Converting bullies with books
A solution to childhood teasing and taunting may be as near as the bookshelf.
Shuffling through the lunch line in the school cafeteria, a 13-year-old boy in Ferrum, Va., turned to find a place where he could sit by himself. Then another kid slugged him in the stomach. The boy fell to the ground, but no one offered to help. Instead, the other students, watching, just laughed.
Cruel? Yes. Uncommon? Unfortunately, no. This middle schooler is one of about 3.2 million sixth- through 10th-graders reported to be victims of bullying each year.
As parents and educators try to deal with what seems like an epidemic of abusive behavior among schoolchildren, they often find themselves searching for effective tools. One of the simplest - and most overlooked - may already be sitting on the shelves of the nation's libraries.
Bibliotherapy may sound like psychobabble to some, but good literature presents a unique opportunity for children to experience the world from someone else's point of view, to explore another's emotions and actions, as well as to better understand their own.
"Books provide perspective and build empathy," says Nancy Mullin-Rindler, director of the Project on Teasing and Bullying at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass.
More than that, they handle a complex subject in ways that children (and adults) can easily understand and relate to.
Take, for example, "The Recess Queen," by schoolteacher-turned-author Alexis O'Neill. It is the story of Mean Jean, a fictional schoolyard bully extraordinaire. Nobody kicks a ball until Mean Jean kicks. Nobody swings a bat until Mean Jean swings. At least not until new kid Katie Sue comes along, and with a plucky invitation to skip rope, transforms this recess dictator into a kinder, gentler playmate.
One 6-year-old reader shared with Ms. O'Neill her own real-life experience with a recess queen. This little girl had followed Katie Sue's lead and invited the bully to play. And she was happy to report that her peacemaking efforts had been a success.
Unfortunately, there aren't many pigtailed Katie Sues who can stand toe-to-toe with a kid who has "hammered ... [and] slammered ... kitz and kajammered" everyone in sight and then, with nothing but a jump rope, lead her so effortlessly to such an epiphanic moment. In real life, experts tell us, happy endings are rarely so quick and easy.
That's why Professor Mullin-Rindler prefers the classics, such as Dr. Seuss's "The Sneetches and Other Stories," which never claim to be the final word on a subject. Instead, they provide an opportunity to discuss issues such as peer pressure and group manipulation.
This Seussian tale is routinely read to children as they conclude their visit to the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance, where many children learn for the first time about the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Other stories of exclusion and intimidation have been documented in literature for centuries. Though the setting and characters have varied, the human drama has remained relatively unchanged.
In fact, until recently many adults - and authors - have treated abuse among children as typical kids' play, minimizing children's concerns or even turning a deaf ear, unsure of how to handle the situation, according to Walter B. Roberts Jr., of Minnesota State University, Mankato.
