Social Issue Articles Response

Bennett, Jessica. "From Lockers to Lockup." Newsweek. 11 Oct 2010: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Nov 2011.

                    I read and annotated the article, “From Lockers to Lock Up.”  The social issue that was mainly addressed in this article was bullying in schools.  The article gave many examples of how students were bullied in school and how it ended but the main event they spoke about was how this girl, Phoebe Prince, was bullied for hanging out with senior guys who already had girlfriends.  She was called many cruel names and in the end she couldn’t take it anymore so she killed herself.  The article also explained and questioned what should be done for issues like these and the results of this.  Some important facts/ information that I learned from this article is that bullying starts small but once it starts it never goes away and builds up and eventually explodes into a huge, and dangerous problem.  I also learned that bullying is most common for teenagers because all of the articles that they gave as an example were all about teenagers.  One more thing that I learned was that bullying has many effects besides someone just crying and being sad, it ruins them.

                    This article made me feel that bullies should get punished whether or not the person killed themselves, it shouldn’t be a difference in that sense.  They shouldn’t wait for the person to commit suicide before doing something.  It also made me feel and realize that bad will soon become criminal no matter how small it is if it doesn’t stop.  I also feel that everyone has been a bully and not everyone should go to jail, everyone should stop but if they don’t then punishments should get serious, it also depends on the issue.  Also, I feel that even if you were a bully in your past, you do not deserve to die, no one does.  I feel that no matter how mean a bully is, do something about it that doesn’t involve violence, don’t be a bully to a bully and stoop to their level.  Another thing that I feel is that it doesn’t matter on the person’s past or why they did it or who they are- all that matters is that they did, not everyone is who they seem.  I feel that one thing or person can ruin everything forever and if you are the bully, their will be consequences, mental consequences and regrets.  Some questions that this article made me think or pose, generally is how should people be punished or what is a consistent punishment?  Why is bullying appearing more publicly now then years ago if the bullying was the same?  My last question was, does everyone deserve a second chance?

       

        Lambeck, Linda Conner. "New Cyberbullying Law Forces Schools to Intervene." Connecticut Post. 09 Oct 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Nov 2011.

                    I read another article called, “New Cyberbullying Law Forces Schools to Intervene.”  In this article, it talks about another form of bullying, cyberbullying which in a way is a form of bullying in schools because that is where it all starts and where they meet the people.  This article is about teenagers getting cyberbullied, the effects and ways they can try to prevent it.  One of the ways I by getting the schools involved.  They interviewed many people and have thought about many ways (which were all in the article) about ways to prevent cyberbulling.  I learned quite a few things from this article, considering a lot of it was people interviews and ideas.  I learned that one bad thing you say or post or text will spread eventually, and they will never go away.  Also, some people don’t take cyberbullying seriously but I learned that it is a serious issue and a harsh type of bullying.  I also learned that so many people at the same time also care and are trying so many different ways to stop cyberbullying.  I also learned that cyberbullying affects kids all around in all areas such as their grades, attendance and even suicide.

                    This article made me think and feel quite a few things, added on to the article I read first.  This article made me think and realize that cyberbullying actually may be worse than regular bullying at times because it spreads faster and most times it is anonymously.  I also feel that they shouldn’t immediately send them to jail etc because think about it, they are kids and still don’t understand consequences.  Think about the other side and if your kid was the bully, you wouldn’t want them to go to jail, you would say it was a mistake.  You should put your feet into the shoes of the person getting bullied but at the same time the bully themselves, they must have motives.  Lastly, in a way people have just got to accept it and brush it off because people are going to be mean to each other always and not everyone is going to like each other and that’s just the way life is.  this article had my mind buzzing with question I wanted answers to and questions that I just wanted people to think about.  Will one or two schools stop bullying all over the country?  Also, what is someone is being cyberbullied but it isn’t during school?  Does the school really have the right to get involved?  Some people are lazy in schools but don’t they want a good, healthy and safe school community?  Then they are going to have to do something.