Changing School Culture Can End Bullying By Kerry Kennedy, Published August 11, 2013

1. Changing School Culture Can End Bullying By Kerry Kennedy, Published August 11, 2013 Op/Ed Presentation Kasey Lynn Varley, Lena Blackmon, Sofia Meckler, and Zamora Baldwin

2. Article/Vocabulary When a wave of immigrant families settled in Bucyrus, Ohio, the schools faced a clash of cultures. Some 96 percent of the city’s 12,000 residents identify as white. In one classroom, a teacher instructed the class that Mexican immigrants were to blame for drug trafficking in the United States. Following his comments, a Mexican American fifth-grader was targeted with racial slurs, harassed and then suspended for misconduct. Bucyrus had a bullying problem, and city officials wanted to do more than punish students and react to incidents; rather, they wanted to stop the bullying before it began. They wanted a school environment in which standing up for someone in trouble would be a source of pride and standing aside would be a source of embarrassment. They wanted to teach courage in the face of persecution, even when — especially when — students saw their friends persecuting others.

3. Article/Vocabulary Cont. And so it happened that I received a call from the superintendent of Bucyrus City Schools. He had heard about Speak Truth To Power(STTP), the human rights education curriculum offered by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, the organization my family founded in 1968 to carry forward my father’s unfinished work. We teach that curriculum in schools around the world — from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to Pisa, Italy, from Stockholm to Chicago. Some of our STTP students live in towns that still bear the scars of World War II or count their relatives among the victims of the Khmer Rouge. Here in the United States, too many of our students follow the bell at recess to a playground rife with gang violence.

4. Article/Vocabulary Cont. Two years after the superintendent reached out to me, students in Bucyrus schools now learn the stories of legendary human rights heroes such as anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. They also hear about such women as Juliana Dogbadzi, an escaped child sex slave who at age 20 single-handedly emancipated 5,000 girls by successfully lobbying her government to ban a centuries-old cult practice. Students not only learn about human rights defenders, but they also are trained to become defenders themselves. Following the implementation of STTP, according to a forthcoming independent study we commissioned, Bucyrus students reported a change in attitude regarding bullying, particularly their awareness of bullying as an issue. Administrators have seen an increase in reports of bullying, and one student described the STTP activities as “helpful not just in handling bullying, but [providing] reasons to be more open-minded about other people.”

5. Article/Vocabulary Cont. We went to Bucyrus to teach Speak Truth To Power, our first experience working directly with a school and community to target bullying, and we learned something ourselves. Bullying is, at its core, a human rights violation. It is the abuse of the powerless at the hands of the powerful, and it is a threat against the right to receive an education free from persecution. Bullying is the first human rights violation millions of students in the United States will confront. As a human rights organization, it’s not something we can ignore. Two children in every classroom in America are estimated to miss at least one day of school each month because they feel unsafe. Local governments realize we cannot afford to dismiss youth violence as simply “kids being kids.” Anti-bullying legislation has been passed in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

6. Article/Vocabulary Cont. But laws and reporting systems aren’t enough. We must move beyond simply having the systems in place to react to bullying. We must instill in our youth the ideals of civility and respect, and we must create environments that prevent bullying everywhere our children live, learn and play. Putting prevention back in bullying prevention is the goal of the RFK Center’s newly launched RFK Project SEATBELT — Safe Environments Achieved Through Bullying prevention, Engagement, Leadership and Teaching respect. The initiative provides resources for parents, educators and community members to create supportive environments through a human rights framework that instills responsibility, respect and resiliency to prevent bullying.

7. Article/Vocabulary Cont. The initiative’s name is our answer to critics who say bullying is ingrained in the culture of an American childhood. To those people, I ask: Who remembers the days when wearing a seat belt was considered optional? In my father’s lifetime, manufacturers weren’t even required to install seat belts in their vehicles, and it wasn’t until 1984 that riders were required to use them. But when my daughters get in a car today, putting on their seat belts is second nature. In just one generation, we watched a profound shift in social norms related to seat belts. How many people in 1984 said that Americans would never be persuaded to change an ingrained behavior in the name of public safety?

8. Article/Vocabulary Cont. We can change for the better. We do it all the time, and our children are even better at it than we are. Parents, teachers, neighbors, bus drivers — we all can do our part to raise children who see themselves as human rights defenders. In doing so, we’re not just creating safer schools for them but also passing on to them a more just and peaceful world.

9. Syntax •Explanatory sentences: “We teach that curriculum in schools…” –Explains how STTP is used all around the world to add credence to it’s usefulness. •Parenthesis: “He had heard about Speak Truth To Power…”; “Putting prevention back in bullying prevention…” –Gives more information about STTP and more credibility and well as for Project SEATBELT. •Rhetorical Questions: “To those people I ask:…”; “How many people in 1984 said that…” –Makes the reader think about how change is possible even if it seems impossible.

10. Structure •Five parts –Explains what the problem is and hooks the reader. –Explains STTP (the solution) and how it works. –Then she goes on to explain more about the nature of bullying and why it must be stopped. –Explains a new project (Project SEATBELT) as a transition to her seatbelt story. –She ends with an uplifting conclusion that “We can change”. •Implicit Thesis –Threaded throughout that STTP and Project SEATBELT is the answer to the bullying problem.

11. Tone Arc: indignant to hopeful • initial tone of indignation/outrage • “... a Mexican American fifth grader was targeted with racial slurs, harassed and then suspended for misconduct.” • “Bucyrus had a bullying problem…” • passionate throughout • words with very strong connotations • includes people/events but also connotations for different parts of speech • hopeful • Exemplified in last paragraph • “We can change for the better… In doing so, we’re not just creating safer schools for [our children], but also passing on to them a more just and peaceful world.” • MacArthur Foundation • positive connotations: we, can, better, just, peaceful

12. Diction Charged: • targeted • harassment, misconduct, suspended, racial slur • sibiliance • WWII • Khmer Rouge • Apartheid • Holocaust • we • seatbelt • better • together

13. Diction • we • inclusivity • hope • open to interpretation • greater chance of reader accepting the message

14. Purpose •To inform –She explained STTP and Project SEATBELT to her audience so she could succeed in her main purpose: •To advertise –She wanted the aforementioned programs to be accepted and implemented by her audience. Evidence: “He had heard about Speak Truth To Power…”; “We teach that curriculum…”; “We went to Bucyrus to teach Speak Truth To Power…”; “Putting prevention back in bullying prevention…”

15. Audience - Parents of elementary school-aged kids Whose children could be the “Mexican American fifth-grader... targeted with racial slurs, harassed and then suspended for misconduct”. - Administration of school systems Whose students would gain “courage in the face of persecution”. Those capable of enacting change in the school system.

16. Persona • She is a woman • “daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy” • Well educated • incredibly academic word choice • Expert in this field • “President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights” • “my family” --> A Kennedy • has been around and working with this project for a long time

17. Argument Argument/implicit thesis: “We need to educate our children against violating each other’s human rights in order to create a better society.” I: Introduce the issue of bullying/human rights violations → STTP : “Speak Truth To Power (STTP), the human rights education curriculum offered by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights…” (3) • strengthens argument II: Elaboration upon STTP: (Paragraphs 4 and 5) III: Victims of human rights violations • logos/pathos IV: Logos: student feedback proves this point: “one student described the STTP activities as ‘helpful no just in handling bullying, but [providing] reasons to be more open mided about other people.”

18. Argument 2nd page: VI: Reintroduces problem and offers a second solution: SEATBELT, “Safe Environments Achieved Through Bullying prevention, Engagement, Leadership, and Teaching respect.” VII: Last paragraph • diction

19. Discussion Questions 1. How does Kerry Kennedy’s tone affect how the reader determines her purpose? To what extent does the tone recall the tone of an advertisement? 2. What rhetorical devices strengthen Kerry Kennedy’s argument the most? 3. Kerry Kennedy emphasizes that “We can change for the better.” Why does this appeal to the reader? Why does she wait until the end to do so?