Children Violence in School - Case Study Example

School Violence: Are Our Children Safe? Introduction Even though statistics show that it is safer for our children to be in school than out of school, violence is still something that should concern parents and guardians. When a parent sends their child off to school, they should not be worried if they will see their child come home. They do not expect there to be any sort of danger and are always taken aback when something does take place. While there are many dangers to be aware of, it should also be known that the majority of school campuses have people – police officers, security guards, et cetera – to prevent things from happening, as well as trying to be aware before they happen. Violence in our schools varies in degrees of danger, from simple fights involving individuals, to riots that involve larger groups, and events as big as shootings and bombings, when there may not be any particular victim. There have been many instances when the safety of a child, or children, at school have been threatened, such as the Columbine shooting and the shootings at other schools that still follow, years after. It is impossible to predict these events, even if tips and small signs have showed up. Students are being protected by the dangers that can be presented to them, but like in other public settings – the streets, a store, or a restaurant – the protection given to them may not always be effective enough in the long run. The schools do their parts by keeping their eyes open for trouble and for preventing it, but it is also up to the parents to let their children be aware of the possible dangers, and for the children to keep themselves out of trouble. School’s responsibility As soon as a student steps out of their front door to head to school and until they step back through their front door after school, they are the responsibility of the school. This especially applies if the child is receiving transportation provided by the school, such as bus service by the school or arrangements made with public transportation or carpooling. Once a child leaves for school, they are no longer in the safety of their parents’ hands. This is something that many parents do not consider until something unfortunate happens. As it is the school’s responsibility to see that each student is safe while on campus, it is up to them to see that the proper precautions are taken. There is no such thing as too much or too little security on school campuses. For the sake of safety, the more the merrier! Nowadays, nation-wide, schools have even begun setting up metal detectors at entrances into the schools, as well as occasional locker and backpack searches led by police or security teams. In some of the schools that hold bad reputations, trained dogs are brought in from time to time to do the work that officers could not. While these precautions are still being put into place and used to their advantages, they are still not effective enough, as students are still able to sneak in guns and other weapons onto campus. An online video clip (AOL) showed that a student could fit as many as twelve guns – including a shotgun or rifle – into a pair of baggy pants. This shows that bringing weapons into school is not exactly a difficult feat. This also puts into perspective what a strict dress code can do in protecting children. It offers fewer options for a child to bring weapons into school. This can also include the availability of personal lockers for students, as they also provide an easy hideaway for an array of weapons, or even small clues to signal something to happen, such as letters or written plans. Other things to be considered are the behaviors of students, such as what they do, what they say, and how they go about doing all of it. Many of the students to involve themselves in dangerous acts on campus have been considered quiet and antisocial which, while not being signs to be aware of, should be taken into consideration if it is not normal behavior of an individual. All of the aforementioned things fall into the hands of the school staff and administration. It is their responsibility to look at every perspective of campus life and consider what should be done to keep things calmer and safer. An increase in security, guidance counselors, or in simple communication with students can make a big difference. Parents are putting their trust in school systems to keep their children safe, though they are finding it difficult to be reassured when the evening news brings more terror and devastation from seemingly quiet schools. Terrorism in schools Violence in schools has unfortunately become a common thing, and it is said that the trend started from the Columbine school shooting on 20 April 1999. School shootings had occurred before, though they became more frequent after the Columbine High School shooting. The Columbine shooting shook up the small, quiet town of Littleton, Colorado for the fact that people considered the school to be a good, quiet place. Many people do not expect things such as shootings to take place, so they are shocked when they do. In the Columbine shooting, fifteen people died, including one teacher and the two gunmen, and twenty-four people were injured. Very few warning signs were immediate to the public, though many were found afterwards; including a website that the two gunmen had put together that explained the creation of pipe bombs and included a “hit-list” of people they would like to kill. The two gunmen had both been unpopular and often bullied, which are two behavioral signs that are now being considered in behavior that needs to be observed before it turns into something else. The shooting at Columbine High School is proof that violence of that degree can happen anywhere, which only puts into question how much safety is being put into schools to prevent these incidents. A school, as a whole, may seem a safe place to be, but all it takes is an individual or two to prove people wrong. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, and that is something that schools need to take into consideration. After the shooting at Columbine High School, parents, students, and school administration alike of high schools nation-wide became more wary about the levels of safety surrounding them. Schools that contained younger students were not as concerned, thinking that their students were too young to understand what took place and would not try pulling the same thing themselves. This happy thought was shunted aside when, on 29 February 2000, a first-grade girl was shot and killed by a fellow classmate (Goldberg, 2000). People were surprised when two high school students were found to be capable of sneaking guns and other weapons into school. Now they see that there is no possible level of absolute safety if a six-year-old is able to do the same thing and accomplish what he wanted to do. The deadliest act of violence on an American campus is one of the things that the Virginia Tech shootings became known. Thirty-three people died on 16 April 1007, including the gunman. The shooting came in two separate sequences – one at 7:15am and another at 9:45am. The greatest flaw in the safety factor of these shootings is that many people were not aware of the first shooting, nor did school officials go to any strong precautions other than to close down the dorm in which the first shooting took place. They were quick to believe that the gunman had left campus, or possibly even the state (Hauser, 2007). Even after the second, most gruesome shooting, many students were still left in the dark about what happened. One has to wonder how many students could have been saved had the campus been locked down, or the students even more properly warned, after the first round of shootings. Other acts of school violence Gang violence is a well-known form of violence, especially on high school campuses, where rivalries are almost forced to be in the same vicinity with each other. Shootings have often resulted in gang-related problems, though only the opposing gang was targeted. Targeted fights have broken out, and at times, these cause others to fight or to even riot, once the entire ruckus has begun. It is more difficult to control a crowd than a handful of people, and students like to take advantage of this. Are students as safe as we think? Many parents, students, and school administration would argue that, no, students are not as safe as they should be. This is shown with each violent act, no matter how big or small it may seem, that takes place while students are on campus. While any act of violence is dangerous and threatening to even those not involved, up to 49% of schools have reported violent acts that did not involve weapons. They may not have involved weapons, but as that is almost half of the schools in the nation, it is a number to be extremely worried about. However, 21% of junior/middle schools have reported acts of violence that did involve weapons (Security World, 2007). It was also reported that there are one hundred times more guns being carried by students than children have been reporting. Since 1994, school violence has decreased, though, after 2003, may be on the rise again as new threats are being made to students (Youth Violence Project, 2005). This graph shows the rate per 1,000 students. A student that is threatened or is injured with a weapon while at school is more common in males than in females, and has increased during the years. The rates of school bullying in middle schools and high schools can easily be correlated with shootings and other acts of violence that take place at those schools. These graphs and statistics show that students are not as safe as people believe them to be, only because many of the things that take place go unreported. Many acts of violence stem from having been victimized themselves (Coloroso, 2004). Counterargument: It begins with the students After the events that shook up Columbine High School and the murder of the first-grade girl in the Michigan elementary school, Dr. Scott Poland, the president of the National Association of School Psychologists, states, “The students are the absolute keys to the process (Dunne, 2000).” Poland believes that the schools can only do so much, and that the majority of the safety that can be part of a school begins with the students. The article goes on to say teachers missed the chance to better their school by not sitting down with their students and discussing safety possibilities, or other ways in which to improve what takes place on campus. Safety hardware and security guards can only do so much; many schools often do not want to bother with the expenses involved in those tools, as they do not always seem to be effective. Other things being viewed as the problem of safety on school grounds is the size of the schools, the lack of support for zero tolerance, and the fact that students will not speak up. All of these issues fall onto the students. Students are not promoting zero tolerance, nor are they reporting threats and concealed weapons to the people that can help. Despite the fact that the majority of schools nation-wide offer an anonymous telephone number that a student can call to report such incidents, students still fear being found out by other students. Conclusion While students play a large part in the breach of safety on school campuses, they should not be the ones entirely blamed for what takes place. Those that choose to bring in weapons or to engage themselves in violent activities, as well as those that do not report violent incidents or threats, are the students that need to be considered in the safety of the school. More guidance should be made available to every student, no matter what is bothering them, without making them feel like outcasts for seeking help. Less violence would occur if more students were getting the help that they needed. Like any place on Earth, schools are not safe places to be. The prevention of school violence is a full circle – students, teachers, staff, security, and parents all play a large part in what may or may not happen on school campuses. All schools have the means to be safe, but they cannot always prevent the stray bullet that can shatter everything. References AOL. Guns in school. Retrieved on May 18, 2008, from http://video.aol.com/video-detail/guns-in-school/1133043294. Coloroso, Barbara. (2004). The bully, the bullied, and the bystander. Colorado: Collins. Dunne, Diana. (2005). School issues: Are are children safe in school? Retrieved May 20, 2008, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues071.shtml. Goldberg, Randi. (2000). The Columbian: 1st grader shot, killed at school. Retrieved May 20, 2008, from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-25099792.html. Hauser, Christine. (2007). New York Times: Virginia Tech shooting leaves 33 dead. Retrieved May 21, 2008, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shooting.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin. Security World. (2007). School violence statistics. Retrieved May 19, 2008, from http://www.securityworld.com/ia-428-school-violence-statistics.aspx. Youth Violence Project. (2005). Violence in schools. Retrieved May 19, 2008, from http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/violence-in-schools/national-statistics.html. Read More