Bullying Good For Kids?

Today we talked about a study done at UCLA re: bullying.  The woman who headed the study claimed that being bullied could actually be good for kids. She said that teachers should kind of back off and let the kids take care of themselves . Her assertion was that kids who stand up to bullies become popular and feel better about themselves etc.  That may sound like a fine idea but I question if this woman lives in the real world. What about the kids who don't stand up for themselves and live in fear every day? The ones who cry in their rooms on Sunday night because Monday means being terrorized by a bigger, stronger child for amusement.

What about the ones who commit suicide because of cyber bullying?

We took calls every hour on this topic and parents of bullied children were angry and firm in their disagreement with the woman who led the study. Bullied kids dreaded going to school and parents told stories about how their sons wanted to know if they could attend private schools to escape.

Basically, I think this woman's assertion is ridiculous. Yet another case of academia not living in the same world we do.