(Time)
It's possible that all these years we've been blaming the wrong
kids for stealing our milk money. The image of the schoolyard
bully as a disaffected social outcast or a hulking denizen of
shop class is a familiar one and a staple of teenage lore. But as
researchers and teachers grow increasingly sensitive to the issue
of school violence, they are studying bullying more closely and
finding that the stereotypes are often misleading.
In fact, bullies are likely to be among the most popular kids in
school, admired by peers and teachers alike, according to a
report presented last week at a meeting of the American
Psychological Association (A.P.A.). "These are the kids that
other students look up to, the ones everybody wants to hang out
with," says Dorothy Espelage, an assistant professor at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who co-authored the
study. It defines bullying as persistent teasing, name calling
or social exclusion; Espelage did not include overt physical
acts, since she found they were rare and typically used by
students with more serious problems.
Espelage focused on students in the sixth, seventh and eighth
grade, when the problem is most acute. "As kids transition into
middle school, they are negotiating new settings, establishing
power within peer groups," she says. In this confusing period,
denigration of others often proves a successful route to
prominence. In boys this generally manifests itself through
taunting or threats of violence, while girls are more apt to
spread rumors or inflict social ostracism. The study shows
bullying tapering off as kids advance into the eighth grade.
William Pollack, a psychologist who examines bullying in his book
Real Boys' Voices, agrees that intimidation is too often
rewarded. "Aggression, homophobia and violent behavior are looked
up to in boys," he says. "Being artistic or musical is not." He
cautions, however, that not all child bullies are the cool
kids--some are among the most depressed students in a class and
may be reacting to being bullied themselves. Pollack is also
worried that the phenomenon is on the rise, partly because
families spend less time together, which leaves boys fewer
outlets for productive communication. "It's a national epidemic,"
he says. "Both the amount of teasing and the intensity of it have
increased over time, and the stakes are higher. We're talking
AK-47s now, not just a shove." While Espelage acknowledges that
it is difficult to know whether bullying is growing more common,
she says that recognition of its consequences is certainly on the
rise. Both agree that while bullying has been around since the
one-room schoolhouse, it should no longer be dismissed as a mere
adolescent rite of passage.
An estimated 160,000 children each day miss school for fear of
being picked on, according to the National Association of School
Psychologists. Typically, these students are different in dress
or appearance or seem unlikely to defend themselves. In addition
to academic failings, they suffer such physical ailments as
stomachaches and headaches as well as psychological troubles that
in extreme cases include suicidal tendencies.
Though bullies commonly have high self-esteem, they tend to be
victims of psychic damage as well. Most come from homes in which
discipline is administered inconsistently or through physical
means. They often fail to learn effective methods of problem
solving, and by some estimates 1 in 4 chronic bullies will have
a criminal record by age 30.
Awareness of the dangers is spurring school systems across the
U.S. to implement antibullying programs, which have proved
effective in other countries. In Massachusetts, the Executive
Office of Public Safety has set aside $1 million in federal money
to help schools identify potential bullies and aid their victims.
Beginning this fall, teachers statewide will use a curriculum
created at Wellesley College that tackles bullying as early as
kindergarten. Administrators at Liberty Middle School in Ashland,
Va., started a similar program last year. Each week teachers meet
with a group of 14 students and perform activities designed to
promote interpersonal skills. Administrators have also created
zero-tolerance disciplinary guidelines.
A major objective of these efforts is to encourage bystanders to
speak out. "If you target one kid, you're missing the point,"
says Espelage. "So much enabling is given by bystanders who
remain passive." Espelage also suggests eliciting the support of
peer-group leaders. "If they take a stand," she says, "the rest
will fall in behind. They have leadership skills that could be
rechanneled." Evidence of this comes from another study presented
at the A.P.A. conference last week, which found, perhaps not
surprisingly, that some of our best Presidents, including F.D.R.,
were not above "bullying and manipulating" if necessary.
--With reporting by Rebecca Winters
"The bullies are the kids that other students look up to, the
ones everybody wants to hang
out with. "
Michele Orecklin With reporting
by Rebecca Winters, Family: Beware of the In Crowd A new report suggests
that identifying the schoolyard bully may not always be so easy. , Time,
08-21-2000, pp 69.