Author will discuss bully side-effects

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT-MESA -- When Tiffany Johnson was in elementary school, her

friends played a joke on her, and didn’t talk to her for a few days.

Although it only turned out to be an April Fool’s joke, it made Tiffany

feel so bad that the high school senior still remembers the experience.

“I felt like I didn’t have a friend in the world,” Tiffany said.

Aggression and bullying may be expressed more subtly among girls than

boys, but it is a pervasive problem, nonetheless, say some district

principals.

“It’s such an ugly part of females, and, as an educator and a mother

of a daughter, I would give anything to know how to help eliminate it,’

said Daryle Palmer, principal of Kaiser Elementary School in Costa Mesa.

So Palmer is looking forward to a presentation on Tuesday by author

Rachel Simmons, who wrote the recently released book, “Odd Girl Out: The

Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls.” The book illuminates the problem

and offers advice for parents and teachers on how to deal with it.

Simmons will give two presentations in Newport Beach -- one for

educators and one for parents and daughters. Her visit is sponsored by

the Parent Teacher associations at Newport Harbor High, Ensign

Intermediate and Newport Heights and Kaiser elementary schools.

The catalyst for inviting Simmons to speak was Lisa George,

vice-president of programs at Newport Harbor High School. George saw the

issue being discussed on television and thought Simmons could provide

some valuable advice to parents at the school.

“We realize that girls are dealing with things that we may not be so

sure how to be comforting and encouraging,” George said. “We can raise

all the money in the world as parents, but it doesn’t really have as

great an effect in the classroom if the kids aren’t socially

comfortable.”

Simmons, a Rhodes scholar, began her research on female bullying and

the psychology of girls at Oxford University and continued by

interviewing 300 girls in the nation about their experiences with

bullying and aggression.

In her book, she acknowledges that parents who try to deal with

bullying can be as emotionally affected as their daughters.

“As their daughters fear going public and facing retaliation, parents

are afraid of being designated ‘hysterical’ or ‘over invested’ by the

school,” Chapter 8 states.

Siobhan Robinson, PTA President at Ensign, said she hoped Simmons’

presentation would provide insight to help her deal with her daughter’s

experience with bullying.

“I noticed that there have been many times that my daughter has

experienced some of the brutalities that girls dish out to each other,”

Robinson said. “They are more emotional [than boys] and come home and

vocalize it.”

FYI:

The presentation for parents and daughters is from 7 to 9 p.m. in

Dierenfield Hall at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 600 St. Andrews

Road, Newport Beach.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .