They Don't Like Me

Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroom

Author Jane Katch
Paperback
$14.00 US
5.5"W x 8.5"H x 0.33"D  
On sale Aug 31, 2004 | 144 Pages | 9780807023211

In her new book, Jane Katch explores the painful problems of bullying, teasing, and exclusion. Why, she wonders, does a young child, just becoming aware of the existence of the group, feel such a strong need to keep another child out? And is it possible to teach children to create social groups that aren't defined by excluding others?

With her acute eye and deft pen, Katch watches her class of four- and five-year-olds begin to form exclusionary groups and tells us what happens as she tries to intervene. Talking with her brother, who teased her as a child; with high school kids; and, as always, with her class, Katch comes to new understandings of why some kids bully and scapegoat, how other kids get through the experience, and how she as a teacher might intervene. They Don't Like Me is at once a fascinating, absorbing look into the social lives of children and a book for teachers and parents who are trying to understand how to prevent exclusion and how to support children who are being teased and bullied.
Jane Katch is the author of Under Deadman's Skin: Discovering the Meaning of Children's Violent Play and and They Don't Like Me: Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroom. She is a regular contributor to Educational Leadership magazine. A veteran teacher, she counseled emotionally disturbed children with Bruno Bettelheim at the Orthogenic School and taught kindergarten with Vivian Paley at the University of Chicago Lab School. She now teaches young children at the Touchstone Community School in Grafton, Massachusetts, and lives in Connecticut with her family. Find her online at www.janekatch.com. View titles by Jane Katch
If you want to understand the power dynamics of kids, if you want to know what teasing and bullying looks like in early elementary school, then you must read They Don't Like Me. --Michael Thompson, coauthor of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

"Jane Katch offers us a rare gift, the insider's view of her remarkable classroom as she and her children struggle to understand what is fair and just in the explosive arena of those who intimidate and those who feel intimidated. . . In her vivid and honest narrative of classroom life among the young, we are given a reliable map of the moral dimensions of the teacher's art."--Vivian Gussin Paley, author of The Kindness of Children and You Can't Say You Can't Play

About

In her new book, Jane Katch explores the painful problems of bullying, teasing, and exclusion. Why, she wonders, does a young child, just becoming aware of the existence of the group, feel such a strong need to keep another child out? And is it possible to teach children to create social groups that aren't defined by excluding others?

With her acute eye and deft pen, Katch watches her class of four- and five-year-olds begin to form exclusionary groups and tells us what happens as she tries to intervene. Talking with her brother, who teased her as a child; with high school kids; and, as always, with her class, Katch comes to new understandings of why some kids bully and scapegoat, how other kids get through the experience, and how she as a teacher might intervene. They Don't Like Me is at once a fascinating, absorbing look into the social lives of children and a book for teachers and parents who are trying to understand how to prevent exclusion and how to support children who are being teased and bullied.

Author

Jane Katch is the author of Under Deadman's Skin: Discovering the Meaning of Children's Violent Play and and They Don't Like Me: Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroom. She is a regular contributor to Educational Leadership magazine. A veteran teacher, she counseled emotionally disturbed children with Bruno Bettelheim at the Orthogenic School and taught kindergarten with Vivian Paley at the University of Chicago Lab School. She now teaches young children at the Touchstone Community School in Grafton, Massachusetts, and lives in Connecticut with her family. Find her online at www.janekatch.com. View titles by Jane Katch

Praise

If you want to understand the power dynamics of kids, if you want to know what teasing and bullying looks like in early elementary school, then you must read They Don't Like Me. --Michael Thompson, coauthor of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

"Jane Katch offers us a rare gift, the insider's view of her remarkable classroom as she and her children struggle to understand what is fair and just in the explosive arena of those who intimidate and those who feel intimidated. . . In her vivid and honest narrative of classroom life among the young, we are given a reliable map of the moral dimensions of the teacher's art."--Vivian Gussin Paley, author of The Kindness of Children and You Can't Say You Can't Play

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan and highlights the accomplishments of those in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) community, while recognizing the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live as their most authentic selves. Browse our

Read more

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

Read more

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more