The scholarly article that I am going to discuss focuses on online bullying or "cyberbullying". I found this article through Academic Search Complete, through EBSCOhost. "Cyberbullying" was published in Education Digest in January 2011. Author Jennifer Holladay discusses the severity of cyberbullying and how it affects children. It also discusses measures that are being taken in certain school districts to prevent it.
Holladay starts the article off by discussing the tragic suicide of a young student, Phoebe Prince, due to online bullying. Phoebe had experienced depression before she committed suicide. This shows that online bullying has such a severe effect on the minds of young children. The fact that this bullying is done online makes it even worse because it is open for the whole world to witness. The article mentions the delicate balance between school districts being careful about not hindering freedom of speech and being able to make a positive difference when it comes to preventing or ending cyberbullying. Certain school districts are making an effort to educate parents and teachers about the devastating effects that online bullying can have. The author states that many parents are unaware of how much time their children spend online and what they are doing. The author makes the conclusion that preventing cyberbullying and punishing the offenders is not necessarily an easy task because most punishments deal with the suspension of the student, but that doesn't always prove to end cyberbullying. Instead, cyberbullies can find other ways to bully.
This article makes a good rhetorical impression because it includes quotes from individuals in various school districts and people who study cyberbullying. This makes the article more credible, therefore appealing to ethos. The article can be found through EBSCOhost and it can also be accessed online through the website it was published at, www.teachingtolerance.org.
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