Summer Camp Bullies Case Study

Sam has seen Pete and his friends picking on a new kid at camp, Tommy. A couple of times, it was so bad that Tommy ran off to hide in the woods and cry.

Sam doesn’t want to tell on Pete and the other boys, but he is worried that Tommy might get lost in the woods or hurt, and he just doesn’t think what the other boys are doing is very nice.

Instead of telling his counselor that Pete and the other boys are picking on Tommy, Sam decides to just mention that he thinks some of the kids are picking on Tommy.

That alerts his counselor that something is going on around Tommy, and he can watch a little more carefully.

The counselors have all been trained in ways to help kids who are being bullied. In this case, instead of trying to find out who is picking on Tommy, the counselor starts making a point of including Tommy in activities, and praising all the kids in the group that interact appropriately. By the end of the summer, Tommy is an accepted part of the group.