Violence in Public Schools

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The word violence is defined as, “an intense, turbulent or furious and often destructive action, force or exertion of physical strength so as to injure or abuse” (Webster 1316). Associating that term with the safety of our children within a public school setting will bring about an immediate reaction to discover what is root of the problem and what, as a society, can we do to prevent this behavior in the future. Violence in public schools is a growing concern for parents, teachers, faculty and the students themselves; therefore, becoming aware of a child’s temperament and aggressive conduct is vital in the prevention of violent behavior in the public school system.

Although violence is the most exaggerated form of abuse within schools today, bullying is seen on an everyday basis. Bullying can be defined in many ways but there are three major types of child aggression. One form of bullying can be described as behavior that is intended to harm another student, a second description is forceful behavior that occurs repeatedly over a period of time and lastly, is a distinct imbalance of power, with more power exerted by the aggressor over the victim (Coy 1).

With these descriptive classifications, bullying is more common but not highly regarded as a growing concern like the violent examples displayed by the media. Statistically speaking, the actual occurrence of violent death in school is much lower than the media portrays. Between 2001 and 2002, seventeen school age victims died in school related deaths including accidents and suicides, yet in the 1999-2000 school year, the number was recorded at thirty-two violent school-related deaths among children. Unfortunately, the number of students who reported being bullied has i...

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...005 from Internet. http://www.learnwhatsup.com/prc/article/school_safety/safety.html

Coy, Doris R. (2001). Bullying. ERIC Digest. Retrieved February 23, 2005, from ERIC database.

Juhnke, G., et al. (1999). Assessing potentially violent students. ERIC Digest. Retrieved February 23, 2005, from ERIC database.

Perry, B. (2001). School violence. Scholastic Scope, 49, 20+. Retrieved February 22, 2005, from Academic search/EBSCO database.

Schwartz, W. (1996). An overview of strategies to reduce school violence. ERIC Digest. Retrieved March 23, 2005 from ERIC database.

Sudo, P. (1998). Death in the schools. Scholastic Update, 131, 14+. Retrieved February 17, 2005, from Academic search/EBSCO database.

Tully, E. J. (1998). School violence: what police should/could do! The National Executive Institute Associates. Retrieved March 21, 2005 from Comcast search.

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