Bullying in MG?

Bullying is a very complex topic which is getting a lot of focus today. New research is coming out. One of the things being shown is that bullies were often victims previously. Be careful not to stereotype your perpetrators.

The movie Mean Girls was based on a great book, but I can't think of the title.

Bullies pick on easy targets. Bullying is becoming more subtle, even among boys, because the more outright behaviors are being noticed and punished. No one says "boys will be boys" these days.

I posted my school district's policy to a thread in the research section of AW. Might be helpful to you to look it up.

Schools are focusing on identifying true friends and teaching character education and social skills.

There was an article about High School in a recent New York Magazine. It contained some interesting incite and references to studies. I might be worth looking up.

Bullying starts as young as pre-school. I've seen girls systematically exclude another girl.

God, this whole thread is making me so glad I never have to go back to middle school. Those three years were far worse, in my opinion, than high school ever was in terms of awful, fabricated rumors flying around about people and destructive behavior. Everybody is just. so. uncomfortable in their own skin and half the kids have hit puberty and the other half haven't, mostly the boys, and uuuggghhh it's just a total shitshow.

I'm glad I never went to a middle school! Most school districts here just have K-7 in an elementary school and 8-12 in high school. I went to a K-7 school and then an 8-10 school and then did my 11-12 at an 8-12 school, which was horrible enough. I couldn't imagine putting 6-8s in a school alone, their idiotic behaviour unchecked by the older "enforcer" grades

Having taught adolescents for over 10 years I have seen my fair share of bullying. A few points that may help:
1) boys and girls tend to bully differently with boys being more physical and using more explicit verbal put downs. On the other hand girls are more subtle, they use exclusion, threat of exclusion (employing a host of non-verbal cues), they will denegrate their victim (laughing behind hands/speaking about their victim just loud enough so she can hear that she is the topic of conversation), they also like to use technology to get to their victim (spreading rumours via facebook or sending vicious texts).
2) Consequently, it is sometimes easier for teachers to deal with boys bullying as it is concrete. Sometimes the feminine styles of harassment go un-noticed.
3) School bullying is really not that different to office bullying, the bully employs many of the same tactics.
4) Bullies will often seek out a victim.....they are easy to spot, it is usually the kid who will "dance" or perform for them. Remember bullying is about control and a peverse form of entertainment for many.

I recommend you spend a bit of time reading the wealth of info out there on the topic. I would suggest you google names like Evylen Field, Michael Grose, Toni Noble....and don't limit yourself just to bullying but try also literature on resilience as this is a topic that overlaps. I wish you all the best.