The process has worked with Andrew. One day near the end of their year together, when Andrew saw one child picking on another, he went to Glass. Like the bully, he may be the victim of his parents bullying. Or he may have overprotective parents who keep him from learning how to stand up for himself. Lowered self-esteem and depression are common among victims of bullying, and many skip school.
Bullies gain power in part because victims don t know how to react.
Victims develop an incapacitating sense of fear, says William Porter. And fear is what teachers must address first. Encumbered with the fear is a sense of self-blame, the notion that If I do what the bully asks, he won t pick on me. It s not your responsibility to make this kid happy. Teachers can then enlist other students to help support a victim on the playground or when he s walking to and from school.