Bullying In Mary Cooty's Reviving Ophelia

Margaret grew up in the Northwest, she had a younger brother named Neal, they both went to school, nearby where, and everyone knew each other. In some cases small schools where everyone knows each other is good other times it can be a curse like we hear from Margaret in Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher PH. D...
Small towns, lead to small schools and in most cases this means everyone knows each other’s business. In Margaret’s situation it meant becoming an outcast by the whole class. Margaret developed sooner than her classmates and puberty was difficult for her, more difficult than most teens. As she continued to develop she started to get noticed and not in a positive manner. Kids started picking on her, it erupted like wildfire and before you knew it the whole school was teasing her and taunting her by saying things like she had cooty’s or germs. This seems like a small, insignificant game until you realize that …show more content…
Margaret, might have been able to deal with the harassment better if she had other outside activities where she had other friends like community sports, youth center, or big brother big sister organizations that would have given her the tools she needed to support herself through her teen years. Society tends to see bullying in one of two ways, either people understand how impactful it can be or there are those who think bullying is a rite of passage or part of growing up. It is crucial for society to understand the ramification of bullying, so that as a community, parents, teachers, youth groups, etc. can all work together to make it clear to kids and parents alike that bullying is pushing children to suicide attempts and suicide. Change is hard but with guidance and understanding it can be done and it most cases it leads to great success in creating a safe and loving environment for our