Like, For Real!Like, For Real!We’re talking We’re talking

aboutabout

MEAN MEAN GIRLS!GIRLS!

Did you know… …that HIB is a determining factor of a school’s environment (the “cohesiveness” of faculty & students)? [NJ Office of the Child Advocate, 3, 2009]

…that the NJDOE reissued in July 2010 an Unsafe School Choice Option policy? [www.state.nj.us/education/grants/nclb/policy/unsafe.pdf]

… that according to a 2001 report by the US DOE, 71% of youth “felt bullied or persecuted” in schools. [Cited in NJ Commission on Bullying Report, 1, 2009]

Before we begin…Before we begin…How would you define / characterize a “Mean Girl?”

Would you consider any of your students to be “Mean Girls?”

So…What exactly IS a So…What exactly IS a “Mean Girl?”“Mean Girl?”

OMG! It’s time for a OMG! It’s time for a video clip! video clip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK5R6JrJP8c

Mean Girls engage Mean Girls engage in… in…

(dun, dun, dun)(dun, dun, dun)

RELATIONAL AGGRESSION:

When an individual (or group of people)use their social skills to hurt others.

Social skills…for example: gossip/rumors, put-downs, secrets, bullying, excluding / silent treatment, etc.

www.relationalaggression.com

RELATIONAL AGGRESSION:

Crick et al., (2001) provide a similar definition of “Relational Aggression”:

“…a manipulation of social relationships…can include gossip and rumors…”

(Crick et al., 2001, as cited in Hoover et al., 2008)

A “clique” A “clique” is…is…

Let’s look at a tricky Let’s look at a tricky “clique-y” situation…“clique-y” situation…

“Pizza Party”

Four 8th grade girls chat informally in their homeroom before the school day starts. Sally invites two of the three girls standing with her to her birthday party, to be held at Pat’s Pizza. She doesn’t invite Jane, even though Jane is standing with the group.

(From The Bullying Prevention Handbook, 2nd Ed. By Hoover & Oliver)

Don’t let your students get eaten by the sharks!

Oops…I mean, how to survive cliques

Tell them to be their own person!

…Make sure you tell them to be the best that they can be!

More tips for clique More tips for clique survival…survival…

Encourage them to get involved! Join clubs or sports that make them feel good about themselves.

Tell them to have a voice! If they feel their friends are being clique-y…let them know it’s OK to say something!

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

……One last thought!One last thought!“Self-esteem comes from being

able to define the world in your own terms and refusing to abide by the judgment of

others.”

- Oprah

ResourcesAmerican School Counselors Association. (2004). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs. Retrieved from: http://webct.rowan.edu.

Behm-Morawitz, E. & Mastro, D. E. (2008). Mean girls? The influence of gender portrayals in teen movies on emerging adults’ gender-based attitudes and beliefs. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 85(1).

Gateway Regional High School. (2010). Harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy. Retrieved from: http://www.gatewayhs.com

Hoover, J. H., & Oliver, R. L. (2008). The bullying prevention handbook: A guide for principals, teachers, and counselors. 2nd Ed. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

New Jersey Department of Education. (2010). Unsafe school choice option policy. Retrieved from: www.state.nj.us/education/grants/nclb/policy/unsafe.pdf

New Jersey Office of the Child Advocate. (2009). There isn’t a moment to lose: An urgent call for legal reform and effective practices to combat bullying in New Jersey schools. Retrieved from: http://www.state.nj.us/childadvocate/publications/PDFs/ Bullying Report December 2009 - Final.pdf

Resources, continued…New, M., & Lyness, D. (2007). Coping with cliques.

Retrieved from:http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/problems/cliques.html#

O’Donnell, J. (2010). Definition of mean girls. Retrieved from:

http://tweenparenting.about.com/od/tweenculture/g/MeanGirls.htm

Relational Aggression. (2010). Frequently asked questions about relational aggression. Retrieved from: http://www.relationalaggression.com/

School Counseling Guide (2010). Three guidance lessons on cliques and friendships for 9th graders. Retrieved from: http://www.schoolcounselingguide.org