Bullying happens. It happens to our kids, it happens to adults. It’s not okay. When the term “bullying,” however, is used to describe every situation in which someone says or does something that hurts another person’s feelings, it minimizes the seriousness of real bullying as well as the experiences for people who really are a victim of bullying. Overuse of this term is damaging and distracting the issue at hand as well as the legitimacy of true bullying. Our goal at SMS is to teach our students the difference between actions that are rude, mean, and bullying.