Part 2 of the 10 part series: Leader-friendly gardening practices to end bullying.

Adults create the fertile ground or “rocky soil” in which our children grow and learn.
 
In Part 1, I discussed the need for social change to help end bullying and it begins with adults.
 
That is right! I believe the bullying we are seeing today among our youth is a failure of adults to advocate for and/or model the appropriate behavior throughout society - starting at the top of the political hierarchy.

The Congressional stalemate is the most prolific type of bullying I see. The political vitriol is costing millions of dollars and jobs - not to mention undue stress and heartache for everyone.

This anger filters down to our children in the classroom and home. Instead of calling such behaviors bullying, it’s called politics, and in the name of free speech even well meaning social activists resort to some bullying type of behavior.

The simplest definition of bullying is “to make one’s way aggressively by hurting or intimidating another.” Now add these components, according to an Education.com article Bullying: An age-old Problem That Needs New Solutions:

• Bullying is an intentional act
• Bullying is characterized by repeated occurrences
• Bullying is characterized by a power differential

Both the basic definition and three components align to paint a clear picture of the issue that was found in the recent study of school bullying and aggression commissioned by CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. The study took place, in spring 2011, at the high achieving Wheatley School in the affluent suburb of Long Island, New York.

I have always felt that if you want to get a real grip on a social issue, just look to youth to help you figure it out. Children’s behavior mirrors that of the society in which they grow and learn, and kudos CNN for turning to the kids to help adults learn and shine a spot light on this problem.

What is the root of the bullying the problem?

According to the University of California sociologists, Robert Faris and Diane Felmlee who conducted the CNN study, "Kids are caught up in patterns of cruelty and aggression that have to do with jockeying for status. . . . It's really not the kids that are psychologically troubled, who are on the margins or the fringes of the school's social life. It's the kids right in the middle, at the heart of things ... often, typically highly, well-liked popular kids who are engaging in these behaviors."

Hmmm . . . Climbing the social ladder and jockeying for status.
 
This reminds me of the familiar view of leadership that permeates society and our political system.
 
Kids are in the middle and at the heart of the matter.
 
Are we paying attention to what they need and doing right by them?
 
Let's look. The bullying behaviors from the study were placed into four categories:

• verbal harassment
• rumors and ostracism
• cyber bullying
• physical violence

The similarity in results between the Wheatley students and those in the researchers original study conducted in North Carolina fascinated me. The North Carolina students were less affluent than the national average and lived in small towns and rural areas. Yet, the problems were much the same. The results were also similar to those I found in other literature.

Bullying is about power.
 
It is a complex issue that transcends all demographic and psychographic boundaries. Most importantly, it is a social and group phenomenon more than an individual conflict between two people. 
 
Therefore, I was not surprised by the results and was thrilled with a conclusion alluded to by the study.

The hope to end bullying rests in the hands of the students to intervene. 

Students are the leaders and have the power the end bullying. Children need to be empowered to lead by the adults around, so they can intervene in a safe and fruitful way.

We certainly need new solutions. 

In the next post on how adults can empower children's leadership, I’ll begin to address one of those solutions.
 
In the meantime, let me know. Will you step up or stand by idly? Don't be afraid to disagree, I am game for a lively but civilized debate.