Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3108085/how-hong-kongs-bullies-can-be-stopped-they-start-if-teachers-and Letters
How Hong Kong’s bullies can be stopped before they start, if teachers and pupils join hands
- Online bullying is harder to detect than physical bullying. Young people may engage in it without realising the legal consequences and the harm they are causing. To nip bullying in its bud, strengthening pastoral care at school is key
A mix of guidance, counselling and and deterrence is needed to prevent the tendency to bully, whether physically or online. Photo: Shutterstock
The issue of bullying has come to the forefront once again, with the latest case leading to arrests (“Four Hong Kong teenagers arrested over assault on schoolmate”, November 1). While physical bullying is easier to detect, cyberbullying could fall off the radar. My experience as a teacher suggests that the types of bullying that teenagers were involved in a decade ago appeared gender-specific, with physical bullying more common among boys, but the trend has changed somewhat, with both genders engaging in both types of bullying.
Bullies seize on people’s weaknesses or secrets, and gain gratification from abusing the victim’s vulnerability. Online bullying is harder to detect, since certain communications may be encrypted. Merely by tapping a phone screen a few times, an irresponsible social media user can pass on personal information, rumours and gossip about others in the blink of an eye.
Such doxxing is a cause for concern, as an increasing number of impressionable youngsters engage in such acts without realising the potential legal consequences and the irrevocable pain they are inflicting on victims (“Hong Kong must get tough on bullying to stop failing its children”, November 9).
To nip bullying in the bud, strengthening pastoral care at school is key. Specifically, teachers on the discipline team can check on students’ online activities and take pre-emptive action such as issuing warnings and meting out punishments as a deterrent, while members of the guidance team should follow up on bullying cases by counselling both bullies and victims.
The circumstances under which bullying occurs can greatly vary, therefore children engaging in such behaviour should also be allowed to reflect on and correct their ways. Class prefects could also help teachers by reporting instances of bullying or cases in which the chance of it occurring is high.
Deepening legal, moral and values education is as important. It’s essential to teach students to respect law and order, and to care for and respect others. Behaviour is governed by one’s beliefs and value system, and these are developed at a young age, so character education should start as early as possible. Only by inculcating pupils with positive values can we help them to grow up into responsible, law-abiding and caring citizens.
Jason Tang, Tin Shui Wai