There is a devastating article in today's NYT about a young man (16 years old) who has been enduring years of bullying (including physical attacks) by other students at his school in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His parents have tried, and tried, to find some way to get help for him from school authorities, but without success. Here's part of the problem: What, really, can school officials do? When one kid is targeted (for reasons that, often, nobody can ever really figure out) as an outsider, there is strong social pressure for all other kids to join in the exclusion, if not the actual bullying. There is no way to effectively force young people (or adults, for that matter) to include a particular person within a social circle; and it is the act of exclusion that is so very painful and harmful in this situation, just as much as (or more than) the acts of physical violence. It wasn't long ago that a girl committed suicide in the St. Louis area after being targeted for internet-based bullying. In the case of the young man in Arkansas, it appears that some have suggested to the parents that they simply move into another area, another school district... and they have (I am sure for any number of reasons) decided not to do so... and I am sure that it is their perspective that they shouldn't have to move... But, I wonder what I would do, in their position. I wonder how that young man will manage to recover from his ordeal. Anyway, here are some online resources about this issue:
from the APA
from the American School Counselors' Association
and a website with a lot of links about this problem, here
On a lighter note: I just ran across a wonderful blog put out by a couple of psychologists in Chicago. They run a private practice that specializes in mindfulness-based interventions (in psychotherapy).
The Four Seasons Hotel and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon will not renew their
operating agreement. The restaurant will close June 30.
1 hour ago
0 comments:
Post a Comment