I Got Bullied At School

Is the school suitable as a second home? Home is always tied to safety and family. Home refers to a place where one may easily retreat, secure themselves, and see the outside world from an acceptable vantage point. Like, you feel comfortable and welcomed because of the people in it (Levi, et. al., 2020). Meanwhile, the meaning of a good school is not only focused on what the child feels, but there are other factors associated with the purpose, so that the meaning cannot be generalized. Generally, the labeling of a good school is seen in the success factor of graduates because it is considered to influence students as a motivation for children to achieve their goals (Urbanovi, et. al., 2013). But a good school should be able to create comfort and safety due to good relationships with each other and is the perfect place as a second home (Priem, et. al.,  2017). 

Unfortunately, these relationships aren't well established for all students because bullying still occurs in schools, which is inversely proportional to the meaning of a good school. Bullying is an act when someone uses their power to hurt another person repeatedly. This can be done for a reason or not. Bullying can happen in many ways, including physical, verbal, social, and cyber (Antiri,  et al,. 2016). In general, bullying occurs because there is a difference in physical, economic, skill, or internal factors. This triggers an unbalanced debate. Students who are victims of bullying tend to suffer anxiety, panic, and social disruption. These conditions then impact students psychological health and result in high suicidal ideation (Copeland,  et al., 2013).

Bullying is a frequent kind of violence in schools that is becoming an urgent global health issue (Isa, dkk et al., 2021). Thus, despite obesity, which was previously reported, bullying is now listed as a factor affecting schoolchildren's mental health (Rankin, et al., 2016). This attention has moved society to always agree that bullying is wrong. We can stop bullying by reporting it, but there are still many victims who are hesitant and afraid to report it. It's because a report can boomerang on the victims and there is also a lot of partiality and threats that give power to the abuser, which makes reporting useless. This can be a plus point for bullies because it can make the victim feel lonely. It is proof that even the smallest amount of support is very important for victims. starting with family and peers.

Every behavior we do indirectly shows the level of morals we have, and bullying behavior is behavior with below-standard morals (Buon, et. al., 2016). The presence of antisocial attitudes can also lead to bullying because it encourages children's moral emotions and behaviors to interact (Baron, et. al., 2018). This interaction is misused to lead to bullying, such as excessive physical treatment and the use of insulting questions, which are done continuously and very subtly so that it does not look like bullying. Such treatment makes the victim feel very unsafe because bullying can happen at any time. This makes the victim feel a huge mental and emotional impact, where the victim feels very embarrassed, angry, not accepted, isolated, and even suicidal. And it is true that bullying cases have increased in terms of victims and perpetrators. The increasing number of victims and perpetrators of bullying means that bullying cases need to be handled seriously. (Rahmasari, et. al., 2020)

From all the feelings and treatment felt by the victim, we should realize that bullying is not a funny act that can be laughed at and enjoyed. There are so many victims who cannot speak out or even make it a part of their lives. School should be a noble place, but for the victims it is hell. The meaning of school as a second home, a safe place, a place to grow, and get all the happiness is a false definition because victims don't get it. There are so many who close their eyes and tolerate all the mischief of children who are getting smarter in their behavior. It's time we reject bullying and open our eyes because all the bad feelings obtained at school are not things that deserve to be obtained because their purpose in school is not to get pity but to get useful knowledge that can be valued later.

References

Buon, M., Seara-Cardoso, A., & Viding, E. (2016). Why (and how) should we study the interplay between emotional arousal, Theory of Mind, and inhibitory control to understand moral cognition?. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 23, 1660-1680. Doi: 10.3758/s13423-016-1042-5

Copeland WE, Wolke D, Angold A, Costello EJ. Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in childhood and adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013 Apr;70(4):419-26. Doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.504. PMID: 23426798; PMCID: PMC3618584.

Kurniasari, A. D., & Rahmasari, D. (2020). Ide bunuh diri pada korban bullying. Jurnal Penelitian Psikologi, 7(3), 117-122. https://ejournal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/character/issue/view/2167

Mocktar, N. A., Ibrahim, W. N., Nurumal, M. S., & Hasan, M. K. C. (2021). A Cross-Sectional Study on Bullying and Psychological Disturbances among Malaysian School Children. Doi:  http://dx.doi.org/10.7454/msk.v25i1.1243

Monica Campo, Belinda Fehlberg, Kristin Natalier & Bruce M. Smyth. (2021) Exploring separated fathers' understandings and experiences of 'home' and homemaking. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 43:3, pages 291-306. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2020.1796218