(I would love to own this car. What’s your car craving?)

On Wednesdays, the mean girls may wear pink. But U.S. schools mostly take bullying very seriously. When a former student used an internet photo to pressure another girl in school, she was put out of school for the rest of the school year. If she’d had any disciplinary track record, she would have been expelled.

Our efforts continue to be uneven. We still have a few old-school “boys will be boys” superintendents out there. Most of the time, though, if a student complains about being targeted by another student or group of students, schools respond today. They help.

They also take a proactive stance toward the problem. We discuss bullying. We offer protection to the bullied. We separate students and talk with them to resolve problems. Deans do informal counseling, while counselors sit down with students to teach conflict-management strategies. We work to make our hallways safe.

The fight’s not finished and never will be. I suspect mean is written on some kids’ DNA. Others get hit and decide to hit back, and since they feel they can’t go after (or to) parents or guardians, they search out vulnerable fellow students.

Let’s take a moment, though, to appreciate the fact that most schools have been stepping up to the bullying plate with vigor and purpose. We are aggressively pushing kindness and civility, and as I talk to various students, I realize that we are winning. Those odd kids out? Many of them are doing just fine, and when they have problems, other students step in to help them. Mimicry tends to get shut down fast, for example. With coaching, kids learn to be protectors and defenders.

As I write this, I remember an autistic boy who leapt onto stage while I was subbing in a middle-school drama classroom. He came up right next to me and demanded to know my age and the year and make of my car. I answered factually, then looked at the class. They were amused, but they helped the kid when he climbed back down into the class. They were kind. We went on as if car makes and models were a natural test for all new subs.

Eduhonesty: Today, I want to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness, found everywhere in schools when we watch for them.