A call to reclaim America's schools from the vicious cycle of aggression that threatens our children and our society at large.

Choice's Outstanding Academic Title list for 2013
Through interviews and case studies, Klein develops an explanation for bully behavior in America's schools
In today’s schools, kids bullying kids is not an occasional occurrence but rather an everyday reality where children learn early that being sensitive, respectful, and kind earns them no respect. Jessie Klein makes the provocative argument that the rise of school shootings across America, and childhood aggression more broadly, are the consequences of a society that actually promotes aggressive and competitive behavior. The Bully Society is a call to reclaim America’s schools from the vicious cycle of aggression that threatens our children and our society at large.
Heartbreaking interviews illuminate how both boys and girls obtain status by acting “masculine”—displaying aggression at one another’s expense as both students and adults police one another to uphold gender stereotypes. Klein shows that the aggressive ritual of gender policing in American culture creates emotional damage that perpetuates violence through revenge, and that this cycle is the main cause of not only the many school shootings that have shocked America, but also related problems in schools, manifesting in high rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-cutting, truancy, and substance abuse. After two decades working in schools as a school social worker and professor, Klein proposes ways to transcend these destructive trends—transforming school bully societies into compassionate communities.

"The author writes with clarity and compassion... she offers an opportunity for us to examine, discuss and consider the world we have created for our children." - Kirkus Reviews

"[C]arefully researched, well written, and compelling read...It offers important evidence that can offer deeper understandings of the issues influencing youth violence in American culture and valuable recommendations for future research and action to reduce these harmful factors in our schools and communities" - Men and Masculinities

"The Bully Society is a remarkably accessible book and can be read both by students, teachers, and parents. It is an important tool to use when combating bullying in high schools." - Metapsychology

"Readers wanting an in-depth explanation of whats behind school bullying will get that and much more in The Bully Society. Professor Klein has rendered an exceedingly thorough analysis of the bullying and hate crimes and shootings that have shocked America in the last decade or so. In addition, Dr. Klein makes a compelling argument that the causes of bullying are rooted in the American culture itselfan obsession with masculinity and hyper-individualism that promotes competition over collaboration and denies young people the kinds of authentic bonding experiences that encourage the development of healthy self-esteem." - New York Journal of Books

"In this thorough examination of the connection between bullying and three decades of school shootings in America, Adelphi University professor Klein presents a compelling case that the strict gender rules by which American children and teenagers are unfairly forced to live are the driving factors in school violence." - Publishers Weekly

"Written for a diverse audience, this is an important read for higher education as a teaching tool, for training educators in today's schools, and for helping to appropriately respond to the phenomenon of bullying in today's schools. Destined to emerge as an important text." - CHOICE

"A scholarly, insightful commentary on aggression and violence within peer groups....this title is highly recommended for professional shelves and teacher training courses." - VOYA

"Klein, a former school counselor who now teaches sociology and criminal justice, forms a coherent, heartbreaking narrative of how bullying works." - The Boston Globe