May 19, 2012

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School Violence

In 1940, talking out of turn and chewing gum were the most common offenses which required disciplinary action. On the other hand, in 1990, drug abuse and alcohol abuse have topped the list for school offenses. In light of the increased severity of offenses, disciplinary actions have had to change. Whereas a 1940′s student could be reprimanded with a detention, our moderns students require more severe disciplinary tactics. Let’s look at the best disciplinary tactics for common school violence issues in today’s society.

Common Violence Problems

Violence in today’s schools is much more commonplace and severe than the violence that existed in 1940′s society. Modern students fight much more often and with much more severity, and the following top the list of physically violent acts and/or actions that often lead to physical violence: Threats, insults, assaults, theft, assault with a weapon, and rape. With these types of violent behaviors, there is obviously a necessity for more severe discipline; the detention used in 1940 to stop gum-chewing will not cut it in today’s schools.

Reasons for Violence

An understanding of the common reasons behind the increased violence can assist officials in deciding a better-suited disciplinary action for violent behaviors. Many children who turn to violence have learned behaviors from the streets and/or home environment, may have little parental supervision, may be resisting/fighting against the poverty in which they were raised, and may seek acceptance from a group or gang.

Disciplinary Actions

The basic principals of modern disciplinary action should therefore include both affirmations for good behavior and disciplinary action for unwanted behavior. Effective discipline can range from suspension to expulsion to anger-management detentions, however, according to research, the combination of discipline for negative behaviors/violence and rewards for positive behaviors can more greatly encourage students to behave well.

The history of discipline and violence has encouraged a multi-faceted approach to discipline in today’s school district. Combining discipline and rewards can lead to a less violent school district.

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School Violence

The theory that school violence can be combated through a combination of discipline and rewards is fascinating to many school officials. Discipline has been the primary method of preventing and fighting school violence for years, but studies on the reasons behind student’s violent behaviors has revealed that students most commonly lean toward violence in an effort to belong and be loved. For example, many young gang members join because they are seeking a group to which they may belong, and the violent behaviors follow.

Rewards

For this reason, seeking group acceptance, student violence can often be prevented by making school group acceptance more desirable and achievable. Providing good, non-violent students with rewards may encourage children leaning toward violence to instead follow the example and seek non-violent school group acceptance. In addition to making the groups more desirable through rewards, a student may be encouraged by a group invitation that makes the group seem more achievable.

Discipline

Of course, violence cannot be combated by rewards alone. Violent behaviors must be addressed. However, some formerly standard disciplinary actions, like suspension, may not discourage student violence. Depending on the severity of the violence. the student may need in-school guidance, anger management courses, out-of-school psychological treatment, and possibly police intervention. In any case, violent behaviors and tendencies must never be tolerated because they can lead to more sever violence from the child, the child’s friends, and copycat children.

Zero-Tolerance

Therefore, a zero-tolerance rule should be applied to school violence. Violence in any form should always be addressed by a teacher, counselor, principal, or police officer. In addition, students may benefit from violence education through an assembly or a required class.

Keeping the children in your school district safe from violence is the top priority of school officials. Thankfully, rewarding the positive, disciplining violence, and adapting a zero-tolerance rule are proven to benefit schools.

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School Violence and Administrator Responsibilities

In schools unlucky enough to have experienced violent behavior from a student, it is very important that counselors are prepared to assist students when school resumes. Students may be fearful, saddened, inattentive, or depressed, so preparing the counseling staff and possibly outside counselors to guide students through feelings is a necessary step in healing the school and preventing follow-up violence, fights, or arguments. Preparing A counseling staff sufficient to the severity of the violence should be on staff. This means that a localized, small violent attack may be addressed by your existing counselors. However, a widespread or extreme attack may require a number of additional counselors and psychologists be brought on staff for days or months following the attack. In the Columbine attack, for example, the severity and widespread actions of the attacks necessitated the school close for the rest of the year, and thorough in-school counseling was offered when school resumed. Guiding Hurting Students After a school shooting or violence, students will go through the many steps of grief, even students who were not close to those injured or killed. It is therefore important to have open-door counseling available to all students who wish to talk. Many students may receive counseling and support from friends and family, and others too close to victims may seek outside counseling rather than in-school counseling. The important things to address in counseling in the aftermath of a shooting or violence is ensuring that all students have a support system and the option of talking to a certified counselor. Counselors should seek out students closest to the victims to make sure they are receiving the help needed, watch for signs of dangers in other students, and offer help where they believe it necessary. Counselors should also request that teachers watch for any signs of depression or copycat violence and report them to the counseling staff immediately. School officials and counselors should be prepared to help students in the aftermath of school violence. Also, counselors should ensure that all students were assisted through some form of counseling, watch for signs of depression, and be on the lookout for copycats.

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School Violence

The reasons behind school violence are plentiful, but most can be narrowed down to a foundation of feeling disrespected by teachers, peers, and school officials. Fights over gang territory, for example, can often be traced to one gang disrespecting another gang’s perceived territory. Disagreements between students can stem from a disrespect of property, ideas, or beliefs. Even the Columbine massacre can be traced to the boys’ perceptions that students and teachers did not respect them as individuals. Therefore, if disrespect is the core reason for many violent actions, it is important to teach students how to respect one another. Teaching Respect Respect may feel like a difficult concept to teach, but the basics can reach children as young as two years old. Most children of this age are taught to respect each other’s property, show respect to elders, and to avoid physically harming each other. Given the basics were learned at an early age, it is easy to re-instill ideas of respect in older children: Remind them of the golden rule. If basics were not addressed in the formative years, it may be more difficult to teach children to show respect. The basic idea that respecting another human means that you acknowledge their ability to be hurt or upset can be more difficult to convey to children at a later age. However, children may respond to the idea that you might not agree with a person but can accept that a person has feelings, even if they think differently. Leading by Example The other important way to teach respect is to show respect. As teachers, it is important to respect every student, teacher, and administrator who may cross your path. By showing respect, a teacher leads students to repect others through example. Even though respect is a difficult concept for may students to grasp, respect is the key to decreasing school violence. Teaching young children about respect makes the concept easier, but older children can also learn.

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Violence Cannot Be Tolerated

Black Eye
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School violence used to imply that Johnny hit Joey on the playground. Slapping fights were regular occurrences at schools throughout the country, and the occasional black eye was not unheard of. The principal would pull the kids apart and give each one of them a detention or a punishment of cleaning the blackboards at the end of the day, or no recess for a week. Mom was rarely called, and usually only when a student talked back to a teacher or the principal.

Fast forward 30 years and school violence has become a major epidemic in our country. Students in elementary schools are bringing weapons to school, using school supplies as weapons, or just beating each other until ambulances have to be called. Weekly, sometimes daily we are hearing of violence erupting in our schools on the news. Angry children are taking out that anger on other students. Bullying is at an all time high and is not about to disappear. The so-called Latch Key Kids have no supervision after school, so it is nothing for them to hang around and start something on school grounds. Gangs are recruiting members as young as fifth grade, and teaching them the violence necessary in order to be “part of the family.”

The principals and administrators of our schools have a very important job. Keeping our schools safe for our children has become a full time job. The administration of the school is ultimately responsible for making sure that violence stays out of our school. At principalconnections.org our principals and administrators can get much needed help on the issue of school violence. Principals can get a clear view on exactly what the law is, and what the responsibility of the administration is. They can learn what discipline they are allowed to enforce and what to do when that does not work. We all know today’s administration can use all the help they can get.

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A Principal Role

LONDON - NOVEMBER 18:The wife of Prime Ministe...
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The principal in a school plays a very important part in our child’s education. Just as important as reading and writing is in school, so is maintaining order and keeping the place our children go to learn a safe and happy learning environment. To that end, the role of our administrators has changed drastically over the years. Gone are the days of corporal punishment, which I think we all would agree is not a terrible thing. No longer can the principal literally take discipline into their own hands, using switches or paddles as they see fit. However, in recent years there has been an epidemic of violence in our schools, and the responsibilities of our administrative staff has never been so important.

The principals and administrators in a school now have an even more difficult path to follow. The disciplinary acts that can be carried out have changed so much that it is difficult for our administrative staff to know exactly what they can do in a certain situation, and how to effect the best possible outcome. It is all black and white, there must be proof of a violent act. If the student with the black eye won’t say who gave it to them, what is the principal to do? To help principals and administrators in this regard there is principalconnections.org. This is a “go-to” site for school principals and administration. It can effectively tell a principal what the roles of administration are, their main responsibilities, how disciplinary acts have changes in the education system and the best way to go about handing a particular situation.

We all know that bullying and school violence are not going to change anytime soon. It is an age old problem, and one that is not going anywhere. However, with effective administration, principals who care and really want to provide a safe, violence free environment for our youth, there is help.

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