A LITTLE bit of playground bullying may not be such a bad thing after all, a play expert has suggested.
According to Tim Gill, zero-tolerance policies on bullying deprive children of the opportunity to sort out conflict for themselves, Children Now (June 22) writes.
Systematic and sustained bullying, he adds, needs to be distinguished from “children simply being rude and horrible to each other”, a common feature of schoolyard life.
Indeed, it seems that bullies aren’t always aware that they have done anything wrong: “They think they are just having a laugh,” says Young People Now (June 22).
Children who are being bullied still need to be supported, though, and bullies are finding new ways of being mean to their classmates.
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Not satisfied with mere name-calling and jostling, bullies are making use of text messages, e-mail and even websites to torment victims.
Fighting fire with fire, many schools are now setting up text-alert systems where pupils can anonymously text to report incidents of bullying, a method that pupils seem to be engaging with.
But an opinion piece in Young People Now argues that bullying is a problem for the whole community, not just schools. While the victims of bullying make headlines, youth work also has a duty to help the perpetrators.
“Labelling one young person as victim and the other as bully makes a good newspaper story, but youth workers — and young people — will find it more helpful to take a wider view,” the column concludes.