Elem/Middle schol bullying question

[woodsprite]

We have an 11yo son (5th grade) who is having problems being bullied at school. He was crying last night when I went in to say goodnight to him. He didn't want to talk about it, but I told him that I can't 'fix' anything if I don't know what needs fixing. He said that this one girl and one boy were coming up to him on the playground and during group work, calling him "b_tch", snitch, teacher's pet, asking questions about various genitalia, etc. They are unfortunately some of the same kids that are in his JA group for a field trip next week. They are supposed to allot each kid in their group an equal amount of money. They "told" him that he only gets $2, when everyone else was getting $9. I had his teacher check their workgroup paper - everyone is getting $8, which is what it's supposed to be.

I'm more concerned about the name calling than the JA thing. These kids are going to be going to the same middle school as he is next year where I expect there to be even a bigger bullying issue just because it's a new batch of 6th graders. I told him he has to be really strong and try hard not to shed a single tear that they can see. Come home and cry on mine, his big sister, or his dad's shoulders,, but don't let them see you cry and don't let them see that they're bothering you because that's exactly what they want. They want to get under your skin and they can only do that if you give them permission to. I told him to say "My parents taught me to show respect and to not speak that way." My daughter said that's just going to get him beaten up.

He still has an innocent view of the world and thinks that the one boy is trying to stop bullying, but it's kinda like smoking. Hard to stop once you get started. He is willing to overlook crap like this inorder to be friendly and play nice together.

Any advice? My daughter said he should dish it back, but IMO that's not going to accomplish anything. I have reported it to the teacher and principal, but I doubt they do anything about it, especially this late in the school year.