re: I'm four times...
Haberman: what they do is the universal sign for "Stop" with their hand. and they do it closer to the face than to the body, as that way it stops the other kid mid-tease. It's the only thing that's taught resilience to my gaggle of 5yo drama queens, who otherwise cry and race for a teacher when other girls tell them they "can't come for a sleep-over" or "aren't my best friend anymore".
Sadly, "please go away" doesn't work in the "class full of bitchy 5 year olds" context, or any other. It just isn't assertive enough. Mind you we have another four stages of safe assertive behaviour that we work through, with adult supervision, if our "active ignoring" doesn't work, including the tried and true, "Stop it, I DON'T LIKE IT!" (Bitch!)

pogo_it: *grimace* Yeah, it's been a few years since teachers advocated that kind of tactic. Silly fuckers. I know at least one kid who ended up with a juvenile record and some astounding third-party medical bills because of teachers like that.

althegeordie: Yep, valley-girls in the making, but they were well on their way already, sadly... they just cried more. This way, I'm introducing them to the idea that peers who verbally bully lose their power if you don't let them distress you. Mind you I'm just waiting for the parents to start coming in enraged because their pigtailed darling used it on them at the dinner table...

CHCB: Yep, and the quickly-made-ex-manpal admitted he'd had a choice and made a particularly shit and hurtful one. Whereas the ex-best-friend believed she had noooo choice because it was true love on her side... oh dear such people are mingers.
(bezoar, Wed 25 Jun 2008, 9:08, Reply)