of the page to review tabular data about the locations of bullying.
To foster safe and respectful classrooms, the Department of Education advises teachers to focus on respect, inclusion and open communication. The department developed a training toolkit that identifies the primary features of a supportive classroom (PDF, 391 KB):

Educators model positive thinking and respectful behavior, while proactively encouraging conversations about tolerance, inclusivity and diversity. They also listen to students' experiences.

Educators also model appropriate expectations for relationships and work directly with not only students who are being bullied but also students who are bullying others to establish a culture of respect for differences.

Educators intervene when they see problems and make bully-free culture the norm by teaching positive relationship skills and clear ground rules for behavior.

Teachers can watch for warning signs of bullying, such as unexplained injuries, frequent illness, decline in school attendance, decline in grades, isolation and avoidance of social situations.

When bullying occurs, teachers should intervene immediately. A Department of Education toolkit provides a four-step approach (PDF, 1.1 MB):

Stop the Behavior

Keep calm, make sure everyone is safe, and reassure all the students involved. Separate them and ask what they need from you, including any medical attention.

Find Out What Happened

Listen to as many sources as you can, document what you hear and see, and collect other evidence that may help you determine whether bullying occurred. Don't make assumptions.

Support the Students Involved

Both the student who is bullied and the student who bullied need support. Allow the student being bullied to share their story and reassure them that bullying is not their fault. The student who bullied needs to understand why their behavior may be problematic, what the consequences are according to school policy and how they can be involved in making amends.

Report and Follow Up

A thorough report of what happened, where the incident took place and other evidence can enable schools to track patterns of behavior and properly address the issue. Following up ensures that students who are bullied know they are supported and safe.

Every student can help make schools safer places to learn for their peers. The Department of Education toolkit on bullying prevention provides tips for students who witness bullying:

Don't engage in bullying.

The following section contains tabular data from the graphics in this post.

Students 12 to 18 who reported being bullied in 2017 identified the following power imbalance in favor of the student who bullied them.

Source: "Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2018," (PDF, 4.6 MB) Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
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Source: "Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2018," (PDF, 4.6 MB) Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
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Students 12 to 18 who reported being bullied in 2017 said that bullying had negative effects on following aspects of their lives.

Source: "Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2018," (PDF, 4.6 MB) Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
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Students 12 to 18 who were bullied in 2017 were asked to identify where incidents took place.

Source: "Student Reports of Bullying: Results from the 2017 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey," (PDF, 3.3 MB) Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
Back to graphic Citation for this content: The USC Rossier MAT online program .

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A Guide to Understanding and Preventing School Bullying

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Bullying among 12- to 18-year-old students has declined over the past decade, but approximately 1 in 5 students still experience bullying on school property, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports (PDF, 4.6 MB). To create bully-free schools that allow students to focus on learning, administrators and teachers can better understand how bullying occurs.

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Bullying in schools is a common problem, but it doesn’t have to be! Find out what makes a bully, what to do if there is bullying in your school and how to prevent bullying in schools.

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Bullying in schools is a common problem, but it doesn’t have to be! Find out what makes a bully, what to do if there is bullying in your school and how to prevent bullying in schools.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bullying in schools is a common problem, but it doesn’t have to be! Find out what makes a bully, what to do if there is bullying in your school and how to prevent bullying in schools.