These days, school safety is one of the most important parts of running a good school. So how can we make our school, safer and a better school overall?
Project Citizen is a project that seventh-graders do annually. The students take one problem and find a way to solve it. The goals of Project Citizen are straightforward. There are four steps to Project Citizen. First, the students need to identify a problem in the school or community. Then, they research that problem. The students need to finish about twenty tasks, each related to a category of school safety. Next, they evaluate possible solutions to that problem. The solutions are put into a research paper, which is what this paper is. After that, they develop public policy ideas. These are put into a group presentation and later presented to a larger audience. The four keys to being successful in Project Citizen are to work hard, work as a team, research well, and stay organized.
We used a lot of special terms while researching, and I will define them for you here: Safety is the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury. Its synonyms are welfare, protection, and security. Security is the state of being free from danger or threat. Its synonyms are safety, freedom from danger, security. Public policy is the principles, often unwritten, on which social laws are based (Rules and laws in our society). Cognitive means of or relating to cognition. Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught. Reflection is serious thought or consideration. School safety means the safety of school settings, such as the incidence of harassment, bullying, violence, and substance use, as supported by relevant rese...
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Arming Teachers In the last ten years, there have been eighteen school shootings in the United States. Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, and Universities are all included. From these eighteen shootings there were one hundred and one students and faculty members killed, the majority being students. In the average classroom, there are at least fifteen students to one teacher. One adult is tasked with insuring the safety of fifteen to thirty students.
School safety plans have had an increase in focus over the past decade due to the increase of televised coverage in mass school shootings. School officials relied upon the moral rationales that support aggressive street policing as they struggled to” reach the students” and make sense of the new disciplinary policies while maintaining their identities as educators (Garret, 2001). In reacting fashion, schools placed an emphasis on gun safety. As originally enacted on March 31, 1994 the Gun-Safe Schools Act (GFSA) required each state receiving Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds to have in effect a state law require local educational agencies LEAs to expel from school for a period of not less than one year a student who was determined to have brought a weapon to school (Thomas, 2006). The focus of trying to keep guns out of schools had administrators putting plans in place with little information as to what works for schools. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Educatiohttp://ed.grammarly.com/editor/content?page.paperReportKey=#n (2003) informed educators that they needed to add the possibility of terrorist attacks to the safety plans of schools knowing that this would stretch the ability of schools to meet the needs of the students and community. Reactions to school sho...
There have been many horror stories in the news about mass shootings at schools. The public, and even the president of the United States, is asking if anything can be done to prevent these tragedies. There are many theories on why students kill their peers at schools; these range from increased violence in video games and movies to bullying troubles at school. Almost always, the perpetrator suffers from some form of mental illness (Khadaroo). Because of this, motives for these crimes are extremely difficult to discern. Although the theories for the causes of this dilemma are tenuous at best, the effects are very perceptible. Can anything be done to prevent these massacres? School shootings are a complex problem that cannot always be prevented, but there are a number of actions we can take to reduce the frequency and extent of the damage caused. These actions include placing more restrictions on firearms, creating detection programs for shooters, hiring more counselors for unstable students, and placing guards or police in schools. School shootings are a serious problem, and a solution is needed in order to prevent these calamities.
When dealing with kids in public school, school violence is a very serious problem to deal with. I will be holding a meeting which will address upcoming plans for the tragic in on dear school. I will also be pointing out six steps on how we can improve on school security so we can our students and staff members in the awake of Sandy Hook. I will be also be addressing how we can respond and also give tip to parents on how to help their child cope. ...
Retrieved November 1, 2013, from Info Please: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html Levin, J. (2012, December 19). How to prevent school shootings. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from The Boston Globe: http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/12/19/podium-newtown/8RBiAPBjlYG9N9LyC2RVyM/story.html Robertz, F. J. (2012, December 12). Deadly Dreams: What Motivates School Shootings? Retrieved November 15, 2013, from Scientific American:
Schools are safe places. However, the American public has become increasingly concerned with crime in schools and the safety of students. In part, this concern has been shaped by the highly publicized acts ...
Although most security measures passively make schools safer, it is not nearly enough to prevent an individual who intends on creating mass violence from completing his or her task. State representatives, national organizations, school staff, and parents need to come together to figure out the most reliable ways to prevent an active shooter situation from occurring in their schools. One solution that has been active is many schools have partnered with local law enforcement agencies to provide a police officers to patrol school grounds....
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When is it necessary to start taking more action in the prevention of school violence? In less than ten years, in the United States, there have been more than twenty-five school shootings resulting in at least one death per shooting. This number is outrageous and certainly warrants more school violence prevention. It is unacceptable that the schools in the United States are not safe enough to allow children to attend without the possibility of getting seriously injured, or even killed. Most people realize that there is a slight chance of school violence everyday, but not everyone realizes how great a possibility it is for a school to be...
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In recent years, tragedies have been visited upon schools across the country. From Kentucky to Oregon to Colorado, the notion of schools as safe havens has been shattered by the sound of gunfire. These acts are not limited to any geographic regions or family backgrounds, nor do they have a single catalyst. Those who have committed such heinous acts have done so for different reasons, at different times, in different schools. But these acts of school violence have at least one thing in common- they have spurred all of us to take a look at what can be done to better protect children and teachers at school. Protecting our children is not simply a matter of public policy. It is a matter of strengthening basic values, of teaching children right from wrong, of instilling in them respect for others. We each have a responsibility to work to end youth violence and to keep schools safe for children and for those who teach them. Youth violence in many schools has reached universal proportions. It is not only happening in our high schools, it has also made its way into our elementary and middle schools. Everyone seems to have a different perspective on why there is such a problem with school safety. Some say it is the parents’ fault, some say it is the media, and others blame the schools. Yet, the question still remains. What can be done to make schools safer for the children and staff? One thing we need to do is learn to listen to our children and observe their behavior. According ...
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The issue of school safety has become a controversial topic in the United States, due to tragic acts of violence occurring on a daily basis. American citizens should never have to cope with the negative impact of school violence, no matter how often they hear about the tragedies (Jones, "Parents" 1). In the past, schools were viewed as a safe place for children to get an education. Recently, the concern over violence in schools has taken a toll on many parents, school administrators, and legislatures (Eckland 1). Studies have shown that there are over 3 million acts of violence in American public schools each year. Not all occurrences are serious and deadly, but they occur on a daily basis throughout our country (Jones, “School” 6). This has caused many parents to worry about the well-being of their children while they are in class. This has also led to an increase in questions and concerns by parents and guardians. Many people have asked, “What are you doing about safety and security on my child’s campus” (Schimke 2). School violence is the cause of elevated worry and fear for their children, and school districts should enforce better security.