Bullying unmasked; Quabbin students use book to shed light on problem.

• Position: LOCAL NEWS

Byline: Lee V. Gaines

BARRE - After reading the young adult novel, "The Revealers," Quabbin Regional Middle School students and teachers gathered yesterday to listen to and discuss bullying with the author, Doug Wilhelm.

Though it's hard to believe anyone would dare tease the now 6-foot, 10-inch Mr. Wilhelm, he told students he was routinely bullied in middle school.

"I was a very awkward, ill-fitting, skinny, strange kid," said Mr. Wilhelm. Middle school "is a time of so much change and so much confusion, and a lot of kids are sort of ugly-duckling kids at this stage; they don't fit very well. And I was one of those kids."

Drawing from Mr. Wilhelm's own experiences, "The Revealers" tells the story of three bullied seventh-graders, who, in order to take a stand, create a forum through their middle school's computer network to publicize their bullying experiences. Soon, other students come forward with their own stories of harassment, and eventually bullying - once a taboo subject - comes to the attention of school officials and other students.

Written in 2003, the book has been used worldwide by schools to help address the problem of bullying.

"Bullying is something that is not usually talked about within a school," said Mr. Wilhelm. "It's a form of abuse, and all abusers try and keep it in the dark. When a school says we are going to talk about this, there's a lot of courage in that."

To fund reading of "The Revealers," the school received a grant from the Quabbin Education Foundation for Students and Teachers, a nonprofit that promotes innovative educational initiatives.

"We bought 50 copies of the book and distributed it to all teachers and paraprofessionals," said school guidance counselor Barbara Page. Before the books were given out, the English Department developed a set of discussion questions.

"We pulled stuff (out of the novel) that would steer discussion toward bullying issues," said Jason Sacramone, who teaches Grade 8 English.

Students and teachers met in small groups for a half-hour almost every day for two weeks to read the novel. They met yesterday with Mr. Wilhelm, who also spoke last night to parents.

"It made me recognize more what was happening in schools today and how severe and how often (bullying) occurred," said seventh-grader Katie Jefferson of Barre.

"I think some people bully because it happened to them or it makes them look cool in front of other people," said seventh-grader Amber Morin of Hardwick.

Amber said...