In nearly every school’s mission statement, it is stated the school will provide a safe environment for all children; yet, every day on the news, there are stories in which a teenager commits suicide or a teenager has inflicted pain on another student. Most of these stories stem from one common denominator: the student had been a victim of violence in schools. In recent years, it seems these types of news stories have been on the rise and brought to many people’s attention. When a student enters a school building, it should be a safe haven where the students feel protected and out of harms way; however, that is not always the case. All over the country, many students fear entering school buildings because they know it is a place where they may be teased, bullied, and physically or mentally abused. Educators must be aware of these issues and educate themselves on how to keep students safe both in and out of school. The American Federation of Teachers (2010) suggest in order for school violence to decrease there must be a
district wide commitment to safe, orderly schools, including a real effort by district officials to stand behavior school employees with the support they need – and a commitment by administrators to forge a cooperative effort with school employees aimed at educating students, parents and member of the community about the need for tough but fair discipline policies (Behavior-Management Techniques for Safe Schools pg. 2).
Moreover, schools need involvement from all stakeholders in the school district to ensure proper plans are put in place to deal with violence appropriately when situations arise.
Physical violence is defined as an “aggressive behavior where the actor or perpetrator uses his or her own bo...
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... in grade school. We are concerned about bullying and teasing, and taunting. We can spend all the money in the world on security around the school, but it won’t do much good if students don’t feel safe inside the school” (Coloroso p. 27). When students come to school they should not do so in fear. They should feel safe and welcomed without the worry of taunting, teasing, or violence. School districts need to provide professional development and assemblies to discuss such issues with students. Teachers need to bring these issues to students’ attention by incorporating such issues in daily lessons and emphasizing the zero tolerance for such behaviors. After, the goal of educators is to mold students into productive members of society. If they cannot behave and treat others with respect in school, they will struggle to do so once they enter “real world”.
In conclusion, School Violence is a widespread issue that must be addressed. School shootings and bullying are some of the biggest issues in today’s school system. Many times the seed of the issue begins with bullying and ends with consequences like suicide and school shootings. They affect people as early as elementary school all the way to the college level, some even ending with death. Only together can we stop school violence if we take a stand and change the world.
There is a grave national crisis occurring all across the nation. Children everywhere are committing acts of hostility in their schools. Schools are no longer a safe haven for children but are now considered war zones where victims are abundant and violence is the enemy. Fifty-seven percent of public elementary and secondary school principals reported that one or more incidents of crime or violence occurred in their schools and were reported to law enforcement officials. Ten percent of all public schools experienced one or more serious violent crimes. Some 6,093 students were expelled during the 1996-1997 academic school year for bringing firearms or explosives to school.
School violence has become an increased peril, affecting not only those involved, but the society in itself. The underlying reason for this phenomenon is that it is derived from bullying and easy access of weapons. It can even happen by the hands of a person who does not attend the school where the act takes place. Bullying has become an epidemic in America amongst school children. Though there are rules enforced about weapons at school, the weapon is usually not detected until the incident takes place. I have witnessed violence in the form of fighting while in school, however, I have never imagined that it has become so aggressive and affects children at younger ages. We must take a bold stand to stop these incidents from occurring!
Furthermore, educational institutions are suppose to emphasize learning and teaching- it is children grow and learn more about the world each day. However today's educational institutions mostly rely on punishment, violence, and misbehavior. Guided by the mass increase of school shooting and reports of increase in school violence, schools around the world have recently adopted revolutionary solution and prevention methods.
Although bullying has always been a problem in schools, it has more recently become a bigger crisis with vicious consequences. “However it is defined, bullying is not just child’s play, but a terrifying experience many schoolchildren face everyday. It can be as direct as teasing, hitting or threatening, or as indirect as exclusions, rumors or manipulation” (Garrett 2). Most kids do not think certain actions are classified as bullying, yet they do not realize the severity of the way they treat their peers. What they may see as “joking around” can be viewed as them being a bully, and they may even be hurting someone’s feelings without realizing the effect that they have. This can then lead to school violence, which is a prevalent issue in today’s society. There are many causes to bullying and school violence and many effects as well. However, if dealt with properly, there are ways to solve these prevailing problems.
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...
Violence within this country has been an ongoing problem throughout history. Due to all the media coverage of more recent violent events in school history, such as Columbine, it is of popular belief that violence in school systems is the worst it has ever been. There are many questions about what type of violence occurs most often, what gender and what ethnicity violence is most affecting in schools.
Unfavorable situations at home, psychological stability, physical dangers and violence all contribute to this evident shortage. There have been investigations on how organizations, teachers and parents collaborate together in today's society to influence the students understanding of safety in school. The purpose of this paper is to display some examples of each aforementioned contribution and show some of the current measures being taken to aid today's students.
With the increasing problems with violence in public schools and parents fear of behavioral issues with other students and incompetent teaches their curriculum and the lack of quality or values in many current public and private schools. The treat of physical harm to a child in this hostile environment most parents are not willing to risk their children’s safety in public schools.
As a responsible adult would you ever knowingly send a child into a dangerous situation? The majority of adults would say of course not, but unfortunately this is exactly what happens up to five days a week through much of the school year. Sadly, many school aged children are subjected to violence at school on a daily basis. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention, reports that, “School violence is youth violence that occurs on school property, on the way to or from school or during school-sponsored events (Youth Violence).” Students may be physically abused or emotionally humiliated at the very place that adults send them to thrive and grow. School violence is a real crisis that can affect many aspects of a child’s education
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 ...
Society has suffered from various factors that are contributors of school violence. These factors are personal, family, school, and environmental.
Before such things can be implemented, there is some specific ground work and strategies that must be done within the schools before situations or dealt with and handled. In this groundwork, principals are vital in the success of the program they implement in their schools (Ballard, Argus & Remley, 1999). They are the conductors of each category needed in a successful program. Principals must hold students and staff accountable for their roles in changing the climate of the school and they must allow for the time and manpower implementing a new program will take. Gil (2002, p. 73) explains that first a solid code of conduct must be in place and operating smoothly. These clearly stated rules are to be communicated to all students and staff what the expectation is for behavior and they must be “enforced without
School shootings are becoming common place in the news as school violence is on the rise. Statistics state that 31.2 percent of parents said the leading cause for choosing homeschool over public school is “concern about the environment of other schools” (Burke, 2014). According to the CDC fact sheet Understanding School Violence, 12 percent of youth in grades 9-12 report being in a physical fight on school property while 5.9 percent reported that they felt unsafe at school and did not attend. Seven percent of teachers also report that they have been threatened or injured by a student (School Violence, 2013). While only 1 percent of all youth homicides occur at schools, violence does not need to result in a fatality in order to be a concern.
On the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a day does not go by without talking of the violence coming into schools from the streets. Patrick O'Donnell, a reporter for the Plain Dealer wrote a story on a high school in Strongsville where the school virtually shut down classes due to Internet threats of violence made on the school by an 18-year-old boy. Though the student is charged with misdemeanor counts of aggravated menacing and inducing panic among the students, how can we as abiding citizens of society reduce and even eliminate such violence in schools? Furthermore, last week, seven students were suspended at South High School in Cleveland and one of them was arrested after a sophomore threw a chair that knocked out an assistant principal because of a brawl between students. (Reed, 2005) School is meant to be a safe haven for children, a place where you come to learn and not to plan-out who your next victim will be.