The B-Word

by Laurie P. Mendoza, MA, CAGS

I’d like to recommend a book that has changed the way I look at the issue of bullying and aggression at my school.  Turn on the news, listen to discussions among parents and school staff, or think of how often kids say to you, “He’s bullying me!”  It seems that we’re in the middle of a bullying epidemic, doesn’t it?

It may seem that way, but we’re not.

Bully Nation by Susan Eva Porter

In her book Bully Nation, Susan Eva Porter totally dismantles the widely-accepted notion that kids are under siege from bullies 24/7.  While she provides a number of good reasons why we have that impression, one is so obvious that I can’t believe it never occurred to me: the definition of bullying has expanded hugely in the last ten years or so.

Bullying used to be defined as some form of coercion—forcing someone, usually smaller, to do something they didn’t want to do—often via physical force. It was pretty clear, and most people could agree if something constituted bullying or not.  But in the last decade behaviors that used to be considered just plain mean or even routine kid stuff are now being called bullying. Read More »