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Trista Holder
ENGL 1010
Rhetorical Analysis
11/2/2015
School Democracy Ending Bullying
1. Introduction
Bullying has been a problem for a very long time. Cases of bullying makes headlines
frequently. Although there has been many actions taken by parents, school boards, and students,
nothing seems to change. If anything, the problem has gotten worse with advances in technology
and social media making it easier for bullies to publicly and privately target an individual. After
countless cases of bully related suicides and constant increase in reports of bullies, the state
legislatures have taken matters into their own hands and have passed a number of anti-bullying
laws. Although these laws are meant to protect children, is it possible it might be hurting them
instead? This question may spark some interest, because it should be clear that the legislatures
are making an attempt end bullying in schools. What they may not realize is that they are only
touching the surface of this major problem. The only way to stop bullying is to stop making laws
as temporary solutions. Instead, we need to dramatically change the way schools are being ran.
2. Background
In 2010 after seeing several cases of bully related suicides in Massachusetts, similar to
previous states, an anti-bullying bill was passed that was then immediately signed into law by the
governor. The new law requires every school employee, both academic and nonacademic, to

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report any bullying incident that they see. The principal is then required to investigate the
incident and take appropriate action. The law also requires every student in Massachusetts to
participate in an annual anti-bullying curriculum. This law is similar to laws that have now been
passed in every state in the United States. Although these may seem like good things on the
surface, you dont have to dig too deep to see the many underlying problems with these new
laws.
In response to the new anti-bullying laws that were passed in Massachusetts Peter Gray
published the article called School Bullying: A Tragic Cost of Undemocratic Schools on May 12,
2010 in the magazine called Psychology Today, in attempt to explain to the general public his
thought on getting rid of bullying in schools. Peter Gray is the research professor at Boston
College. He has earned his PH.D in biological sciences at Rockefeller University, and since has
conducted and published research in many fields of psychology.
In this article, Peter tries to explain his concerns with the new anti-bullying laws that
were passed in Massachusetts. Peter claims that creating and passing laws to prevent bullying
will not work unless the students are the ones making the laws. He says, There is only one way
to get rid of bullying and the general sense of unfairness that pervades our schools, and that is to
restructure radically the way the schools are governed (16). Peter believes that the only way to
remove the bullying is by running schools through democratic governance. In order to achieve
his purpose with the intended audience, Peter Gray used pathos, cause-effect reasoning, and
selection of detail in his article.
3. Emotional Appeals: Targeting the Audiences Emotions

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In his article, Peter Gray uses pathos as his most prominent strategy to connect with the
audience and their emotional appeal. According to dictionary.com1, pathos are the quality or
power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of
evoking a feeling of pity or of sympathetic and kindly sorrow or compassion. In other words, it
is an attempt by an author to connect to the readers emotional appeal. It is a method of
persuasion that is designed to produce an emotional response by spiking the readers attention.
By using emotional appeals, Peter is able to persuade the reader by connecting with either the
audiences ability to relate to the subject of bullying or sympathize with it. It is a way to force the
reader to open their mind to suggestion from the author and consider another view on a topic. In
the very beginning of his article, Gray creates an emotional story, he puts the reader in to a story
about them at a young age. By his detailed story it immediately connects the reader on a personal
level and makes them interested in the topic.
4. Cause-Effect: The Real Problem
After the reader is emotionally connected with the article Peter then uses cause and effect
reasoning to help the reader recognize what problems are created by these new anti-bullying
laws. According to thelawdictionaty.com2 the cause and effect analysis is a method leading to
the listing of all possible reasons and outcomes associated with a particular problem or
situation. This means identifying both the cause and effect and how they are linked. By using
this method, Peter is able to thoroughly explain why the new anti-bullying laws will not work.
He explains that these new laws cause problems for the schools because the faculty members
have no way to separate teasing among friends and true bullying, it leads bullies and victims to

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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pathos
http://thelawdictionary.org/cause-and-effect-analysis/

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hide their bullying more effectively, and that the required bullying curriculum has been tested
over many years and have not proven to be effective. By explaining the true cause of bullying
later on in the article, the author is able to relate the schools to a prison setting and show that the
major bullying problem may be caused by the students lack of power. By showing the causes
and effects to the audience, Gray is able to help the reader understand the importance of solving
the problem. It also helps the audience see the true underlying cause of bullying.
5. Selection of Detail: Tunnel Vison
The authors choice of words and detail plays a vital part in the purpose of an article.
Selection of detail is the specific words, incidents, images, or events the author uses to create a
scene or narrative, according to the advanced placement literary terms on
flashcardmachine.com3. In other words, it is the details selected by the author. It is based on what
they want the reader to know, and what they dont want them to know. Peter Gray uses his
selection of detail to make sure readers agrees on his views on the issue at hand. It is a form of
encouragement used to persuade the audience to believe that the new anti-bullying laws will not
help the children. By giving details about the issues that the law could bring, it gives the reader
the tendency to concentrate on the aspect without considering anything else. It is Peters way of
providing the audience with an opinion before they have a chance to form their own.
6. Conclusion
Peter Gray, the author of School Bullying: A Tragic Cost of Undemocratic Schools, was able
to express his concerns with the anti-bullying laws that have been passed in many states by using
pathos, cause-effect reasoning, and selection of detail. By using these strategies he was able to

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/advanced-placement-literaryterms.html

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connect with the reader and show them the true underlying cause of school bullying. With these
strategies Gray appealed to the readers emotions and interest in the issue. He also was able to
thoroughly explain the causes of bullying and what effects the law will have on students. Peter
also used his selection of detail to persuade the audience to believe that these laws will not make
a difference in school bullying.
It is obvious that bullying is a major issue in our schools, and it is important that we do what
we can to prevent it. Although the state legislatures seem to be taking action, they are only
giving us temporary solutions. The only way to truly change the bullying problem in schools is
to change the way the schools are being ran. By creating a democratic governance in our schools
and giving the students the power to help create the school rules, it creates a sense of hope and
responsibility in the young people of our community. As stated in the end of his article, Peter
says, Because the students have power, they feel ownership of the school and have a vested
interest in keeping it peaceful. Their legal power promotes an attitude of responsibility, which
leads them to use not just the schools' legislative and judicial systems but also the full force of
peer pressure and friendly persuasion to promote peace and justice. (19)
As suggested by Peter Gray, creating a school where students and staff make all of the
school rules through voting, and enforce the rules through a judicial system with students serving
as jurors, is the only way to effectively decrease the bullying problem. By working together with
the staff, students will feel they have a true voice. It will help create a community where people
feel safe and useful in the school. By changing the schools to a democratic governance, we give
the students the ability to feel ownership and pride in their school and promote a sense of power
and security in their future.
7. Appendix

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School Bullying: A Tragic Cost of Undemocratic Schools-Summary and Conclusions

In the past fifteen years all fifty states have passed the anti-bullying legislation. Although
there are no federal laws that specifically apply to bullying, state and local lawmakers have taken
act to prevent bullying. Whether they work or not is another story. The purpose of this article
was to show that anti-bullying laws will only work in a democratic school setting. Democracy by
definition means government by people. In a school setting this means, all students and school
employees should have a say in everything that affects their lives at school. Although this sounds
impractical and completely absurd, Peter Gray argues that this is the only way anti-bullying laws
will be effective.
Gray shares a story about his home state of Massachusetts, where legislators cast a
unanimous vote for the anti-bullying bill after a number of bully related suicides in the area.
Gray then shares his opinion on why this new law will not solve the bully problems, only create
legal and bureaucratic nightmares. The law requires every school employee to report any
bullying incident to the principal, who is then required to investigate. It also requires every
student to participate in an anti bullying curriculum every year.
Gray shares his concerns and thoughts on why this legislation will not solve the bullying
problem. His arguments show the problems with the reporting requirement. Staff have no way to
separate teasing among friends apart from true bullying, they are to report all offences of the
code, and this gives the principal loads of extra work as well as causing good natured kids with
no intentions of bullying to get into trouble. His second point is that it will just lead the bullies to
hide their bullying from adults even more effectively than they already do. Gray explains that the
new policies will cause the us versus them gulf between students and staff at schools. It
makes the kids feel the need to act differently when a staff member is around. Making it

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impossible to be aware of the problems at hand. The staff seems as if they are the enemy
because they must bring up minor infractions of the code, but cannot stop the real problem.
Grays final point is about the anti-bullying curriculum, he shares that many anti-bullying school
programs have been tested over the past twenty years, and according to studies no program has
proven to be very effective and may even slightly promote bullying to students.
Peter then goes on to explain the root causes of school bullying. He says bulling regularly
occurs when people with no power are required to remain in a setting by law, it sounds similar to
school. It also sounds like prison. Bullying occurs consistently in prisons, and those who are
bullied cant escape. Similar to students, they have no jurisdictive power to confront the bullies
other than reporting the bullying to the prison guards and warden and hope for an outcome. Gray
says there is only one way to get rid of bullying, and that is to restructure radically the way the
schools are governed. He wants the children to be granted a voice, and if they are not granted
that voice then school is no different than prison.
Peter Gray says he has been involved first hand with a school where students and staff
together make all of the school rules. They are enforced through a judicial system, where
students of all ages serve as jurors. He says that because students have power, they have a
vested interest in keeping the school they feel ownership of peaceful. Gray says, Power
promotes an attitude of responsibility. This system leads students to use the schools judicial
system to promote justice. Everyone works together to create a community in which people can
feel free and unafraid.
Full Article Found in Psychology Today Magazine, posted May 2010
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201005/school-bullying-tragic-costundemocratic-schools

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Works Cited
Gray, Peter. "School Bullying: A Tragic Cost of Undemocratic Schools." Psychology Today, 12
May 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
"What Is CAUSE AND EFFECT ANALYSIS?" The Law Dictionary. Black's Law Dictionary,
n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
"Emotional Appeals: Definition & Examples." Study.com. Mary Firestone, n.d. Web. 15 Nov.
2015.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.