Fighting Bullying With Babies By David Bornstein Summary

Bullying nowadays has become, somewhat, of a norm for most around the world. It is a heinous act of malice towards another that can cause the feeling of defeat and depression towards both sides, the one being bullied and the one pursuing the bullying. In a blog post titled, “Fighting Bullying with Babies” by David Bornstein, the author explains the issues the world is so commonly experiencing with bullying and a unique approach on how to cure this issue, called Roots of Empathy. Roots of Empathy is a classroom based program for schoolchildren to interact with a trained instructor to decrease common levels of aggression toward another and increase their levels of empathy. Researchers and creators of this organization realized if these schoolchildren

Bornstein starts off his blog post by stating, “Imagine there was a cure for meanness. Well, maybe there is” (cite, p. 415). This piece of writing is focused not only on the issue of bullying, but is mainly centered around a single and effective way to cure bullying. Mary Gordon, the founder of Roots of Empathy, made the realization that children who are lacking in empathy have never been introduced to these types of feelings. By the use of monthly classes, broken up into three forty-minute classes, from a trained instructor, children from kindergarten to seventh grade would be introduced to this program and later see major results. The most interesting factor in this approach is the use of a “baby visit,” which is the second of the three forty-minute classes, which has been proven to actually see a switch in a child’s actions . During the baby visit, children get to experience and watch the behavior of a human very much younger then they are. Believe it or not, Bornstein affirms “Of those who participated in the Roots program, 88 percent decreased this form of behavior over the school year” (cite, p. 418). Factual evidence proves that this program can really work and better the lives of young

Kuther explains the issues and repercussions of bullying. She goes into detail on what would likely happen to those who are bullied and how this could negatively effect their future. Where the focus will be on today is how she explains the negative aftermath the bullies most likely will face. Kuther notes, “[However] it’s not just victims who are hurt by bullying. Bullies fail to learn how to cope, manage their emotions, and communicate effectively — skills vital to success in the adult world” (cite, p. 6). The author continues by explaining without the proper use of intervention or a solution these children will continue with this behavior in their adult lives. Adult bullies will be more likely to commit criminal acts, become abusive towards loved ones, and possibly teach another to do the same (cite, p. 6). This piece of writing is a more informative approach to explaining the effects of bullying. Rather explaining an approach to resolve the issue, Kuther is trying to explain what will happen if nothing is ever pursued to fix