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Bullying in the school system
Schoolchildren bullying
Schoolchildren bullying
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In 2013, a study was conducted to see the amount of school violence currently ongoing in schools across the country. Per this study, the results show that school violence is an ongoing issue, and shows a lot of cause for concern. 8.1% of students across the country reporting being involved in a physical fight at school. 7.1% reported that they missed multiple days within a 30 day span due to fear of being attacked at school. (CDC, 2015) 5.2% of students admitted to carrying a weapon on school grounds or on the way to and from school (weapons including knives, clubs, or even firearms). 6.9% report being threatened with bodily injury while on school property multiple times within a 12 month span. 19.6 % report being victims to bullying, and 14.8% stated that they were victims to electronic means of bullying, such as Facebook or instant messenger. (CDC, 2015) To add to these statistics, 11 homicides of school age children ranging from age five to eighteen occurred during the 2010-2011 school year. Of all youth homicides, only 1% has occurred on school grounds, and this number has remained relatively stable throughout the past few years. (CDC, 2015) The Bath School Disaster of 1927 (45 victims), Virginia Tech in 2007 …show more content…
As Harris’s depression continued to spiral, the young man started to have thoughts of causing harm to others, and would even post on an online blog about wishing he could kill for the fun of it. Harris always had an interest in tragic events, and would even watch old reports from events such as the Oklahoma City Bombing and University of Texas Massacre. With his depression beginning to spiral out of control, the young man started to think more of the damage he could cause to the students that made him feel out casted, and he decided that he wanted to try to copy the Oklahoma City Bombing by taking out his school. (C. Shepard,
Harris was “the callously brutal mastermind” while Klebold was the “quivering depressive who journaled obsessively about love and attended the Columbine prom three days before opening fire” (Columbine High School, History). On an article published by Cullen on Slate.com, it reveals the true motivation and meaning behind the actions of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
All this sounds like an abstract from some of today's action movies, but sadly enough, all these events are true and have plagued our nation for the past eighteen months. Not only have juvenile crime rates gone up in the past few years, but a heightened awareness of these crimes exists because of how violent natured these crimes have become. "Homicides committed by juveniles with firearms have tripled in number since 1983" (Jenson and Howard 324).
School shootings seemed like a new phenomenon, but they occurred for the majority of American history. The first school shooting occurred On July 26, 1764, when a Lenape Indian shot and killed nine children and the school master of the Greencastle, Pennsylvania school (Galvin): as noted in Appendix A. Since 1764, the number of school shootings rose exponentially. In the 1990’s, eighty-six school shootings occurred and between 2000 and 2014, 110 shootings transpired since 2000 (Killam,2008). The development of semiautomatic weapons lead to an increase in deaths. A study conducted in 1990 found through the years of 1986 to 1990; 71 people died, 201 wounded, and 242 people held hostage by school shooters(Galvin). While the area a school serves as one factor in the number of violent acts committed per year, school shootings have not been connected to this. The schools in Chicago dealt with more violent acts, but Sandy Hook Elementary, a small city school had relatively few violent acts committed by students.
Young adults are not just creating this school violence, kids as young as twelve are committing acts as dangerous at their own school shootings. In Sparks Middle School in Nevada, twelve-year-old Jose Reyes had taken his parents hand gun with him to school. He had shot 2 children and killed a teacher that was also a war veteran. He then turned the gun on himself ("US School Violence Fast Facts." CNN). Many other incidents had occurred as early as 1927 to present day. Many of these shootings include the principal and certain classmates as the target. Simple disagreements between classmates can trigger a response that creates the such violence.
Perhaps the most notorious school massacre was at Columbine High School. It was here, in 1999, that two male students murdered twelve students, one teacher, and then committed suicide (Internet Site #4). We viewed a film, The Killer at Thurston High, and saw Kip Kinkel not only shoot up his high school, but also murder his parents. These few extraordinary children strike fear in the hearts of America’s parents every morning when they send their own children off to school. However, the likelihood of a child being murdered as a result of a school-associated violent incident is less than one in one million, and less than one percent of children murdered in 1992 and 1993 were killed on school property (Kappeler, 187). The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice reports that the likelihood of a child dying in a school related incident is actually one in two million (Brooks, 1)! The National Commission on Child Abuse and Neglect reports that 2,000 to 3,000 children are murdered annually by their parents, opposed to approximately two-dozen children murdered in schools (Kappeler, 187).
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). Are America’s Schools Safe? Students Speak Out: 1999 School Crime Supplement. Retrieved April 28, 2005 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp/pubid=2002331.
Eric Harris, a seventeen year-old who committed the Columbine High School massacre next to his companion Dylan Klebold, wrote “I have a goal to destroy as much as possible… I want to burn the world. Kill mankind, no one should survive” (Cullen). Klebold was said to be suicidal and depressive and would always blame himself for the problems he encountered. On the other hand adults described Harris as a nice sweet-faced young boy, but they didn’t see the cold and calculating person he truly was. Both teenagers have been bullied all through out high school and had an intention to make everyone suffer as much as they did. For Harris the victims meant nothing to him, same feeling as someone who cuts the turkey for Thanksgiving. They both wanted a revenge and control so powerful that it would be assumed to be the greatest massacre in the history of the US, which made that their horrifying motiv...
Every seven minutes a child is bullied. On average, 68 percent of students say that “other kids pick on them, make fun of them or bully them” (“Statistics”). This causes students to turn to violence. bullied or made fun of which cause them to become violent. How much longer are schools going to sit back and do nothing about bullies? Without punishing bullies, students’ will continue to harm themselves to massive extents. Schools are not doing enough to stop or prevent bullying, as demonstrated by the creation of the group Stand for the Silent.
Bullying, often dismissed as a normal part of growing up, is a real problem in our nation's schools, according to the National School Safety Center. One out of every four schoolchildren endures taunting, teasing, pushing, and shoving daily from schoolyard bullies. More than 43 percent of middle- and high-school students avoid using school bathrooms for fear of being harassed or assaulted. Old-fashioned schoolyard hazing has escalated to instances of extortion, emotional terrorism, and kids toting guns to school. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of all incidents of school violence begin with verbal conflicts, w...
School violence has become a very popular issue nowadays. From tragic school shootings to unexpected stabbings, each school’s safety is being placed in jeopardy. From Columbine High School shooting in 1999, to Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012 and the recent stabbing in April, school violence has not decreased. It is time to do something now, if further action is not taken these issues will continue. Before school violence becomes too common to students and intruders, restrictions and plans must be implemented now.
Bidwell, Allie. "Report: School Crime and Violence Rise" U.S News & World Report, June 10, 2014
“People are so unaware...well, Ignorance is bliss I guess… that would explain my depression.” (Klebold, Dylan). With that sentence, I divulged myself into the most horrendous, sad journal I have ever read, hoping to gain some insight into a disturbed young man’s mind. On April 20th, 1999, Dylan Klebold accompanied his friend, Eric Harris, in one of the most publicized and shocking school shootings of the modern day--The Columbine Massacre. With their sawed-off shotguns and godlike dispositions, the boys exacted their revenge not only on their peers, but on themselves. As the nightmare collapsed, and thirteen people lay dead, the questions began. How could two boys so young commit this crime? What forced them to be this way? For the Klebold family, one question remained: How had Dylan become involved in one of the crimes of the century?
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.
Shootings and physical violence are only part of the problem in schools. More than twenty percent of students have encountered bullying whi...
An estimated amount of 160,000 students across the United States misses school each day due to being a victim of bullying. From a present study, 29% of students involved in bullying, 14% of the children were said to be victims, 7% were bullies, and 8% were bullies and victims. The worst type of social behavior stems from bullying, and leads to complications in a student’s future. Bullying is a way of expressing aggressive behavior that is intended, and continues that sometimes leads to physical or mental injuries. Those who are victims of bullying, lack self-esteem, and become easily depressed by small objects. There are four common types of bullying: verbal, physical, relational aggression, and