Mean Girls and Gossip

The February 2, article in Education Week by Sarah D. Sparks about relational bullying was very interesting.  It is one of those things that fell through the cracks for years and not until recently was someone able to label it.  I am glad they did.  The article states that the Columbine shooters were victims of this type of bullying.  It is by far the most prevalent type of bullying in my elementary school and the most popular form of bullying used by girls.  A Dutch professor studied American schools and found that "popular" kids were known to gossip and bully more.  The most popular were not the most liked he found.  This does not surprise me as snobby, aloof and gossipy are not real strong points when considering if one is likable.  The rumors started to hurt people can actually lead to physical hurting, not just emotional.  The article goes on to say there are ways to recognize this type of bullying but most of it is through victim reporting.  We need to find other ways of recognizing this as a great many victims will never report bullying.  We as teachers also need to understand that this is bullying.  Mean girls are no joke.