Within the past 15 to 20 years, there has been an increase of violent situations occurring within the school setting. Due to this increase, laws have been enacted in order help minimally alleviate and help respond to the violence that occurs within schools. However, violent events within the schools is still a major problem encountered by educators, administrators, parents, and students. The common acts of violence that occur range from simple threats all the way to mass shootings and suicide. Unfortunately, the current laws simply cover acts of violence only when and/or after the violent acts occur. This calls for more stringent laws that take a proactive approach in preventing violent incidents from escalating into catastrophic situations. This paper will focus on how laws towards violence in schools should be conceived in a way that will proactively implement strategies and alternative methodologies to profiling students. This paper will also discuss the current laws, policies, and statutes such as the Zero Tolerance Laws that need to be ratified in order to create a safe and violent-free atmosphere for all students, equip school officials with the necessary tools to maintain safety, prevent situations from escalating, and handle situations in a proactive manner with the aim of preventing injury and loss of life. Keywords: Profiling, Weapons, Massacre, Preventing, Zero Tolerance Laws, Threats, Suicide, Mass Shooting, Gun-Free Zone Act of 1994, Proactive, Columbine, Least
A. Attention Getter: We all know that schools are Gun-free zones. Schools specifically have been gun free zones since 1990 when the Gun-Free School Zone Act was passed. The idea that making somewhere a gun-free zone would stop a shooter like the two young men in Columbine, is a nice thought, but is more wishful thinking than anything because as we can see, it didn’t stop them.
The intention of this paper is to look at and present some issues and strategies that members of a school community think about when trying to create safer schools. Particularly when addressing an active shooter in a school setting. A major issue to consider when trying to keep all schools safe, is the simple fact that no two schools are the same. Understanding this can lead us to the conclusion that it is impossible to have one global plan or program that can be 100% effective in all schools. “Violence prevention programs work best when they incorporate multiple strategies and address the full range of possible acts of violence in schools. For any set of policies to work, it must be established and
A sudden increase of youth violence in public schools in early 1990 has caused many to raise concerns about violent behaviors in schools. In the past, the most common form of violence that took place in schools was bullying, physical fights, or
Since the establishment of public education in the United States, schools have provided a sense of security and belonging to their students. Although sitting through lectures and doing homework may not be the most exciting thing in the world, students will always have a lunch to eat, a roof over their head, and a supportive teacher or counselor that they can talk to. Despite the “safe” environment and presence of authoritative figures on school campuses, trouble always finds a way to break out. Simple misbehaving and occasional fights are a common occurrence on most school campuses, however a new breed of troublesome and violent students has hatched. The
Through my teaching experience I have found that school violence encompasses many forms such as verbal harassment, non-verbal harassment, cyber-bullying, intimidation and any act that devalues a student’s self-worth. According to Detroit Public Schools, “it is the intention of the District to provide as safe and nonviolent learning environment for its employees, students, parents, and visitors as is possible. To this end, the District strives to maintain an environment free of threats, harassment, intimidation, physical and verbal abuse, and coercion” (Detroit Public Schools, 2009). The purpose of this policy is create a safe environment where students are free from any tape of harassment. The policy goes on to state it is the staff's responsibility to, “be educated and aware of potential signs and signals of violent or threatening behavior in students”(Detroit Public Schools, 2009). In other words, it is necessary for the school staff to remain vigilant of these signs and address them as soon as appear. Based off the nature of the action the school will follow a course of discipline suited to the accused
Schools are no longer a safe havens for furthering knowledge; instead violence is occurring at alarming rates. Common occurrences in schools include: physical altercations, severe property damage, and bullying behaviors. According to “ThefutureofChidren.org,” youth violence in schools costs the public 158 billion dollars each year. In this decade, that rate of children inflicting violence on other children and teachers is staggering. Today’s teachers are being trained on gun safety, school lobbies are being installed with bullet proof glass, and counselors hold
Over the past decade school violence has been on the rise. School violence has always existed in some form or another, whether it is a fight out on the playground or a stabbing in the parking lot. However nothing got the nation 's attentions like on April 20, 1999, Columbine school shooting. Ever since that day the nation wants to know what to do to protect the kids in this country. Violence motivated by a bias against victims’ characteristics which include race, religion, ethnic background, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation, represents a serious threat to all communities. Experts estimate that a bias-related crime is committed every 14 minutes. Criminal justice officials and state policy makers need to realize that it is key to make or adjust hate crime legislation. This has been a heated debate for centuries. The key to solving the ever-growing problem of hate crimes is more hate crime legislation.
During the past decade, school safety has been at the forefront of many school districts safety polices and plans. With recent high profile school shootings, the question school districts continue to ask is how do we keep our schools safe? Administrators face heavy scrutiny when weighing approaches to school safety and student discipline. Likewise, school employees have the right to work in safe environments devoid of life-threatening behaviors (Fenning and Bohanon, 2006; Skiba and Rausch, 2006). America’s founding fathers understood the importance of a public school education. They believed educating its citizens would allow them the opportunity to learn new skills while becoming successful and productive people in society. However, our founding fathers did not predict the severe behavior changes our schools face in educating disruptive and dangerous students. America’s school districts are charged with providing solutions for disruptive and dangerous students (Fenning and Bohanon, 2006; Skiba and Rausch, 2006). School officials must address these issues with research-based interventions and collaborative resources that provide a safe learning environment for all stakeholders (Elliott and Mihalic, 2004; Schoenwald and Hoagwood, 2001). Boards of education continue to support school efforts to rethink best practices for disciplinary alternative middle schools (DAMS). Many school districts focus on research-based interventions and resources that manage aggression and
Every day students across the country wake up and go to school seeking an education. They learn basic skills and knowledge from classes such as English, math, biology, physics, photography and so many other classes that prepare students for adulthood. However, what is most alarming is that students have to cope with violence that is now occurring in schools. In the past, school violence involved bullying and mistreatment, but in recent decades weapons are now a part of the violence students encounter. Violence is a way for youth to gain authority over their peers. Additionally, violence in schools has promoted a national debate on gun control, bullying and plagued the overall learning experience in school environments. Not only do people need
School violence has become of the most pressing educational problems in the United States. Gang violence and high profile shootings across the nation cause concern within schools. Communities struggle to understand why these events take place and how they can be prevented. The overwhelming response to solve the issue of violence in schools is the increasing societal pressure to execute zero tolerance. Zero tolerance is driven by the educational philosophy, policies, and practices of school communities. Stakeholders expect schools to be a safe place for staff and for students. Stakeholders assume that a positive classroom environment, safe students, and school enjoyment are conditions necessary to create a positive climate where learning takes place. This assumption can be backed with research. A calm classroom environment, teachers’ management of disruptive behavior, and students’ view of school safety are factors that have been found to directly correlate with student achievement in the classroom (Ma & Willms, 2004). Safety and a feeling of not being threatened during school hours have been found to be important to students’ achievement. Failure to remove a disruptive or an unruly student from school has been found to have a negative impact on achievement and creates a great risk to school staff and students (Garbarino et al., 1992). Teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn in an
Responding to School Violence. NASSP Bulletin, Mar, v84 n614 p32-45 Murphy, J., Weil, M., Hallinger, R., dan Mitman, A. (1985). School effectiveness: a conceptual framework. The Educational Forum, 49(3), 361-374.
“The US Department of Education based on their recent surveys has reported that at least ten percent of the schools in the entire United States of America are faced with problems associated with violence and in these schools there is at least one serious case of crime other than thefts and physical attacks”(School Violence...). The article, School Violence-a Survey, on the School Violence, Weapons, Crime, and Bullying website clearly states a rising problem within the US. It seems as if the news has a constant flow of new school violence cases, and there is no indication of slowing down. It is truly shocking to think that teens could cause so much destruction in their own schools. Nevertheless, school violence cases occur quite
Violence in our schools is an issue that has become more prominent in the last few years. News articles about violent deeds within the school setting are on the increase. Our society demands that schools are safe for our children. In order to maintain a peaceful environment for all, we must address and inform our schools, children, and parents as well as the neighboring communities about the issue of school violence. As David W. Johnson, the author of Reducing School Violence states, “To eliminate violence and resolve destructive conflicts, schools must first admit that such conflicts are out of control.” (Johnson 7) Schools in general must identify with these issues in order to deal with them.
School violence, in recent history, seems to have taken the United States by storm. Be it a shooting, such as the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the inappropriate relationships between teacher and student, such as Stephanie Figueroa whom initiated one such relationship with her 11-year-old karate student, or the multiple fights we see on social media that take place in schools. With each passing week, we see a new story that falls in one of these categories. Today, we look at the types of, causes of and how to prevent violence in what should be a safe place and second home for our youth.
Topic: School Violence General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To inform what needs to be done to stop school violence. Central Idea: To inform the effects, causes, and solutions of school violence. INTRODUCTION: Since the April 20, 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado I have been looking deeper into the issue of school violence. The number of extremely violent crimes committed by students has been increasing in the last few years.