<p>One more post for this . . . I can see that my last was really amplifying on 7Dad’s at #8, regarding “culture” as opposed to response, so credit due. </p>
<p>“Meanness” has degrees and kinds – and it is (sometimes far) more prevalent in both degree and kind at some schools rather than others because 1. kids are not going to try, and will revert to the “average” of meanness, unless 2. the school makes a concerted effort to raise expectations. Especially, look at the frequency and content of all-school assemblies and meetings, or chapels; look at small-group encounters or classes that are planned and sometimes described in curriculum guides. (Am sure that posters on walls extolling virtues are insufficient in high school, even if more effective in middle.) Kids respond to expectations and embrace the “culture” that they walk into. They respond to accountability for their actions. Larger schools (certainly more than 600 or so) need to work at it even more than smaller ones because their sheer size presents more likelihood and opportunity, imho.</p>