Bullying is a serious issue that impacts approximately 20% of middle and high-school aged children each year. The extent of bullying can vary, but severe bullying can lead victims to commit suicide and leave lifelong scars on its survivors. This has led people to debate the most effective form of intervention for bullies.
Bullying used to be considered an individual problem, with schools taking few steps to intervene unless the bullying was physical and was egregious. In fact, many middle-aged adults seem to think of school bullying as something that is within the normal range of behavior and they do not get overly alarmed by it. That is one of the main reasons that schools should be part of the solution in addressing bullying. Parents of bullies and parents of victims are often unable to appreciate how severe the problem is.
In addition, they may not be aware of the problem. Many bullying victims do not report the bullying to their parents. This may be because they do not want to worry their parents but could also be because they are being bullied for things that would also cause them problems at home, such as sexuality or gender issues. Furthermore, there is evidence to support the idea that some bullies are that way because of behaviors they…