Comment by xpe | Hacker News Reader

Comment by xpe | Hacker News Reader

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I have no particular expertise on bullying but I am confident there are levers (I.e. policies, interventions, support mechanisms) to reduce many kinds of bullying, much of the time. Different types would need to be dealt with in different ways: physical, emotional, and online.

Of course, it is complicated. Bullying arguably is a manifestation of deeper, psychological and social issues. Some forms of bullying are very difficult to find, much less prevent.

Unfortunately, many of these kid / young adult practices persist well into adulthood.

Personally, I sometimes find it quite difficult to draw lines between a lot of negative behavior. As kids are figuring out their emotions, they act on them in many unconstructive ways. It seems to me the core elements of the worst bullying tend to have to do with (1) it being persistent; (2) targeted on those with less status or power; (3) the victim feels isolated.

Again, this isn’t researched, but I did put some thought into it.

Can you name some of those levers? Because I tend to think that bullying is as old as our species is

Bullies need a certain amount of cover and crowds are fairly ideal for it.

I'd pull the lever that unwound our budget-friendly, densely populated, age-segmented schools in favor of much, much smaller community (eg:walkable) schools where courses were based on students' academic ability (instead of age) and where student-student support was a focus.

Your solution is to burn down the entire public school system and re-build it from scratch - that's a non-starter.

I also don't even think it would work in principle. You're talking about combining the older age groups with the younger, that's a recipe for bullying.

Too many assumptions above, but too few questions.

- “Unwind” is very different than “burn down”. Metaphors matter.

- Why assume that diverse mixes of ages are worse for bullying?

> What do studies show about bullying? In particular, I’m curious about bullying in the context of age segregated schools as compared to age-grouped schools.

Here is one output from ChatGPT 4 to consider:

> Bullying is a complex issue that affects individuals across various age groups and contexts, including schools. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to address bullying, research provides some insights into the dynamics of bullying in different educational settings.

> In age-segregated schools, where students are grouped according to their age or grade, studies have shown that bullying is quite prevalent. Factors such as peer pressure, social hierarchies, and competition can contribute to the development of bullying behavior. Older or more dominant students may bully younger or less dominant students as a means of establishing social dominance.

> Age-grouped schools, also known as multi-age or mixed-age classrooms, involve grouping students of different ages together for learning. In this context, research has suggested that bullying may be less common, as the social dynamics are different from those in age-segregated settings. In age-grouped schools, students have more opportunities to interact with a diverse range of peers, fostering a sense of community and reducing the likelihood of bullying.

> However, it's important to note that no school setting is immune to bullying, and the effectiveness of any approach depends on multiple factors, such as the school's culture, values, and the implementation of anti-bullying policies and programs. Efforts to prevent and address bullying should be comprehensive and involve the entire school community, including students, teachers, and parents

As a former teacher, I would love to see our school system move in your direction, but smaller is always more expensive. It would take more than a reconsideration of size, pedagogy, and age-segregation.

There are lots of studies available via e.g. Google Scholar if you search for “anti bullying policies”. I’m reading some now. Reading and summarizing even a handful is a substantial effort. I would not put much stock in a ChatGPT summary because a metaanalysis is a rigorous process, partly algorithmic, partly “hacking” in a sense … you really have to dig into the details to size up the various methodologies.

It would be far more surprising to me to find a social phenomena that was independent of all possible interventions. It often comes down to questions of cost vs benefit, efficacy, how targeted an intervention can be, and political will.

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