In addition to reading Nineteen Minutes, I decided to do some more research to see what facts I could get. I wanted to mainly focus on the connection between school violence and bullying. In order to help people recognize how serious the consequences are of bullying, they need to see the facts. The first source I found stated directly that after 40 school shootings that took place between 1974 and 2001, the United States Secret Service had discovered that "approximately two-thirds of the shooters had been victims of bullying." One example would be the students from Columbine who were often picked on and bullied for being different. It is clear that bullying can cause students to feel unsafe, and in turn, causes them to take drastic actions.
There were many other interesting statistics throughout the article, making shocking and upsetting. One fact stated, "a conservative estimate, is that on any given day, at least 5% to 10% of children aged 7-16 are victims or offenders." That means out of 100 kids, every day, ten students may be picking on others and hurting them both physically and mentally. If that isn't a major red flag, I don't know what is. These facts show that bullying is an issue that must be taken very seriously and students, parents, and school officials should be educated about the issue. The strong connection between school violence and bullying is a major concern for schools.
source: http://issues.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/913445?cid=70&terms=bullying
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Nineteen Minutes Entry 2: "Fighting? Or fighting back?"
In Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult offers the perspectives of many characters. We are able to see Peter's feelings, as well as the others involved both directly and indirectly with the shooting. One would expect to view Peter as the antagonist. After all, he went into his school and killed ten innocent students. But were they all truly innocent? By allowing us to learn about Peter's background as well as the other students, we are presented with all the facts, and deciding who is truly responsible for the violent attacks is now up to the readers.
Picoult demonstrates in her novel that there are two sides to everything. In this story, we begin to learn that often, the shooter is also the victim. As a reader, it was difficult for me to realize that I was sympathizing with the killer. But after hearing his story about how he was bullied both physically and mentally from elementary school all the way until high school, I felt just as bad for him as I did for the people hurt in the shooting. Picoult brings up the question, who has the right to judge someone else? Peter was threatened by others just like the students were by him the day of the shooting. He tells Josie, "everyone's saying I ruined their lives, but no one seemed to care when my life was the one being ruined" (134). Throughout his life, the bullying took a large toll on Peter and he felt unwanted and unsafe in his surroundings. Although he had no right to kill the people who were hurting him, after hearing his side of the story, one could also begin to understand why Peter went through with his violent actions.
This novel begins to shed light on why school shootings take place. Bullying is almost always one of the main causes. In the trial, Peter's lawyer explained to the jury the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is the main reason that Peter was led to believe that he needed to kill his bullies in order to protect himself. Peter, although he is a fictional character, helps us recognize how kids who are bullied feel. They don't feel safe in their schools since they are surrounded by students who threaten them and hurt them on a daily basis. I'm not saying that I think that students who commit the terrible act of a school shooting should not be blamed. Of course they should. But at the same time, so should the bullies that have led them to that place.
Picoult demonstrates in her novel that there are two sides to everything. In this story, we begin to learn that often, the shooter is also the victim. As a reader, it was difficult for me to realize that I was sympathizing with the killer. But after hearing his story about how he was bullied both physically and mentally from elementary school all the way until high school, I felt just as bad for him as I did for the people hurt in the shooting. Picoult brings up the question, who has the right to judge someone else? Peter was threatened by others just like the students were by him the day of the shooting. He tells Josie, "everyone's saying I ruined their lives, but no one seemed to care when my life was the one being ruined" (134). Throughout his life, the bullying took a large toll on Peter and he felt unwanted and unsafe in his surroundings. Although he had no right to kill the people who were hurting him, after hearing his side of the story, one could also begin to understand why Peter went through with his violent actions.
This novel begins to shed light on why school shootings take place. Bullying is almost always one of the main causes. In the trial, Peter's lawyer explained to the jury the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is the main reason that Peter was led to believe that he needed to kill his bullies in order to protect himself. Peter, although he is a fictional character, helps us recognize how kids who are bullied feel. They don't feel safe in their schools since they are surrounded by students who threaten them and hurt them on a daily basis. I'm not saying that I think that students who commit the terrible act of a school shooting should not be blamed. Of course they should. But at the same time, so should the bullies that have led them to that place.
Nineteen Minutes Entry 1: "Who has the right to judge someone else?"
For this semester, I decided to read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I have always been interested in the issue of bullying, because I believe that it is a issue that can easily be prevented. It isn't something like world poverty or pollution that could take years and years to figure out how to fix. Bullying could be stopped today, this very minute, as long as people are educated on how serious the effects of bullying are. Reading this novel gave me a much better sense of how those who are bullied feel, and also it touched on the idea of why people bully. It allowed me to get inside the head of someone who had been bullied their whole life, but I also was able to see the other side--those who committed the vicious acts of bullying.
One question that was brought up in Nineteen Minutes was who is to blame for the school shooting that took place? Should we blame Peter, the shooter, for causing this tragedy? What about his parents for not paying more attention to their clearly depressed son? Or the popular kids who bullied Peter every day of his life? The administration and school officials for not being more involved in what was taking place in their school? One scene of the novel that remains clear in my mind was a flashback to when Peter was in elementary school. Even at that age he was being bullied. However, when his mother went into the school to talk with the teacher about making sure things like this were not to happen again, the teacher responded by saying, "I'm showing Peter how to stand up for himself. If someone cuts him in the lunch line, or if he's teased, to say something in return instead of just accepting it" (72). It's shocking to me that teachers believe the solution to prevent bullying is to have those being bullied to act in the same way as the bullies. It is wrong to tell students that they can only be protected if they fight back. It is 100% the school's responsibility to handle the bullying that takes place on school campus and they need to handle it by getting involved and punishing the kids, not telling those being bullied to fight back.
It's hard for me to sympathize with Peter--after all, in this novel, he was a killer. But at the same time, I put a large part of the blame on others in his life. Parents have the responsibility to be involved with their children. If I had guns in my room and was constantly depressed, I would only hope that my parents would be able to recognize my change in behavior. I think that parents need to be educated just as much as students do about this issue. Obviously the parents of those being bullied need to make sure that they are getting the help and protection they need, so they do not result to such drastic measures like Peter did. At the same time, the parents of the students who do the bullying should be able to teach their children that no one has the right to hurt or judge someone else.
Nineteen Minutes helps to demonstrate that when school shootings take place, maybe people should stop pointing their finger just at the shooter, and should take a good look at themselves. Clearly Peter had some mental issues, but at the same time, someone caused him to feel the need to walk into his school and kill the people he spent seven hours with every day. Others besides Peter needed to take the blame for the tragedy that took place in this novel. He might have destroyed their lives, but they also destroyed his.
One question that was brought up in Nineteen Minutes was who is to blame for the school shooting that took place? Should we blame Peter, the shooter, for causing this tragedy? What about his parents for not paying more attention to their clearly depressed son? Or the popular kids who bullied Peter every day of his life? The administration and school officials for not being more involved in what was taking place in their school? One scene of the novel that remains clear in my mind was a flashback to when Peter was in elementary school. Even at that age he was being bullied. However, when his mother went into the school to talk with the teacher about making sure things like this were not to happen again, the teacher responded by saying, "I'm showing Peter how to stand up for himself. If someone cuts him in the lunch line, or if he's teased, to say something in return instead of just accepting it" (72). It's shocking to me that teachers believe the solution to prevent bullying is to have those being bullied to act in the same way as the bullies. It is wrong to tell students that they can only be protected if they fight back. It is 100% the school's responsibility to handle the bullying that takes place on school campus and they need to handle it by getting involved and punishing the kids, not telling those being bullied to fight back.
It's hard for me to sympathize with Peter--after all, in this novel, he was a killer. But at the same time, I put a large part of the blame on others in his life. Parents have the responsibility to be involved with their children. If I had guns in my room and was constantly depressed, I would only hope that my parents would be able to recognize my change in behavior. I think that parents need to be educated just as much as students do about this issue. Obviously the parents of those being bullied need to make sure that they are getting the help and protection they need, so they do not result to such drastic measures like Peter did. At the same time, the parents of the students who do the bullying should be able to teach their children that no one has the right to hurt or judge someone else.
Nineteen Minutes helps to demonstrate that when school shootings take place, maybe people should stop pointing their finger just at the shooter, and should take a good look at themselves. Clearly Peter had some mental issues, but at the same time, someone caused him to feel the need to walk into his school and kill the people he spent seven hours with every day. Others besides Peter needed to take the blame for the tragedy that took place in this novel. He might have destroyed their lives, but they also destroyed his.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Final Project Days 1 & 2
I have decided for my final project that I am going to focus on the topic of bullying. Along with that, I am planning on comparing physical bullying to cyberbullying, as well as making the connections and studying how school shootings and teen suicide corresponds to bullied teenagers. I plan to study about why people get bullied, but more importantly, why the people who do the bullying do what they do. I also want to research the straight-foward facts and statistics about bullying, because I believe that will give other people a sense about how serious this issue is.
To help me with this project I have been reading the novel Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. It is a fictional story about a boy who was constantly bullied, and as a result, he entered his school and shot and killed multiple kids. Although the story is fictional, it seems incredibly realistic and truly shows how teenager feels these days and why they choose to act the way they do. I have also watched Elephant, which relates well with this topic. I also hope to study a lot about the Columbine school shooting, because it will be a crucial element in my research.
My main goal from researching this issue is to make myself, as well as others, more educated about this issue. Bullying is very serious, but if people are not educated about what is happening at their schools, then it can't be stopped. Hopefully when presented with the facts, people will recognize the level of importance this issue has at our school, and hopefully, this will inspire people to make a change in how they treat other individuals.
To help me with this project I have been reading the novel Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. It is a fictional story about a boy who was constantly bullied, and as a result, he entered his school and shot and killed multiple kids. Although the story is fictional, it seems incredibly realistic and truly shows how teenager feels these days and why they choose to act the way they do. I have also watched Elephant, which relates well with this topic. I also hope to study a lot about the Columbine school shooting, because it will be a crucial element in my research.
My main goal from researching this issue is to make myself, as well as others, more educated about this issue. Bullying is very serious, but if people are not educated about what is happening at their schools, then it can't be stopped. Hopefully when presented with the facts, people will recognize the level of importance this issue has at our school, and hopefully, this will inspire people to make a change in how they treat other individuals.
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