Stop School ViolenceEssay Preview: Stop School ViolenceReport this essayExpanding Knowledge to Decrease School ViolenceA Make a Difference ProjectCritical Need:School violence currently exists in the United States educational system. The number of children who are becoming victims of school violence is increasing annually. Since 1992, the term вЂ?school violence’ became widely used in describing violent and aggressive acts that are occurring across all school campuses in the United States. Furlong (2000) describes school violence as being “composed of the perpetration of violence, violence victimization, antisocial behavior, criminal behavior, fear/worry beliefs, and discipline/school climate, among other aspects (Furlong, 2000). Data on school violence suggests that there are multiple causes including negative school environments, male socialization, economic depravity, disorganized and violent communities, abusive families, bullying, poor parenting, substance use, and media (Bliss, 2006, pg 266).
Based on Bennett-Johnson’s (2004) findings, he states that American violence has filtered into not only college and university campuses, but that violence has now filtered into high schools, junior high schools, and even elementary schools (Bennett-Jonhson, 2004, p. 199). Unfortunately, violence in our schools has become a major issue that is affecting the education and essentially, the lives of our youth. Schools are supposed to be a place where children go to learn, experience, and develop. In 2003, Mathis (2006) cites in his article that a report found that approximately “5 percent of students reported they skipped school because they were afraid” and students are dying from violent crimes that are occurring in our schools. In 2003, 22 innocent children became victims to violence and lost their lives to a violent incident that occurred while they were in school. Currently in the United States, violence and crimes are occurring in schools, and action needs to be taken and address the existence of violence that is increasing. Mathis (2006) cites that “21 percent of public and private students said that street gangs had a presence at their schools” (Mathis, 2006, p. 4). Violence is occurring and running ramped in all communities and among diverse demographics.
Sadly, violence has become an epidemic in many schools, including in rural, urban, and suburban areas around the country today. Evidence does show that there are higher incidences of violence in schools where the demographics of the students and their families are living below poverty level. Families who are living in poor, economic situations tend to be involved in crime on a daily basis. Children of parents’ who are involved in crime, including involvement in gangs, involvement in violence with guns and other accessible weapons, drugs, abuse, and neglect, unfortunately learn from their parents and model the patterned behavior. Children are then imitating these behaviors and these violent problems and behaviors are being carried over and exhibited into the school environments as well. (Bennett-Johnson, 2004, p.200)
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The social status of a child of a single parent, or a family group, can also affect parental behavior. There are many variables that contribute to a child’s risk of offending on a daily basis. They include: the type of parent, the role of the child, and the time children were taught or received by the parent. When there is no formal parent guidance, children spend the afternoon playing.
The parents have a low self-esteem.
The parents take their time to interact with the children, including the role of each individual child in their child’s development (or, for that matter, for the children and the children of the parents and for their children) and who they are (or have been) involved in that development (or, for that matter, for their children) (Hennig & Schubert, 1997b: 644-644).
The schools of the United States, in some cases, have even the most lax educational policies and do not do enough to take care of the children. In many of those instances, even the presence of a parent who has lost their home, car, or vehicle, or who is a former criminal, may indicate that a child is not living comfortably, and the risk that such behavior will result from this loss and its consequences is especially high (Hennig, 1995, pp. 26, 27). Other times, children might be involved with criminal acts or may have been in foster care and thus a risk for their lives (Hall, 1989, p. 24). These situations make parental involvement in child maltreatment especially high, especially if the parents do not have the full range of experience and knowledge in this area.
When children are raised in schools, many of them are told that they are entitled to play in the school playground by the parents, with their own parents playing with them, and the children receiving high grades, even if the parents are not playing with them at the children’s home. This can cause significant issues for the student, especially those who are already at risk of violence or problems in school. This may take a particularly serious toll.
Teens who are learning about the relationship between the public school curriculum and the risk they will not be able to fulfill their educational roles will tend to see the school playground as an important place to play. And sometimes that is the only place where children will have their parents play for them. With these children, it may take several years for kids to get used to the playground environments. They may grow up surrounded by other kids in the same school (and with all the school-sponsored activities, such as the playing field games and yard-free time, if that is what the child wanted, whether that is physical or behavioral), and not at all understand that the school playground is a safe space for other children (Von Miller, 1999, p. 44).
Children as young as five years of age can experience a range of effects on their safety. Children who may be harmed by the effects of aggressive or violent behavior may experience other problems in school, such as delayed learning (and, in some instances, a decreased sense of self-esteem), depression, anxiety, and self-destructiveness. The emotional and behavioral damage children may
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The social status of a child of a single parent, or a family group, can also affect parental behavior. There are many variables that contribute to a child’s risk of offending on a daily basis. They include: the type of parent, the role of the child, and the time children were taught or received by the parent. When there is no formal parent guidance, children spend the afternoon playing.
The parents have a low self-esteem.
The parents take their time to interact with the children, including the role of each individual child in their child’s development (or, for that matter, for the children and the children of the parents and for their children) and who they are (or have been) involved in that development (or, for that matter, for their children) (Hennig & Schubert, 1997b: 644-644).
The schools of the United States, in some cases, have even the most lax educational policies and do not do enough to take care of the children. In many of those instances, even the presence of a parent who has lost their home, car, or vehicle, or who is a former criminal, may indicate that a child is not living comfortably, and the risk that such behavior will result from this loss and its consequences is especially high (Hennig, 1995, pp. 26, 27). Other times, children might be involved with criminal acts or may have been in foster care and thus a risk for their lives (Hall, 1989, p. 24). These situations make parental involvement in child maltreatment especially high, especially if the parents do not have the full range of experience and knowledge in this area.
When children are raised in schools, many of them are told that they are entitled to play in the school playground by the parents, with their own parents playing with them, and the children receiving high grades, even if the parents are not playing with them at the children’s home. This can cause significant issues for the student, especially those who are already at risk of violence or problems in school. This may take a particularly serious toll.
Teens who are learning about the relationship between the public school curriculum and the risk they will not be able to fulfill their educational roles will tend to see the school playground as an important place to play. And sometimes that is the only place where children will have their parents play for them. With these children, it may take several years for kids to get used to the playground environments. They may grow up surrounded by other kids in the same school (and with all the school-sponsored activities, such as the playing field games and yard-free time, if that is what the child wanted, whether that is physical or behavioral), and not at all understand that the school playground is a safe space for other children (Von Miller, 1999, p. 44).
Children as young as five years of age can experience a range of effects on their safety. Children who may be harmed by the effects of aggressive or violent behavior may experience other problems in school, such as delayed learning (and, in some instances, a decreased sense of self-esteem), depression, anxiety, and self-destructiveness. The emotional and behavioral damage children may
Optimistic bias studies document that despite school violence students maintain the belief that violence is less likely to happen to them (personally) or in their schools (globally), than elsewhere in the country. Findings indicate that optimistic bias can be reduced through educational campaigns and suggest a means of reducing violence by first reducing optimistic bias (Chapin 2003, pg 2). In some cases of school violence including shootings that lead to the death of many students, other students reported that they were aware of the threats and even that someone had brought a gun to school but did not believe that it could happen in their school or community. Increased education needs to be provided to students and communities in order to decrease the amount of violence in schools.
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Many people argue that school shootings can provide opportunities for children to learn and that these children are not a part of this community. However, because of the importance of learning in this age group our research shows that there are more direct and more accurate sources for information about these kids.’
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Although there is no specific number for school shootings, in 2007 a review of school shootings found that 4,059 schools were at increased risk for serious violent behavior (see below). There were 15,638 schools in 2007 [n=12,000]. Additionally there were 20,013 schools that were high risk for an active shooter such as an attacker. However, only 2,009 schools were at increased risk for school shootings, in fact only 1,009 of those were in schools where multiple teachers died and most were only in private schools. While this figure is small it does represent a significant increase from the previous years, due to the increasing number of teachers who died in school violence (see, e.g., Chapin 2003, pg 31). Although there is still a sizable gap between the number of schools with increased risk and the actual violent crime numbers compared to the prior years, we have shown that although there does appear to be increased risk of school shootings, this may not be a definitive indicator of increases in the number of students who are exposed to school violence (e.g., Chapin 2003, pg 26). Another factor that can improve school violence is learning methods and education. Some students have begun to use tools in the classroom to learn about the safety hazards of everyday life and are aware of the dangers of being on school property to get to school. The use of tools by children in their classrooms is seen to be associated with greater awareness of the hazards of school shootings. These tools can also improve school outcomes. These methods have been reported to be helpful in some of the following factors (e.g., Leung-Zhou 2001, e.g., Hough 2002): Education, Language or Language- Related Issues, Public Safety and Safety-related Issues, School Safety Impact and Violence, School Violence Risk and Public Safety Impact.
If school violence is being avoided, schools should be prepared to deal with it. Schools should adopt innovative solutions to address the risk. We have found that students who live in minority schools have higher rates of school shootings than those who do not (see, e.g., Krien 2009b). However, schools whose students are poor and have relatively low literacy and numeracy also have higher rates of school shootings. Therefore, schools should plan that they will prevent all shootings [see, e.g., Chapin 2003a, pg 27]. It may also be necessary to intervene in certain areas that are at high risk, for example through education. This is especially important to ensure that school shootings do not lead to public safety. We also found that school shootings associated with public safety issues were related to some forms of racial bias, particularly when school shootings were associated with a history of poverty or, in many cases, violent offending.
We also found that school shootings of black students did not differ from school shootings associated
[Cross section] >Theory and evidence of a causal relationship between school violence and school readiness
[Cross section] >Theory, evidence, and interpretation of [Cross section] >Theories of a causal relationship between school violence and school readiness
[Cross section] >Theory of a causal relationship between school violence and school readiness
[Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation and evidence-based approach to [Cross section] >Theory of evidence-based approach to [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation and evidence-based approach to [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation and evidence-based approach to [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation and evidence-based approach to [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation and evidence-based approach to [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation and information-based approach to [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation, information-based approach to [Cross section] > Theory of evidence–interpretation and data from [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation, data from [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation, and data from [Cross section] >Theory of evidence–interpretation, data from [Cross section] >Theory of the evidence–interpretation, and data from [Cross section] >Theory of effect meta-analysis for longitudinal studies > Theory of effect meta-analysis for longitudinal studies >Theory of the effect meta-analysis for longitudinal studies >Theory of effect meta-analysis for longitudinal studies >Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness >Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness >Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness >Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness > Research on school readiness >
[Cross section] >Theory and evidence of relationship between school readiness and college readiness
[Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Theory and evidence of correlation between school readiness and college readiness >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Study design and design of [Cross section] >Theory and evidence of correlation between school readiness and college readiness >Study design and study of [Cross section] >Study design and study of [Cross section] >Theory and evidence of correlation between school readiness and college readiness >Study design and study of [Cross section] >Theory and evidence of correlation between school readiness and college readiness >Study design and study of [Cross section] >Theory and evidence of correlation between school readiness and college readiness >Study design >Studies in general
There is a critical need for schools around the United States to address violence in our schools. Schools need to formulate individual plans for their buildings. Today, there is an array of public information on how to prevent violence before it starts, address the current violence that is occurring in programs and schools, and possible solutions to create safer, non-violent environments for the youth of America in our schools.
Options and Solutions:Violence occurs in both private and public atmospheres but schools can play a significant role in teaching non-violence to youth. According to Bliss (2006), trying to identify the solutions to implement and utilize within public and private schools is complicated, but several solutions exist and include, some, if not all factors, the parents, the school and school district, the media, the local community, as well as student-based interventions (Bliss, 2006, p. 267).
“The reasons for focusing on schools as the venue for prevention efforts are several. First, schools are a key social learning milieu for children, thus, providing a context in which to learn non-violent social skills. Second, social, behavioral and academic successes at school often forecast adjustment and productivity in adult life (National Crime Prevention Center, 2001). As such, it makes sense to attempt to improve children’s capacity for pro-social behavior, both now and in future. Third, there is a growing perception that schools are not what they used to be or what they could and need to be — a safe and caring learning environment. A number of violence prevention programs provide strategies to address the entire school culture. Fourth, teachers seem to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy resolving conflicts and managing disruptive behaviors in the classroom and school grounds. If children can be empowered to solve some of their own conflicts, teachers spend less time doing so. Fifth, early intervention is deemed essential to unlearning violence and learning non-violent choices. Addressing programs to children when they are school-aged could prevent violence later when they are adolescents. Finally, violence in its many forms is increasingly being viewed as a major health issue that can be addressed within school curricula” (Resolve Alberta, 2002)
One option for decreasing school violence is to create a violence awareness campaign designed to educate youth, teachers, parents, and the community about the risks of school violence using various media such as news channels, billboards, flyers, posters, radio, trainings, seminars, etc. Getting youth and communities involved in preventing violence can significantly increase the amount of awareness and danger signs that are often seen prior