On the topic of bullying, a very interesting book about girl bullying came out recently. My Women in Literatures class is reading it: _Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls_, Rachel Simmons (Harcourt 2002).
Although the cook does not really offer solid suggestions for eradicating bullying, it is very enlightening into a practice that is horrifically widespread in the United States. When I asked my students if they had experienced this, every hand went up. ALL of the students had very strong feelings and memories of their experiences. A few even admitted to having been bullies. A number said they transferred having been bullied to then bullying their younger siblings. I was especially surprised to hear one student say that the bullying she experienced in junior high and high school was not as bad as what she has experienced IN COLLEGE! One of her friends suggested that it was worse because she was in a sorority. But then, several of the girls confirmed that one floor in one dorm for our freshman last year was "the floor from hell." One student said she survived the abuse by virtually living at another friend's dorm room in another residence hall. I think this experience may be the exception rather than the rule, since all the other students in the class affirmed that bullying was far worse in high school and junior high. Anyway, _Odd Girl Out_ gives a very close view to the realities of what so many girls go through in our schools. I think every parent and teacher should read this book. Of course, per Jim's earlier post, there is so much in the Writings that can help keep the Baha'i children aloof from these sorts of activities, and perhaps even work to ameliorate them. Regards to everyone, Susan Dr. Susan B. Brill de Ramirez, Professor of English Bradley University, Peoria, IL 61625 [EMAIL PROTECTED]; (309) 677-3888; fax (309) 677-2330 ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
