This essay was written after a prompt given to me in my American Lit. class.
Shouts are heard throughout the hall. Students run to gather at a hot spot in the school’s courtyard. Teachers everywhere are rush to see what is happening. The teachers arrive at the scene; they push through the mass of students, and the sight of two teens fighting greets them. These days, more students appear to be involved in more school fights. Due to the seriousness of this issue, one question rises to the top of many minds: How can we prevent school violence?
The prevention of school violence does not only lie on the shoulders of the staff members, but the students and parents as well. As part of the school, everyone must do what they can to provide a safer environment.
A parent has the most important job when it comes to the prevention of school violence, and that is the discipline of their child. Today more parents would rather ignore or cower away from their child than discipline him/her. If a child is not disciplined at home, how can she/he be disciplined at school?
The second most important job goes to the school’s staff. One way to prevent violence is through fear of punishment. When a student is suspended from school, they are receiving what they want, a free day. Yet when a student is expelled from school, they must now find another way to obtain their education, or else fail in the real world.
The hardest jobs go to the students. For a combatant, a fight is easily provoked, yet the prevention of such takes more bravery. Due to the influences received from friends, walking away has become one of the hardest ways to prevent a fight. Another form of preventing a fight is discussing the problem rather then fighting about it. Students find it easier to resolve their problems and differences through violence due to the fear of rejection and/or alienation.
Not only do the combatants have the hard job preventing the audience has its job as well. When a crowd gathers around to watch a brawl, the fighters are gaining the notoriety they wanted. Most fights occur because possible fame can come from being in a fight. Therefore, if a person prevents others from watching the fight, not only will the fighters loose the desired attention, but it will also give the teachers a hand in resolving the issue quicker. By preventing the spread of gossip and rumors, one can prevent possible fights. Gossip is often meant to instigate a fight, especially if the message is false.
Preventing fights appears to be simple, yet in reality, it is difficult to achieve. A fight can break out over anything and everything. Fights will never die out, yet they can be drastically reduced with the help of everyone.
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Truancy: The root of all school safety problems!
“No child falls through the cracks. They are dropped through or shoved through by lazy, emotionally immature adults and unethical professionals”
After the Columbine shootings I made this statement during an interview on national television. The reporter asked if I really believed that statement and I replied, “absolutely!”
But you may ask what this statement has to do with the issue of truancy? Simple, truant children – who are routinely late or absent – come from dysfunctional homes. Those homes in my experience are lead by caregivers who are more concerned about there own pleasures and convenience than the welfare of their children. Some may say that this is an unkind assessment. My response to them is simple, visit these homes and you will see that this is not an aberration.
While some caregivers have a difficult time because of poverty, work schedules or transitioning to a single parent household; the majority simply refuse to exercise self control or basic order in their homes.
And this assessment is supported by various national studies. Research from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the U.S. Department of Education have found that child neglect and family disorganization are major factors in truancy. The OJJDP also found that “Truancy has been clearly identified as one of the early warning signs of students headed for potential delinquent activity, social isolation, or educational failure via suspension, expulsion, or dropping out.”
More disturbing is a document that I have used for many years in criminal profiling, the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol (J-SOAP-II). In this well respected assessment tool, caregiver issues and truancy become connected as impetuses for teen sex offender development:
Inconstant and instable caregivers before the age of 10. Multiple changes in caregivers and living situations.
Chronic truancy, fighting with peers or teachers.
Dr Gerald Patterson sums up the issue this way, “Parenting plays a critical role in the development process of children. Early discipline failures are a primary casual factor in the development of conduct problems. Harsh discipline, low supervision, lack of parental involvement all add to the development of aggressive children”
Bullying, sexual harassment, negative behavior cliques and aggression towards staff are all done by children who come from dysfunctional homes. But beyond the home environment, schools have a big stake in controlling truancy. Not only is it a major part of NCLB compliance but it affects all school safety issues. The US DOE has tracked the following school issues that directly contribute to truancy.
· Lack of effective and consistently applied attendance policies.
· Poor record-keeping, making truancy difficult to spot.
· Teacher characteristics, such as lack of respect for students and neglect of diverse student needs.
· Unsafe environment, for example a school with ineffective discipline policies where bullying is tolerated. [5 percent of students in grades 9 through 12 skipped school because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.]
Truancy happens in rural, suburban and urban schools and all classes of families. School must take control of their truancy problems or they are bound to be overtaken by it.
A well managed school is a safe school!
Wow, that is an amazing view on what I wrote. The question is now did you agree with what I said or was this a disagreement? Or were you just repling with ideas of your own?
Yes I sent this artcile by our CEO Dale Yeager because it talks about your view that school safety falls on parents not just school staff.
Did you send my article or yours. Sorry I tend to get confused easily. Either way, what did he think about it.
When one life fails another shall begin. Never worry about what might happened, worry about what might not.