The Bullies By Dennis Lines
Book review by Shae Courtney
It is common of society to think that bullying occurs solely during a child’s school years and primarily amongst young people. In this book, aptly named The Bullies, Dennis Lines confronts bullying with a multi-pronged approach.
As with any successful piece of extended writing, Lines begins with various definitions of bullying, which serve as a good lead in to the issue at hand. Lines goes on to analyze why bullying occurs, in what environments it occurs and why it occurs with a close on how to tackle bullies and treat their victims. It is worth noting that bullying not only exists in school, as society’s perception may suggest, but has existed in primitive species since the dawn of animal existence (Chapter 2).
From spending the past 22 years as a councillor at a secondary school in Birmingham, Dennis Lines draws upon a wealth of experience
Of particular interest, Lines includes a psychoanalytical dimension to his reasoning. Psychological factors and the dominating factor, which is particularly well displayed in Chapter 7 (Domestic Violence), plays a major role in causing various groups in society to target others.
The book serves as both an informative and accurate read to the untrained brain, but one can only imagine that it also satisfies the complex needs of medical professionals and those who work in social care and other related fields. Lines’ choice of language is relaxed enough for most audiences to comprehend whilst still maintaining a mature tone that is neither overbearing nor pretentious.
From spending the past 22 years as a councillor at a secondary school in Birmingham, Dennis Lines draws upon a wealth of experience. In my opinion, it is Lines’ diverse experience in working with children that has allowed for him to make both poignant and very accurate observations of bullying at a school level and beyond.
Editor's Note: This review appeared in Children and Young People Now magazine 26th March - 1st April 2008
The Bullies Dennis Lines
ISBN: 9781843105787
£12.99/$24.95
224 Pages
From the Publisher
Dennis Lines holds a BPhil Ed (Counselling) and is MBACP affiliated. He has been a youth leader for 12 years, an RE teacher in secondary school for 11 years, and has for the past 22 years worked as a School Counsellor in a large secondary school in Birmingham. He has published widely and given lectures and conducted workshops on adolescent development and related topics nationally.
Description:
Is there a particular type of person who becomes a bully? Why do bullies behave like they do? How can we interpret and understand bullying within relationships? The Bullies attempts to get inside the minds of the bully and victim - the child, the adolescent and the adult - across a wide range of 'closed' situations including the home, school and workplace, prisons and the armed services. By listening to the voices of bullies and victims from all kinds of backgrounds without making judgements, counsellor Dennis Lines provides unique insights into bullying and what makes such domineering and aggressive behaviour so complex. He discusses controversial issues such as genetic predisposition towards abusive behaviour and draws on his counselling knowledge to provide insights on how to understand and treat bullies to change their behaviour. The Bullies offers a unique and illustrated perspective on a widespread phenomenon, and will be essential reading for psychologists, sociologists, counsellors, teachers, social workers, probation officers, students and researchers.
Content:
Acknowledgements. 1. What is Bullying? 2. Bullying in Nature 3. The Nature-Nurture Influence on Behaviour. 4. Who Bullies? 5. Interpreting Bullying Behaviour. 6. Bullying In School. 7. Domestic Violence and Bullying Partners. 8. Bullying of Children and Young People. 9. Bullying in the Workplace. 10. A Better Way Forward. References. Index
