Pre-reading questions:
- What do you think is the best way to prevent bullying?
- In your own words, what are the effects of bullying to a person’s growth?
- Do you think bullying is a serious issue?
Experts are calling the attention of the Education Ministry to define “serious” school bullying. Modern law gave a directive to the schools and boards of education to establish teams for investigation of “serious” school bullying cases. However, the experts noticed that the scope of “serious” cases under the law is inscrutable, which makes the enforcement weak. The ministry must enumerate examples of grave penalties for bullying so that “serious” cases will be defined.
The said experts also urged the ministry to create guides on how to scrutinize cases of bullying. It includes selection of third-party committee members, investigation methods, and explanations about probe outcomes, and the handling of personal information. The guidelines are required to consider the victims’ side. Another highlight of the report said that the academy has little awareness with their school’s anti-bullying policies. The experts concluded that schools are responsible for informing the students and parents about their basic rules.
Vocabulary:
guidelines- a rule that shows or tells how something should be done
inscrutable- difficult to understand
penalties- the act of punishing
scrutinize- examine carefully
academy- school
Comprehension Questions:
- What do the experts want from the Education Ministry?
- What is the directive given by the modern law to schools and boards of education?
- What is included in the guidelines to be created by Education Ministry on how to scrutinize cases of bullying?
- What is the other highlight of the report?
- What conclusion did the experts come up with?
Express Your Opinion:
- School bullies must be penalized.
- How will you help school bullying victims?
- Parents, teachers and students must help each other to promote anti-bullying policies.