Title: The Bully Problem | Greater Good
Headings: 
Education Articles & More
The Bully Problem
The results are in: Violence, insults, and intimidation among kids do more psychological harm than anyone anticipated. But can schools do anything about it?
Recognizing the problem
Mixed results
Whole school approach
About the Author
Amy Wilson
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Content: Almost 30 percent of students in the United States report moderate or frequent involvement in bullying, according to a 2001 study by Tonja Nansel, an investigator with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which surveyed nearly 16,000 students in grades 6-10. A more recent poll by Harris Interactive found that roughly two thirds of teenagers say they have been verbally or physically harassed in the past year. Yet a different study found that teachers are aware of as little as four percent of the bullying that goes on in their schools. “It is especially difficult to recognize bullying among girls,” said Phil Mulligan, an assistant principal at Bryan Middle School in St. Charles, Missouri. The plight of bullied adolescent girls is so subtle that, according to one study, teachers are often unaware of it until the girls reach the stage of contemplating suicide. “We need to recognize that bullying is happening in every school,” Mulligan said. “ It’s like having a boil: either you can put make-up on it, or you can lance it.” When Mulligan decided to target bullying at his school, he began by implementing a weekly survey that asked students to report on bullying they witnessed or experienced. When the first surveys started coming back, the results were shocking.