There are many factors for the occurrence of school violence. The two most common factors are substance abuse, association with gangs, and guns. School laws try to prevent these factors from endangering the youths in the schools. Many school officials and citizens are convinced that the growing problems of student disruption and general lack of respect for authorities are attributable directly to an over emphasis on students’ rights. The increase in violence, drugs, and weapons in schools has directed our attention to the need to talk all reasonable steps to ensure a safe learning environment for students and teachers. Some citizens and teacher blame this on public schooling. There are many organizations that try to help end school violence such as SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere). Other countries such as Germany and Canada have witnessed school violence in their community. I believe that this is not only a United States problem, but also a global problem that quickly needs to be resolved.
Guns are flooding our school system and the statistics are staggering. More American youths have been killed by guns in the last thirteen year than were killed during the entire Vietnam War. “Every year since 1950, the number of American children killed by guns doubled every two days, the equivalent of an entire classroom of kids (twenty-five) are killed by guns. Every three hours, someone between the ages of ten and nineteen is killed with a gun.”(Day, 1996, pg. 33)
Gangs have also played a large role in school violence. A gang is a group of people, usually of the same ethnic group and from the same neighborhood. Even though many people think of black teenagers when they think of gangs, there are white, Asian, Hispanic, and even Samoan gangs. “For some young people, gangs provide the only emotional and physical security they have ever known such as providing respect, power, family and security.”(Day, 1996, pg. 40). Unfortunately, gang membership can also be dangerous. Gangs continue to be a major problem in schools. Experts say there is no simple solution, but by working together, parents, community leaders, police officers, school officials, and teachers make a difference.
Substance abuse is another reason there is violence in the schools. “In a survey of students in grades nine through twelve, nearly one-fourth of the students had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property”(Day, 1996, pg.
Violence in school goes back to the 1800s’. The first publicly funded schools for delinquents was built in Massachussettes during 1847. In 1899 Illinois “established the first statewide court for children”. During the 1900s’ “progressive education movements challenge, emphasized on strict discipline in public schools”. (b19) In the 1940s’ teachers still supported the use of progressive education, but there was an uproar in juvenile delinquency after World War Two. The 1960s’ courts expanded the use of human rights and process protections to students. School began to hire security, and monitoring devices, to protect schools from vandalism, and burglary. The 1990s’ sparked congress to create a “gun-free school zone”(b18), by making it illegal to bring guns within 1,000 feet of any school. In 1995 violence for juveniles reached the top at a rapid growth, then declined.
There are few known active members of street gangs attending district schools. The gang activity that is seen is that of ‘want-to-be’ gang members who are influenced by family members who are involved in street gang activity. Other ‘want-to-be’ members are often swayed by popular culture. Primarily, school administrators and district officials encounter smaller groups of students, anywhere from 3 to 10 students,from elementary to senior high, who band together and give the group a name. The group serves as a support system for members. These groups tend to be fluid and can disband as quickly as they formed. Most of these groups are benign and caused few difficulties. On occasion there have been groups that have caused greater disruption including violence, intimidation, and drug use. This has led to suspension and student transfer. When a student is identified as a street gang member or has shown signs of street gang influence the first intervention the district takes is to inform the parents of the individual, awareness is
It is necessary for the schools in the United States to take more action in order to keep the students safe during the day. It is obvious that schools are not safe, forcing everyone to take a part in stopping the violent behavior which takes place in schools on a daily basis. There are many warning signs and ways to prevent this violence from taking place, it is just a matter of using money more wisely and creating more programs for preventing violence before it erupts in schools. There is no excuse for students to feel unsafe in an environment which the government forces them to be in. It is necessary that more action take place and that more training take place in order for schools to be safer, and in the event where violence does occur, the staff of the school is equipped to stop it before it gets out of hand. There is no time like now to keep the children and our schools safe from predators and especially from school violence.
It is true that due to the positive learning atmosphere, schools have been regarded as a safe place for many years. Even today students and parents believe that schools are safe. If violence is increasing in youth culture, schools would be considered a dangerous place, but yet it remains known as secure. In addition, security has increased tremendously, within airports, major league sporting events, and upgraded police surveillance at American schools. Knowing this a logical assumption would be that violence has decreased. However, in my opinion, youth’s culture is changing and as a result violence is rising.
Welsh, Wayne N. "United States." Teen Violence: A Global View. Eds. Allan M. Hoffman and Randal W. Summers. Westport, CT: Greenwood P, 2001.
School violence has become an increased peril, affecting not only those involved, but the society in itself. The underlying reason for this phenomenon is that it is derived from bullying and easy access of weapons. It can even happen by the hands of a person who does not attend the school where the act takes place. Bullying has become an epidemic in America amongst school children. Though there are rules enforced about weapons at school, the weapon is usually not detected until the incident takes place. I have witnessed violence in the form of fighting while in school, however, I have never imagined that it has become so aggressive and affects children at younger ages. We must take a bold stand to stop these incidents from occurring!
Currently with easy access to guns, gun violence occurs all too commonly on our streets, in our schools and workplaces. A child or teen is killed or injured by guns every 30 minutes. (3) Young children and teens have become insensitive to this gun culture, and in many neighborhoods, children expect to die violently, probably by being shot. Despite living in the world's richest, strongest, freest nation, children often do not have the freedom to believe one day they will ...
In this section, the links between parental education levels and their children’s violent behavior at school will be discussed.
Mass shootings have been a prominent part in American history ever since the events of Sandy Hook – particularly, mass shootings within a school building. Lack of regulation and appropriate control has allowed for those with ill intentions to purchase a gun without any delay, walk into a school unopposed, and open fire on those that most require our protection and care. Despite this cycle of violence repeating time and time again, little has been done to significantly combat the danger of gun violence and its effect on our youth. Steps must be taken to ensure students receive an education without fear of being the next casualty – namely, the removal of guns from the surrounding area.
Gang violence is a growing problem in this world. No parent would like to imagine their kids dealing with weapons or being threatened by them. These violence’s affects each child individually and their families as well. These gangs recruit multiple different individuals for many reasons such as bribery, family traditions, or even threatening. Although, many kids feel like they have to be a part of it but there are many resources out in this world to prevent them from believing so. Gang violence has been a problem in society for several of years and is a growing problem each and every day.
Out of all the questions asked in the survey, the highest positive response to a question of illegal drugs on school property. An average of 30.2% of the children responded that they had been offered, sold or given illegal drugs at school. Leading the category was Hispanic males with 36.9% of them having engaged in some form of drug distribution or some one offering them drugs. The next question with a high response was if these children have ever engaged in a physical fight on school property. A total of 14.2% answered yes to the question. In the same category Hispanic ...
Can violence in our schools be stopped? Most would say no. Intervention and prevention on the other hand, are the first steps to decrease senseless violence that occur in our schools. There have been hundreds of incidents of violence in schools, from arguments, to fights, and eventually untimely school shootings. The prevention of school violence is more than a week-long event on a calendar; it takes time, effort, and willingness to better understand a need for safer schools for kids.
Even since the shooting at Columbine High School caught the attention of America and all the world on April 20, 1999, high school shootings and other forms of violence at schools has been plaguing America during the last ten years. It is also found that most of the violence that occurs in high schools is caused by young men. Students aren’t feeling safe at school anymore and parents are enraged that students could bring the weapons to school in the first place. Many people have brought their own opinions into play about why violence in schools occurs. Such causes range from violence in the media, being treated poorly by peers and administrators in school, all the way to poor parental decisions. Although these are only a few of the possible causes for violence in schools, they are defiantly the most prevalent reasons.
Foster, H. & Hagan, J. (2001) Youth Violence and The End of Adolescence. American Sociological Review 66 (6) Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/action/doAdvancedSearch?q0=violence+&f0=all&c0=AND&q1=youth+gangs&f1=all&c1=AND&q2=america&f2=all&c2=AND&q3=&f3=all&wc=on&Search=Search&sd=&ed=&la=&jo=
Violence in schools has spread widely throughout the nation. This has caused many problems among students, families, faculty of schools, and residents of the areas. However, there are many possible ways we can stop all this violence in schools. Almost three-fourths of the United States teens are afraid of violent crime amongst their peers (Apfel 23). Violence in schools has become a big problem in todays society. With all the people being injured or killed in schools by guns and other weapons, more and more people are getting more weapons to bring in to schools. Nearly half of all males and one-third of all students including females said they could easily obtain a handgun if they wanted to (Glazer 14).