Tackling the complex issue of school bullying
A NEW movie opening in Irish cinemas today will strike a chord with anyone who’s ever been bullied at school.
Wonder is based on RJ Palacio’s book about Auggie Pullman, a fifth-grader with a facial disfigurement who attends mainstream school for the first time. It captures typical facets of bullying — — the forms it takes: in Auggie’s case, name-calling (‘freak’) and taunting (notes left on lockers); the power of schoolmates to stop bullying; the unhelpful attitudes of certain parents; and the efforts schools can make to right things.
