Violence at Schools - Essay Example

Running Head: Violence in Schools Violence in Schools College Outline ..page 3Introduction.page 4 Current Problem of School Violence...page 4-6 Solution ...page 6-10 Conclusion....page 10 References.page 11 Abstract Violence in school has been escalating since the 1990's and current situation of violence is unsatisfactory according to American standards. Although gun violence and mass murder violence has caught the media's attention over the years, other types of school violence also need necessary attention. Bullying leads to other forms of violence henceforth it should be prevented in school and the proper recommendations and solutions are discussed. Violence in Schools Education is one of the most aspects of a child's period of growth. To receive education the majority of the United States citizens go to public schools. Whether public or private, unfortunately, the rate of violence is schools is escalating. "School violence exists along a lengthy continuum, at one end marked by minor incidents involving everyday fighting, name-calling, bullying, and minor property destruction and at the other end marked by extortion, rape, homicide, and mass murder." (Gerler and Gerler, 2004, pg. xxxii) To asses the current problem of violence in schools it is necessary to know how big the problem is. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation the statistics for violence in schools and colleges reveals that "Of the 17,065,074 incidents reported through the NIBRS by law enforcement from 2000 to 2004, 558,219 (3.3 percent) occurred at schools." (Noonan and Vavra, 2007) The most offenders belonged to the 13 to 15 age group and the next highest number of offenders was in the 16 to 18 age group. "By looking at only those offenders for whom the age was known, offenders 18 years of age or younger were 4.5 times more likely to be involved in crime at schools than older offenders." (Noonan and Vavra, 2007) Looking at offenders according to gender it was presented that males were more likely to be offenders than females at a 3.3 ratio. In categorizing according to by race, "white offenders accounted for 71.1 percent (280,178); black offenders, 27.4 percent (107,878); and all other races combined, less than 2 percent (6,117)." (Noonan and Vavra, 2007) Another factor important in understanding the reason why these crimes exist is to examine 'victim-to-offender relationship'. "By far, the relationship type most often reported for crime in schools was Acquaintance, with 107,533 instances occurring during the 5-year study period." (Noonan and Vavra, 2007) All of these statistics combined give us perspective into the current problem of why school violence takes place. It helps us target middle school and high school going children as the group of people who need most attention in battling this type of violence. It also reveals pertinent facts related to gender, race and relationship issues when violence is inflicted. Recently, the issue of violence in school has been getting a lot of attention from the media. The first big incident related to school violence committed by the generation Y's is Columbine where two students went around on a shooting rampage killing about 13 students and a teacher. The incident kindled a huge debate over the use of guns in America and became the inspiration for director Michael Moore documentary Bowling for Columbine. According to psychologist Arnold Lazarus violence occurs due to several reasons once of which is behavior. This aspect of his theory discusses the fact that certain kinds of behavior receive attention. "Extraordinary misbehavior, for example, often elicits significant attention from peers, from teachers and school administrators, and -in especially noteworthy cases- from the media." (Gerler and Gerler, 2004)On the other side of the coin, accomplishments in academia are sometimes not given as much importance. In other words, although school accomplishments get attention they are usually less visible and less likely to create a huge attention grabbing uproar like violence will. (Gerler and Gerler, 2004) Although Columbine is an example of one of the most attention grabbing violence in school because of its size there were many incidents in the nineties long before Columbine happened. In the book Violence in American Schools: A New Perspective highlights a few examples of school violence from the nineties. In 1996 a 14 year old honor student from Washington killed two classmates and a teacher with a gun. In 1998, two students in Arkansas opened fire after setting off a fire alarm and killed 4 students. (Elbert, Hamburg, and Williams, 1998, pg, 4) When an inspection is made into the recent violence in schools and colleges we are reminded of Virginia Tech. The current rate of violence in schools in the United is quite unsatisfactory. Although incidents like Columbine and Virginia Tech happen rarely other forms of violence such as bullying, rape, physical and verbal abuse are present in mostly all schools over the nation. The current scenario of violence in schools is far from what any parent would want their child to be a part of and a solution is necessary. A common and simplistic solution that might come to the mind right away is the banning of all guns. Unfortunately, this theory only targets gun violence and leaves out all the other types of violence present in schools starting from bullying all the way to physical fights and rape. To reach a proper solution it is vital to discover why violence occurs in the first place. Since gun violence occurs rarely and less frequently compared to everyday bullying that is violent and can lead to highly violent behavior in the future it is necessary to tackle the issue of bullying first. A study in a Swedish schooled revealed that adolescents feel that are bullied because they do not fit in with the status quo. Different appearances, cultural or religious backgrounds or behavioral patterns attract bullies. The same adolescents also believe that the bullying stops generally because the bully moves on to another target, the person being bullied stands up for him or her self and if a an adult intervenes in the situation. The study also reveals that the person who does the bullying usually has psychological problems, trouble with the family, low self-esteem, tries to fit in to be popular or does it aimlessly because of peer pressure or being bullied first. (Frisn, Jonsson, and Persson, 2007) Having understood the reasons behind why certain acts of violence take place a solution can be provided. "To change the behavior of appetitive, self-serving individuals, those individuals must be convinced that a desired change is in their own best interest. Thus, counseling interventions to arrest the proactive aggression of bullies must convince the bullies that the personal benefit of their aggression is outweighed by both its negative consequences and the tangible benefits of pro-social behavior." (Cited in McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) McAdams and Schmidt believe there are seven recommendations that can serve as a solution to the violence of bullying in school and dealing with tactics that offenders usually use to justify their actions. The first recommendation they give is for counselors to clearly define what kind of behavior they expect from the students. The consequences of unwanted behavior should also be defined and must be dire enough that they minimize the chances of the unwanted behavior occurring in the first place. Also there should not be any loopholes that the student can easily use to his or her benefit. The counselor's job should be to help the students understand the kind of consequences they will face and the downward spiraling affect of these negative consequences on their future along with what the pro's of complying with the standards of behavior. (McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) The second step is to avoid debates and arguments with the aggressors. Students who are involved in any type of misbehavior often indulge in arguments with higher authorities when they are punished or presented with the consequences. Counselors, teachers and anyone dealing with these students should avoid debate and arguments because they convince the person at fault that they are in control of the situation. For example, if a student is given in-school suspension for two days as a consequence of an act of bullying might argue that he or she should not have to serve the second day in suspension because of good behavior on the first day. "To avoid induction into the student's attempt at control, the supervising teacher or school counselor would be advised to (a) refrain from debating the issue, (b) acknowledge the first-day effort and encourage continued success, and (c) follow through with the disciplinary action as assigned." (McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) This will instill in the students mind that he or she cannot prove his or her actions valid through an argument and that the student will remain accountable for whatever misbehavior they were a part of. (McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) The third recommendation is to avoid standardized procedures as rules for behavior standards. "Standardized, predictable responses to bullying behavior (e.g., "When you do this, this is [always] what will happen") enable proactive aggressors to plan their offenses so as to maximize personal benefit and minimize personal cost." This allows the offender to plan according to the standards and provides way too many loopholes as a means of justifying the act of violence. (McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) Next, positive achievements should be reinforced in all students. (McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) This recommendation is in line with Arnold Lazurus's behavior theory discussed earlier as a cause of violence in schools. Academic accomplishments are often overlooked and sometimes even criticized when compared to acts of misbehavior. For this reason, students should receive proper positive reinforcements congratulating their good behavior so they do not feel that they need to seek attention through other forms of behavior. "An important step in helping proactive aggressors change their behavior (and ultimately, their perspective) is to ensure, through careful and continuous monitoring of their activities, that their risks of getting caught are high." (McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) This fifth recommendation requires that counselors, teachers and other staff members stay highly alert at all times and not overlook anything that might be happening where they are present. According an earlier rule debates and arguments should be avoided because offenders can tactfully find loopholes and justify their behavior. Keeping this in mind, the sixth recommendation is to contemplate the feelings inflicted by an offender's action and not necessarily the facts. Objective details such as hard facts can be argue to be right or wrong but subjective details such ash the feelings incurred by the actions can not. By implementing this path of action the counselors will successfully be able to let the bully realize what kind of affect his or her actions has on the victim. In other words, the bully will actually think about the other person's feelings and might be empathetic the next time he or she goes out to bully someone else. (McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) To prevent and stop bullying and other types of crime is not the only thing counselors should want to achieve. They must give the students a pathway to a better behavioral pattern and reward it accordingly. In doing this counselors must also beware of stereotyping students as the ones frequently indulge in violent behavior. These students should be viewed like the other students and be taught how to tackle their problems and aggressions in a better way and be acknowledged accordingly. (McAdams and Schmidt, 2007) In conclusion, the current problem of violence in school is growing everyday. Violence related to guns has been covered by the media so much that other violent behavior such as bullying are sometimes overlooked. Bullying is a part of violent behavior and can lead to more highly violent behavior in school and effective measure should be taken to prevent it. Along with the measures and recommendations provided to prevent bullying can also prevent other crimes present in schools today. References Elliot, D, Hamburg, B, & Williams, K (1998). Violence in American Schools: A New Perspective . Cambridge University. Frisn, A., Jonsson, A., & Persson, C. (2007, Winter). ADOLESCENTS' PERCEPTION OF BULLYING: WHO IS THE VICTIM WHO IS THE BULLY WHAT CAN BE DONE TO STOP BULLYING. Adolescence, 42(168), 749-761. Retrieved April 18, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Gerler, E, & Gerler, E (2004). Handbook of School Violence.Haworth Press. McAdams III, C., & Schmidt, C. (2007, December). How to Help a Bully: Recommendations for Counseling the Proactive Aggressor. Professional School Counseling, 11(2), 120-128. Retrieved April 18, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Noonan, J & Vavra, M (2007, October). School Violence. Retrieved April 18, 2008, from Federal Bureau of Investigation Web site: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/schoolviolence/2007/analyses.htm Read More