Dear Family Member,
During a recent Developmental Guidance lesson, your child listened to the story My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig. This story and our subsequent discussion are designed to shed light on a subtle, yet harmful variety of aggression. "Aggression" is defined as behavior that is intended to harm others. Physical aggression (getting into physical fights, dating violence, violent crimes) have garnered much attention from researchers, educators, and parents, who are understandably concerned about the potential damage from such acts.
Recent studies show that relational and other nonphysical forms of aggression are just as harmful to a student's ability to learn, grow and succeed. Relational aggression encompasses behaviors that harm others by damaging, threatening to damage or manipulating one's relationships with his/her peers, or by injuring one's feelings of social acceptance.
For example:
- Purposefully ignoring someone when angry (giving the "silent treatment")
- Spreading rumors about a disliked classmate
- Telling others not to play with a certain classmate as a means of retaliation
I urge you to continue this conversation at home, as we all strive to teach our children to be kind, respectful and compassionate people.
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