Slide 1
Write a response that evaluates Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathiss
arguments by examining the relevance and credibility of the
evidence each writer presents. In your response, be sure to cite
evidence from both sections of the article to support your
response. Use the space below to plan your response. Then write
your final response on the lined page provided.
Step 1- Read the article and outline the arguments Step 3- Find
the evidence and note a few examples in the chartStep 3- Examine
the each example of evidence (Is it credible? Is it relevant?)Step
4- Based on the evidence (credibility/relevance), decide if the
argument is weak or strong.Step 5- Write your essay. Begin with
stating if you think the argument is weak or strong. Support your
opinion with the evidence examples. MAKE SURE TO USE THE WORDS
CREDIBLE AND RELEVANT WHEN WRITING ABOUT THE EVIDENCE!!Ben Boychuk:
Government acts, language can't stop bullying
Sparing children from the casual cruelties of tormenting peers
is a quandary state lawmakers and especially the federal government
are badly equipped to address.
Not that they haven't tried, and won't try harder. Most states
require schools to adopt anti-bullying programs. Legislators in New
Jersey are debating an "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights" after a gay
Rutgers student committed suicide in September.
But that's not enough for some activists. A coalition of more
than 70 civil rights, religious, and civic groups wants sweeping
action from Congress and the Obama administration including
legislation that could make bullying a federal crime.
New laws, however well intended, are not the answer. Recall the
inept and overreaching government response to what the media
portrayed as an "epidemic" of school shootings in the 1990s.
Numerous states passed "zero tolerance" laws. Not to be outdone,
Congress in 1994 passed the Gun-Free Schools Act, which required
all states to impose sweeping zero-tolerance rules or risk losing
federal funds.
The results? Idiocy and injustice. To pick just a few examples:
A first-grader sent to reform school for bringing a cub scout
camping tool to school; a middle-school girl suspended for packing
a butter knife in her lunch; an honors student nearly expelled for
keeping a keychain knife in his car.
Yet zero-tolerance and "gun-free" school rules could not save a
single life at Columbine High School or Virginia Tech.
Despite these bitter experiences, lawmakers and elected leaders
including Obama have embraced the language of zero tolerance to
combat bullying. Does anyone seriously believe a "Bully-Free
Schools Act" would be any more successful than the Gun-Free Schools
Act?
For good and for ill, bullying is a problem only families,
churches, schools and communities can hope to resolve.
Boychuk: Laws will NOT stop bullying.ARE THESE CREDIBLE AND
RELEVENT TO THE TOPIC OF STOPPING BULLYING IN SCHOOLS?
Evidence (facts, examples, expert opinion):
Recall the inept and overreaching government response to what
the media portrayed as an "epidemic" of school shootings in the
1990s. Numerous states passed "zero tolerance" laws.
The results? Idiocy and injustice. To pick just a few examples:
A first-grader sent to reform school for bringing a cub scout
camping tool to school; a middle-school girl suspended for packing
a butter knife in her lunch; an honors student nearly expelled for
keeping a keychain knife in his car.
Yet zero-tolerance and "gun-free" school rules could not save a
single life at Columbine High School or Virginia Tech.
Does anyone seriously believe a "Bully-Free Schools Act" would
be any more successful than the Gun-Free Schools Act?
Joel Mathis:Bullying is for homes, schools, communities to
address
Let me tell you about the most important teacher I ever had:
Terry Hill. Hill was a social studies and P.E. teacher at the
middle school in the mid-Kansas town where my family moved in the
1980s. Adolescence is never easy, and transitioning to a new school
complicates the level of difficulty: I didn't immediately fit in
and found myself on the wrong end of confrontations with my fellow
students. I was miserable. And then Mr. Hill stepped in.
I'm told he had a few words with my classmates; I wasn't there
for that. What I do remember is that he called me out of class one
day and sat with me in a school stairwell, asking me questions and
listening to my pained answers for the better part of an hour.
And for the next few years, he gave me encouragement, even
handing me books he thought would entertain and enrich me. Middle
school didn't become perfect, but it did become bearable.
Can the feds end bullying in our schools? No. They probably
can't even make a dent in it. The attitudes and actions of
bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., will have precious little
influence during the precarious school hallway moments that can
shape a young person's life. Ben is right: the problem is in our
homes and schools and communities, and that's where it must be
addressed.
That means cracking down on bullies, yes, but it also means
shining a light on adults who enable bullying behavior like the
Arkansas school official under fire for a homophobic Facebook
post.
And it means following the examples of teachers like Terry Hill
who listen to, encourage and empower students in need of a
lifeline. Thanks, Mr. Hill, wherever you are.
Mathis: Schools and communities can end bullying.ARE THESE
CREDIBLE AND RELEVENT TO THE TOPIC OF STOPPING BULLYING IN
SCHOOLS?
Evidence (facts, examples, expert opinion): Adolescence is never
easy, and transitioning to a new school complicates the level of
difficulty: I didn't immediately fit in and found myself on the
wrong end of confrontations with my fellow students. I was
miserable. And then Mr. Hill stepped in.
I'm told he had a few words with my classmates; I wasn't there
for that. What I do remember is that he called me out of class one
day and sat with me in a school stairwell, asking me questions and
listening to my pained answers for the better part of an hour.
Middle school didn't become perfect, but it did become
bearable.
That means cracking down on bullies, yes, but it also means
shining a light on adults who enable bullying behavior like the
Arkansas school official under fire for a homophobic Facebook
post.
And it means following the examples of teachers like Terry Hill
who listen to, encourage and empower students in need of a
lifeline. Thanks, Mr. Hill, wherever you are.