In London, they're getting quite specific when combating bullying:
Teachers are warned today that words such as "slag" and "slut" lead to boys feeling superior to girls and make domestic violence seem more acceptable. The call comes as the Government and the National Union of Teachers launched a joint campaign to reduce assaults in the home. School staff will be encouraged to spot signs that pupils may be living with a violent parent and report their concerns. And they will also be urged to intervene if they hear sexist language used by pupils. The NUT lists unacceptable insults including "lezzie", "pro" and "your mum's a whore".Boys should be challenged if they are heard directing such terms at girls. It is considered equally unacceptable for girls to aim such insults at one another. Teachers' leaders said such language is common in secondary schools and even among older children at primaries.
And what about girls calling boys names, or boys calling boys names? Is that now okay? Is that not considered bullying?
A leaflet circulated to schools says: "Sexist language and playground banter that seeks to legitimise violence against women should be challenged." An NUT spokeswoman said: "Words like these promote the attitude that females are lesser beings, and as lesser beings they can become the target of violence. It doesn't have to be physical violence to be mentally destroying. We need to nip that attitude in the bud and get kids to treat each other with respect."
I'll pass up the obvious joke about the teacher's union acronym, lest I be accused of encouraging violence against women. And the last sentence quoted here is correct; I just disagree with the specifics of going about it. I've written before about why I don't think that anti-bullying rules that single out certain groups, or require students to accept other students, are useful.
In this case, if teachers are worried about name-calling, a ban on that across the board is the only fair thing to do. All this discussion about domestic violence is interesting but may not be related to what's actually going on with bullying in schools; to say that teachers should be more concerned with "sexist" bullying terms is splitting hairs in a way that may not get to the root of the problem.
The Ankle-Biting Pundits have a more humorous take on the topic:
Now we sure don't promote kids using such language, but come on. Banning kids from insulting each other with sexist insults? They might as well try to stop the sun from rising in the east.Posted by kswygert at March 9, 2005 12:55 PMBut the article gave us an idea. We'd like to hear from you on some of the funniest and best stories from your childhood playground, preferably those that invovled bullying or insults. Please use the Comments section to add your story. Yes, it's juvenile and idiotic - but no more so than the rules they're trying to set up over there. Oh, and can one of our Brit readers tell us what a "pro" is? I'm guessing it means a prostitute?