РефератыИностранный языкPrPreventing School Violence Essay Research Paper Preventing

Preventing School Violence Essay Research Paper Preventing

Preventing School Violence Essay, Research Paper


Preventing School Violence


Many parents know that from their child?s first day of school, his or her


safety is out of their hands. ?They disappear into a world of mysterious


cliques and rivalries, of grievances rendered in the primary colors of


adolescent emotions and animated by comic book fantasies.?(Adler 36) Parents


try to become familiar with their children?s friends, but are not sure how to


keep track of his or her enemies as well. This impotence causes major concern.


Even though school related killings have statistically dropped over the past


five years, there have been half-a-dozen significant school-shooting incidents


in the last sixteen months. (Cloud 38) Sociologists are trying to determine why


this frightening rash of school shootings now seems to be a U.S. phenomenon, and


how following basic procedures, such as: forming school policies and operations


directed at curbing violence, determining early warning signs of distressed


students, and discussing safety precautions when danger in evident in school


societies, can prevent more of these violent encounters from occurring.


Although most are safe, the violence in neighborhoods and communities has


somehow found its way inside the schools. ?If it is understood what leads to


violence, and the types of support shown effective in preventing it, schools can


be made safer.?(Mulrine 24) Sociological research teams can help school


communities, administrators, teachers, families, students, support staff, and


community members recognize warning signs early, so children can get needed help


before it is too late. (Rosenberg 34)


Well-functioning schools foster learning, safety, and socially appropriate


behavior. They have a strong academic focus and support students in achieving


high standards. In effective schools, most prevention programs address multiple


factors and recognize that safety and order are related to children?s social,


emotional, and academic development. (Drummond 29) Effective prevention


strategies operate best in school communities that focus on academic


achievement, involve families in meaningful ways, develop links to the


community, emphasize positive student-staff relationships, and discuss safety


issues openly. Treating students with equal respect by creating ways for them to


share their concerns and feelings, which may include abuse or neglect, as well


as identifying and assessing progress toward solutions, can also be helpful.


Sociological research shows that school communities can do a great deal to


prevent violence. Having in place a safe, responsive foundation helps all


children?and it enables school communities to provide more efficient,


effective services to students who need more support. (Easterbrook 54) The next


step is to learn the early warning signs of troubled children so that sufficient


interventions can be provided.


According to sociological studies there are early warning signs in most cases


of violence to self and others. Although teachers, administrators, and other


staff are not professionally trained to analyze children, they are on the front


line in observing troublesome behavior, making referrals to appropriate


professionals, and responding to diagnostic information. (Marcus 26) Thus,


effective schools train the entire school community to understand and identify


early warning signs.


When staff seek help for a troubled child, when friends report worries about


a peer or friend, when parents raise concerns about their child?s thoughts or


habits, children can get the help they need. ?By actively sharing information,


a school community can provide quick, effectual responses.?(Rosenberg 34)


Sociologists say that educators and families can increase their ability to


recognize early warning signs by establishing close, caring, supportive


relationships with children?getting to know their needs, feelings, a

ttitudes,


and behavior patterns. (Mulrine 24) Together, educators and parents can review


school records for negative patterns or sudden changes in behavior.


According to sociologists, some other typical early warning signs of possible


destructive behavior can be social withdrawal, excessive feelings of isolation


and rejections, being a victim of violence, being picked on, loss of interest in


school, uncontrolled anger, prejudicial attitudes, gang affiliation, and serious


threats of violence. ?No single warning sign can predict a dangerous act will


occur.?(Lantieri 79) Rather, imminent warning signs usually are presented as a


sequence of overt, serious, hostile behaviors or threats directed at peers,


staff, or other individuals. These signals are usually visible to people in the


child?s school community as well as his or her family.


When warning signs indicator danger is threatening, safety must always be the


first and foremost consideration. Action must be taken immediately. Intervention


by school authorities and possibly law enforcement officers is needed without


delay when a student has presented a detailed plan to harm or kill others,


especially if the child has a history of violence or aggression, is carrying a


weapon, and has threatened to use it. (Devine 109)


After recent fatal shootings in some schools across the country, educators


have been taking drastic actions to increase student safety. Schools have been


installing spiked fences, metal detectors, and emergency alert systems. They are


also employing security guards, searching student property, and training


teachers how to tackle violent situations. According to sociologists, however,


surrounding young people with the elements of a police state may merely fuel


their fascination with guns and increase their resistance to authority. (Adler


38) This is why educators working with sociological teams have turned to the


previously discussed alternatives.


?Security and added law enforcement play a role,?(Marcus 26) but metal


detectors alone cannot guarantee safety. Schools need to look closer for the


troubled, mislead, undisciplined students and guide them through their hard


times. Sociologists believe this will help the problem of violence in schools. (Easterbrook


53) Even the best programs will overlook some mislead students, but most schools


are at least looking harder.


An environment needs to be created that will promote pro-social ways of


dealing with this conflict. ?All jocks and nerds, teachers and parents, even


the misunderstood Goths themselves, are in this together.?(Marcus 26)


Adler, Jerry; Springen, Karen. ?How to Fight Back:


Preventing School Violence.? Newsweek, May 3, 1999,


pp. 36-38.


Cloud, John. ?What Can the Schools do?? Time, May 3,


1999, pp. 38-40.


Devine, John. Maximum Security. Chicago: University of


Chicago Press, 1996.


Dority, Barbara. ?The Columbine Tragedy: Countering the


Hysteria.? The Humanist, July/August 1999, pp. 7-10.


Drummond, Tammerlin. ?Battling the Columbine Copycats.?


Time, May 10, 1999, p. 29.


Easterbrook, Michael. ?Taking Aim at Violence.?


Psychology Today, July/August 1999, pp. 52-56.


?Keeping School?s Safe: A Federal Report.? The Education


Digest, January 1999, pp. 17-25.


Lantieri, Linda. Waging Peace in Our Schools. Boston:


Beacon Press, 1996.


Marcus, David L. ?Metal Detectors Alone Can?t Guarantee


Safety.? U.S. News & World Report, May 3, 1999, p. 26.


Mulrine, Anna. ?Once Bullied, Now bullies– with guns.?


U.S. News & World Report, May 3, 1999, p. 24.


Rogers, Patrick. ?Lessons From the Past.? People Weekly,


May 3, 1999, p. 99.


Rosenberg, Debra. ?Lessons From the Front.? Newsweek,


June 8, 1998, p. 34.


Wheeler, Eugene D. Violence in our Schools, Hospitals, and


Public Places. California: Pathfinder Books, 1994.

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