My heart ached when I read the comments to Lisa P.’s Jan. 24 post, “Words Do Hurt.” It reminded me of a time in grade school when the girls in my class decided to ban together and stop talking to me. I still remember how I tried to spend the entire recess period in the bathroom just so I wouldn’t have to be out on the playground by myself.

The comments prompted me to seek guidance from experts at Spokane Public Schools — Jacquie Johansson, a counselor for 16 years who also teaches a class on “Girl Culture,” and Valerie Kjack, a counselor for 25 years and the school district’s “Love and Logic” guru. Both women provided me with some information on what the schools are trying to do to address the problem. They also gave me some insight on what I can do as a parent.

I wrote a piece about bullying and girl-on-girl cruelty based on the “Words Do Hurt” thread, some research from various studies and my conversations with Jacquie and Val. Of course it’s not the definitive story on this problem affecting our daughters, but I thought it might prompt some thought and conversations among readers of the newspaper.

Thank you for sharing your stories and insights.

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