SCHOOL VIOLENCE.   Term Paper ID:22017 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Social & educational effects, incidence, weapons, public views, security, discipline, gangs, role of parents.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Social & educational effects, incidence, weapons, public views, security, discipline, gangs, role of parents. Paper Introduction: SCHOOL VIOLENCE This paper will discuss the adverse effects of school violence and will also examine some of the causes of the recent rise of violent incidents in American schools. The discussion will include an analysis of the problems created by the use of handguns at school, the role the family can play in fostering or preventing school violence, and the correlation between school violence and other social problems. The paper will also outline some of the new programs which officials, teachers and parents suggest schools should implement to prevent and counter the horrible problems created by school violence. Finally, this paper will show that school violence should be addressed by parents as well as schools and communities. Violence in America now kills one million people each year, and young people have bec Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. (1993, July 24). Education Digest, p. 32). One poll revealed that, of 2,5 8 Americanschool children surveyed, 15 percent of those children admitted that theyhad brought a gun with them to school within the last month ("American",1993, p. 26). CQ Researcher, p. One 1994 nationwide poll which was commissioned bythe Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and conducted by Lou Harris andAssociates revealed that not only does school violence directly impacteducation reform efforts, but also guns and retaliation continue to plagueAmerican students. N. 111). Washington Monthly, p. Other researchers believe that the increase in school violence can betraced to flaws within the U.S. Also, communities candiscourage school violence by creating programs which will encourage youngpeople to become involved in positive activities as opposed to violent actsat school. Young guns: Tragic tales. 32.Muchinsky, M. Finding hope under fire. (1994, September). This paper has discussed the adverse affects of school violence.School violence has a direct impact on education reform efforts. That poll also discovered that, in fact, a full one-third of junior high and high school students and one-half of thosestudents' parents believed that security at schools was either fair or poor(Matthew, 1995, p. Violence in schools. 13. (1995, February 2). News & World Report, p. (1994, January). Riley recommends increasedparental involvement in school programs. In other words, educators and parentsagree that simply expelling gang members from school will not stop gangactivities in the nearby community from adversely affecting schoolchildren. 787). Although scientists have yet to uncover the biological causes ofviolence, some studies indicate that the increased proliferation of theavailability of handguns, combined with the devaluation of human life, hasincreased the acts of senseless violence which stalk the youth of theUnited States (Arbetter, 1995, pp. (1994, November 7). ReferencesAmerican survey. Yet other schools focus on counseling students and talking to thestudent body about the often horrific consequences of school violence. Schwartz National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management. Nation's Cities Weekly, p. (1995, January). Rising use of guns. Violence in the schoolenvironment is detrimental to learning, and it affects the scholasticachievement of America's youth; it also affects the students, parents andteachers who witness the violence ("Violence", 1993, p. 16.Matthew P. SCHOOL VIOLENCE This paper will discuss the adverse effects of school violence andwill also examine some of the causes of the recent rise of violentincidents in American schools. 29.The Issues. Those studies suggest that teenage homicides whichoccur on public school property could be curbed if schools beginimplementing more stringent weapon-checking programs to prevent anyincrease in the number of students who carry handguns to school. Moreover,the use of handguns and gang activities had led to an increase in schoolviolence incidents. 39.Sautter, R. Moreover, U.S. Violence in America now kills one million people each year, and youngpeople have become the number one victims of violence. A26.Arbetter, S. Thoseeducators believe that proactive school safety programs are the best way todeter school violence because such programs are designed to monitor thefirst signs of violence as well as to incorporate specific measures forpreventing any such untoward incidents from recurring (James, 1995, p. 2.Peck, B., & Babiec, S. However, while most public school teachers agree that, in theory,expulsion is a viable deterrent, in practice many of those teachers facenumerous obstacles whenever they actually attempt to have a particularstudent expelled from school. Parents should take a moreactive role in preventing violence at school, and schools should attempt toeducate students, teachers, and the surrounding communities about theharmful effects of school violence as well as engage in specific activitiesdesigned to prevent violent incidents. 26.Marcus, A. (1993, November 8). Violence: A growing threat. U.S. The paper will alsooutline some of the new programs which officials, teachers and parentssuggest schools should implement to prevent and counter the horribleproblems created by school violence. 17). (1995, April). Thus, the inference can be made that children whose parents allow them tofight at home and in their communities are more likely to commit otherviolent acts while at school and that therefore parents should attempt tocurb violence at home before their children commit a violent act at schoolwhich could injure an innocent student. Forinstance, after experiencing two gruesome shooting incidents that killedthree students in Brooklyn, New York, one school principal, Carol Beck,became much tougher on violent students. 17.Karlsberg, E. (1993, July). K1.Steinberg, A. 39). Only 11 percent of those cities reported no increase of schoolviolence in recent years (Arndt, 1994, p. 796), which often cause physical injuries (especially when some studentshave smuggle firearms onto campus by concealing them in their clothing orbackpacks). 1.Cheek, D. Beck also began emphasizing themessage that the students must continue to hope that the violence will endand to take a more proactive stance toward preventing violent incidents atschool (Grogan, 1992, p. One 1994survey indicated that communities most affected by school violence are inthe Pacific and Southern regions, along with schools which have populationsof more than 5, students or are located in urban environments(Weisenburger, 1995, p. TheEducation Development Center publishes several such curricular programswhich instruct school administrators in how to implement violenceprevention programs. Secretary of Education Richard Rileyrecently reported that three million violent crimes and theft take placeannually at or near public schools (Cheek, 1994, p. School violence on rise, survey says: Not just a big city issue. How liberals put teachers in the line of fire. 787.Tice, T. The aforementioned studies show that children whoare surrounded by violence at home tend to become violent and aggressive inschool to protect themselves (Toch, 1993, p. People, p. Other studies show that school administrators can now select from thewide variety of violence-prevention curricula which are now available. K1). (1994, June). Thus, parentsand teachers are both gravely concerned with the problem of school violencein America. Secretary of Education, Richard Riley, also suggests thatschools and communities should work together to decrease the number ofharmful incidents caused by violence at school. How schools can help stem violence in today's youth. Gangs, guns, and school violence. Secretary of Education Richard Riley pointed out analarming increase in school violence in America. (1993, Winter). E., & Fortune, J. Interestingly, the one component which all of theEducation Development Center's violence prevention programs have in commonis a change in parental attitudes toward fighting (Steinberg, 1991, p. 3 .Violence threatens our youth. With respect to the problemscreated by the increased use of handguns at school, studies report thatincidents of teenage homicides at school campuses are increasing at acorresponding rate. 3 ). CQ Researcher, p. Such plansshould focus on training students about preventing violence but should alsoeducate teachers and parents about the causes of violence in Americanschools. Moreover, teachers frequently find thatdisobedient and violent children are often protected by school districtpolicies which allow the children to stay in school. Recently conducted surveys show that violence in U.S. 13). (1995, May). Thus, schools must offer alternative extra-curricular activitieswhich appeal to students and therefore discourage them from participatingin gang behavior (Stephens, 1994, p. 29). Thestudies also suggest that schools should start training more securityguards to patrol campuses to prevent quarrels among students (Glazer, 1992,p. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Bulletin, p. The U.S. 13.Glazer, S. Met study focuses on increased violence in schools. Education Digest, p. Many school administrators, parents and teachers now believe that thebest way to address the problem of juvenile delinquency is throughprevention programs which implement well planned safety measures thatspecifically address previously reported occurrences of school violence.Similarly, many educators strongly support the implementation of specificprograms which take a proactive position against school violence. Teachers who dosucceed in having a particularly violent student removed from schoolquickly learn that federal laws which favor the disabled as well as protectchildren's civil rights prevent any child from being suspended from apublic school for longer than 11 days (Marcus, 1994, p. 796.Grogan, D. Finally, this paper will show thatschool violence should be addressed by parents as well as schools andcommunities. Are schools safer than we think? 96E.Weisenburger, W., Underwood, K. 111.James, B. Economist, p. America's schools experience escalating violence among students. C. 6-7). Among the reasons cited for commission ofviolent acts are the lack of parental guidance, the mass media's promotionof destructive attitudes, and lax school administration policies ondiscipline. Many parents and teachers have also become greatly alarmed by thenumber of crimes committed by children against other children at school andare now advocating that school officials should stop school violence bytightening school security, expelling violent children from school, anddecreasing the size of the student body population ("American", 1993, p.A26). (1991, November). Others also agree that school violence impedes school reform andacademic achievement. C. (1992, September 11). 4 .Stephens, R. social system and that any program whichfocuses only on treating or punishing the perpetrators of school violenceis doomed to fail because changes need to occur at the root of the problem,which is either at home or within poverty-stricken urban environments(Tice, 1994, p. 1). 4 ). Education Digest, p. Those researchers discourage school officials fromtrying to reduce school violence by merely increasing the intervention ofjuvenile justice system programs. These plans should also incorporate programs for dealing withviolence-prone juvenile delinquents in an effective manner (Sautter, 1995,p. (1995, January 16). At a recent forumon youth violence U.S. Those studies indicate that the lack of respect for human lifeis primarily caused by two factors: poverty, and the weakening of a tight-knit family structure. School officials, teachers and parents agree that schools need todevelop comprehensive plans for countering school violence. Phi Delta Kappan, p. Should schools become police beats? Additionally, a National League of Cities Surveyof 7 American communities showed that school violence has been anincreasing problem over the last five years in 38 percent of the citiessurveyed. 96E). USA Today (Magazine), p. Therefore, any balanced anti-violence school program will educate students about the harmfulconsequences of participating in gangs but, more important, will also offerstudents a chance to get involved in other exciting activities like sportsand artistic endeavors such as painting murals for the community orperforming in talent showcases which feature singing, dancing, and dramaticreadings by students. Teen Magazine, p. 96E). (1994, February 7). A26). Childhood Education, p. The goal of such programs, Rileysuggests, is to teach children more about the realities and consequences ofviolence and playing with dangerous and deadly firearms ("Violence", 1993,p. Thus, officials,educators and parents now believe that a comprehensive school safety orviolence prevention program must not only address ways to prevent crimesfrom occurring at school but must also include meaningful safety planswhich involve the entire community. 39.Toch, T., & Silver, M. The recent rise in the incidents of school violence which arecommitted by both elementary and high school students is causing greatconcern among authorities. (1994, April-June). Standing up to violence. 13). Violence in schools. The twoprimary causes of the recent rise of violent incidents in American schoolsare poverty and the weakening of a tight-knit family structure. Moreover, many research studies which have examined the causes ofschool violence indicate that a lack of respect for human life hascontributed to the ever-increasing number of reported incidents of schoolviolence. Thus, parents can prevent schoolviolence by paying more attention to their children. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, p. Another poll suggeststhat both the lack of parental supervision of school-age children and thelack of parental attention to children's school performance are related toincidents of school violence (Muchinsky, 1994, p. (1992, May 25). (1995, May). Many public school have now adapted special high-tech securitymeasures to combat school violence, such as electronic metal detectors.Other schools have focused more on old-fashioned remedies such aspromulgating stricter disciplinary or other programs which are intended todevelop greater human relations skills among teen and pre-teen students("Issues", 992, p. Many new programs are now available for officials,teachers, parents, and communities to implement which will prevent injuryor even death from violence at school, such as peer mediation panels,conflict resolution programs, and efforts to increase parental andcommunity involvement in school activities. He also advises school officialsto integrate immediately conflict resolution programs and peer mediationpanels into the existing curriculum. (1992, September 11). 16). The discussion will include an analysis ofthe problems created by the use of handguns at school, the role the familycan play in fostering or preventing school violence, and the correlationbetween school violence and other social problems. Education Digest, p. 6.Arndt, R. School violence and the law. Current Health, p. Statistical bulletin. Nation's Cities Weekly, p. Most school officials, parents and teachers have also noticed that inurban, suburban and even rural schools violence is exacerbated by theprevalence of guns, drugs, and gang-related activities. schools israpidly rising because more children are bringing guns, knives, and otherweapons to school with them. NEA Today, p. 2). Surveys also indicate that most of the shooting or gun-related crimesoccur in high schools and that most of the injuries caused by firearms atschool are also drug- or gang-related (Karlsberg, 1993, p. 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