Simmons' account of the problems offers valuable insight for several reasons. Firstly, she does not simply describe what girls do but also goes beyond this to explain the reasons why this behavior occurs. This makes it clear that the behavior is not a result of girls being inherently cruel or spiteful, but is caused by a culture that develops because of the way they are raised. This means that the book gets to the heart of the problem. At the same time, Simmons does not only offer an academic look at the problem. Instead, she bases the book on the real experiences of

The second lesson learned is about the affect that the silent acts of aggression have on girls. Simmons describes acts like spreading rumors, passing notes, giving the silent treatment, glaring, and excluding others. While these silent acts of aggression do not all seem excessively harmful, Simmons makes it clear that they have a significant effect on girls. They link directly to the needs of girls to fit in and be accepted by others. As victims of these actions, girls feel rejected and isolated. While this does not do any physical harm, it does emotional harm and even psychological harm. This is especially true because the attacks on girls tend to be personal. Many of the acts of aggression described are done specifically to hurt another girl where she is most vulnerable. The end result is that the act is more likely to do emotional and psychological harm. Simmons interviews hundreds of girls for the book and there are many accounts that make it clear that the acts of aggression have a significant impact on girls. Many of the women describing their experience as girls still seem to be affected by what happened. This makes it clear that silent acts of aggression cannot afford to be ignored. For educators and school counselors, the lesson is not to ignore or underestimate the impact that the acts are having on girls. A counselor may be likely to think that a girl being teased by others or a girl having rumors spread about her is not a major problem. In some cases, counselors and educators may see the problem as trivial. This is especially likely since many of the problems described seem quite trivial when just the actions are described. However, educators and counselors need to be aware that the actions being taken are linked to the weak spots of girls. Girls have a need to be accepted and any act attacks this need. Other girls also often target specific sensitive issues that they know will upset the girl being targeted. This means that the effect of the attack is often much greater than one might expect. It is not enough for counselors and educators to deal with the issues by telling targeted girls that words and names cannot hurt them or that the other girls will grow out of it. Instead, counselors and educators need to take action as if the girl was being physically abused. They need to take the issue seriously, explore how the girl feels, and help the girl to cope and not develop any emotional or psychological problems. This need takes in

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Approximate Word count = 1673
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)