Jessica Bennett's article is called "Are We Teaching Our Kids to be Bullies?". It is about how kids can not take all the blame for bullying since they learn most of their actions from their parents. The article reflects on the idea that parents are not doing enough to stop bullying and some are taking the wrong steps in trying to prevent bullying.
There have been many recent cases of bullying and teen suicides such as the cases of Phoebe Prince, Tyler Clementi, and Sharon Velasquez. Bennett felt that all these recent cases of bullying called for an examination of the parent's role in these situations. Bennett chose to write this article to encourage readers to realize what is going on right now with teens and bullying and show how teens can not take all the blame for their actions.
Bennet's stance on the bullying situation is that she does not justify any of the teen's actions when it comes to verbally or physically bullying others. However, she does feel that these teens learn from their parents and that some parents are not setting a good example for their children. She also feels that some parents are not taking the right approach in attempting to stop the bullying. She explains that some parents are threatening the kids who bully their kids which is only encouraging violence.
Facts, reasons, and examples Bennett uses to persuade the reader:
- The story of Sharon Velasquez. Sharon was one of the bullies who caused Phoebe Prince to commit suicide. Sharon and her family are now receiving death threats and hateful notes from people all across the country, adults and children.
- The case of Michael Clementi. The two people who exposed Clementi's sexuality and caused him to commit suicide now have a facebook page that says they should be executed.
- Story of a man in Florida who climbed on his daughter's school bus and threatened to kill all the kids who were bullying his daughter.
- Story of a man in Wisconsin who head-butted the kids bullying his son and punched a gym teacher.
- Study of 14,000 college students who said this generation is 40% less empathetic than the coeds of three decades ago.
- Quotes from Sameer Hinduja, the co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center and Rachel Simmons, the author of Odd Girl Out.
One technique that Bennett uses effectively is her use of numerous examples with sources to back them up. Bennett gives her opinion of the parent's role in teen bullying but describes multiple stories that support her opinion. Also, with every story, Bennett uses a quote from a reliable source which makes her opinion even more valid. The stories and quotes are effective because they make the reader feel like the author knows what they are talking about and have credibility to speak about a certain topic. The stories also draw attention to the article and make it more interesting to read.
