School ViolenceSchool ViolenceSchool ViolenceIn the world today there are many different issues that I feel that need to be addressed. One of these many issues is how to end or even prevent school violence. I have noticed throughout the years that school violence has increased tremendously. Are there programs that are offered to teachers to help with school violence? Why are kids more violent now and are there certain characteristics that each violent child has in common? Is it because of how their parents raised them? Do video games really influence violence in children? I feel there are many different attributes that may contribute to this situation. I also believe there are a lot of different options we can take in the world today to stop school violence and make it a safer world for us to live in. Also, it would be safer for our children to live, and be raised in.
After searching on the internet for a while about school violence I came across a school website that offered teachers a program to help prevent and be aware of school violence. The site explained that, “Teachers will learn a comprehensive and proven theoretical model for explaining, predicting and preventing violence. They will acquire the skills and methods necessary to effectively evaluate violence prevention strategies and programs. They will also learn what baseline data to compile for predicting violence in their schools and classrooms” (Preventing). Although this program is available for teachers to take, it is an optional program that not all teachers will be taking. This class is an addition to their degree that would require an amount of money that not all teachers on a starting salary could afford. The price of about six-hundred dollars and a commitment
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I was so excited to see this, that I called my school and asked her parents to help me find that website. While the first thing I did was google “teaching violence, safe zones, or risk management,” the only thing I found that was listed was: My school says they have to do this and they don’t want my students anywhere near my curriculum. Then they said, “You don’t have to take this and you can just use my curriculum as a training resource.” My school didn’t say any more about this because they do not believe students need a safe zone, they just said “the law does not support ‘safe zones.'”
When I was finally able to find that website in my local newspaper, I said, “You have to use the safe zones or I’ll throw it away.” In my story at the time, all of my students reported in their reports that the first three hours of my talk in the curriculum were being prepared. And of course, the majority of the students I spoke with on campus felt a specific need for safe zones. I thought about what that was like to be sitting in an environment as a family and you don’t want the kids to make decisions regarding a child. I knew people felt as though there was some kind of safety issue out there for them because I was talking to kids.Â
What kind of students need safe zones? Let’s walk through some of the first facts.
1. Many public schools around California have safe zones. The California Board of Education issued mandatory minimum safe zones last year for “unreasonable or otherwise disruptive behavior or conduct that’s injurious to or disrupt the conduct of other students.” And many school districts have policies in place to ensure that no one’s children engage in actions that are dangerous for themselves, their health, or the environment or people’s well-being. Â
2. In the case of one school in California where a teacher can be fired for something like this, it’s typically the teachers themselves that are responsible and accountable. And what they do with the students is up to them. They are not responsible for a student’s behavior at the school, for a teacher whose actions are considered disruptive, for a parent that receives an unfair penalty (often an attorney’s fee!) or for a member of the community that receives an unfair penalty for not participating in their family’s activities on their own (their children’s).
3. The safe zones do not affect students’ academic pursuits. Some students say that schools do not enforce any of the safe zones on their students. They are concerned with the lack of “safe zones”; they feel the danger.
4. Many of the children in California’s safe zones have experienced bullying, even when they have been at the school for a whole semester or more. Most “teachers” have said (and continue to say) that this is not something they can do in real life. They also say that if I teach my students the lessons that I teach them or I ask them what their needs are, how they want to succeed in school, the things I teach them, even their emotions, will effect these kids in important ways. In fact, almost all of these parents report that their children are being bullied.
5. The safe zones have long been seen as a way to encourage safe classroom and community learning. They have been used to get a lot of negative social and emotional reactions from students. But many parents will
