A person goes to school to learn. And just about every kid goes to school not only to learn, but to see their friends. But then there is a darker side of school, a side that a lot of children today fear. They don’t to go to school because they are threatened, bullied, teased, and abused. In some schools this may not happen, but in others, it does. This must stop! No one should be afraid to go to school. But how can we stop this from happening?
Some teenagers may have problems at home. Maybe their parents are alcoholics and they beat them. Let’s just say that home is where the teenager dreads to be. So once they get to school, all of the anger and stress that builds up at home is released. They may bully kids, take their money, and possibly abuse them. So the bullying teenager gets In School Suspension (ISS) and expulsion when, really, they need counseling. Sure, they may need a little punishment, but they really need someone to talk to.
At my school, we have advisor groups at least twice a month, but I think we should at least have them twice a week. And instead of talking mainly on future careers, we should talk about typical problems teenagers have to deal with. Then would be a good time for the troubled teenagers to get counseling.
Another thing that is bad is gangs. It’s not exactly a problem for my small town yet, but it can be in cities like Hattiesburg and Jackson. We have to get these teens off of the streets. The 1997 Justice Department Survey of Youth Gangs found that there were 30,500 gangs with 816,000 members. (from http://www.pbs.org/seekingsolutions/teen/violence.htm)
If there were more teen-related activities in our community, then maybe we could lower those numbers of gang members. Gangs basically encourage violence, which is not good. I am not writing all of this stuff just to write. I want to see it happen. I want to see activities for teenagers to get them off of the streets and their noses out of video games.
Teens in school who are violent should be sent to the counselor before they are punished. Maybe it would help them. If we can stop the violence before it starts, then maybe we can prevent another Columbine or Pearl, MS, massacre from happening.
If a teenager is acting violent and hurting other people, tell someone before it is too late.
A famous British playwright named Edward Bond once said, “Violence shapes and obsesses our society, and if we do not stop being violent, we will have no future.” Bond’s statement was full of truth. The future of our society lies in the hands of children; therefore, we need to take the necessary steps to eliminate hostility in their lives. School violence is very serious, and is becoming a large problem in schools around the world. We need to put an end to this conflict.
There are many ways parents can help put a stop to violence in schools, such as the following: taking on active roles in their children’s schoolwork, talking regularly with their kids and their children’s teachers, and always acting as good role models. Parents should also remember that if they are faced with a problem to settle it without violence. Talking to their kids on a regular basis will assure the kids that their parents are there for them.
Children can also take steps to help prevent violence in schools. One of the main things that children of all ages can do is to abide by the Golden Rule: “Treat others as you wish to be treated.” I feel that if everyone could take the time to think about what that rule really means and try to live their lives according to its principle, then we would not have as much violence in schools as we do today. Students should learn to respect one another. To avoid getting into arguments, children must realize that they should sit down and talk through it instead of fighting. Students must also recognize that just as they have feelings, so do others. Students will go a lot farther in life by avoiding violence. We have to remember never to judge someone by his or her outside appearance and always dig deeper to find the real person on the inside.
Most people faced with violence in today’s society are between the ages of twelve and twenty-four years old. Many use violence for revenge as a way to get back at someone. When people use violence, it makes them feel bigger inside, but it makes everyone around them think less of them. Kids sometimes use it because they think it will make them cool, or popular. It makes some feel powerful, and this may be because they get little attention from their parents or have no say in anything that goes on around their homes.
We are all aware that violence is out there—it’s all over the world. It lies in our homes, schools, and basically everywhere we go, but we can help to prevent violence in schools and really in just everyday life. I hope that everyone takes this issue seriously and realizes its possible effects on society. I sincerely wish that each and every one of us will make a pledge to ourselves to be non-violent and aware of how we treat others.
Violence in schools has spread widely throughout the nation. This has caused many problems among students, families, and faculty. However, there are many possible ways we can stop all this violence in schools.
Violence is the use of force to injure or kill. I feel that there are five main ways to keep violence out of our schools.
One, parents need to talk to their kids. Parents need to know what their children’s problems are. If parents don’t talk to their children, they can’t expect anyone else to; that leads to the children bottling up their emotions until one day the child ”explodes.”
Second, parents and teachers must set clear rules for the students to follow. With no guidelines, a student may feel that anything is acceptable. If a student feels angry and wants to hurt someone else, hey, there aren’t any rules, why not? Bam! School violence.
Third, we should all know the warning signs of a possibly violent student. According to the PTA’s web site, www.pta.org, sudden changes from subtle to dramatic should alert us to potential problems. These could include withdrawal from friends, decline in grades, abruptly quitting sports or clubs the child had previously enjoyed, sleep disruptions, eating problems, lying, stomachaches, and headaches. Identifying possibly violent students is a crucial step in preventing school violence.
Fourth, when students do show these signs, peers, parents, and teachers should get help for the student. They should get help for the student from a school counselor, doctor, or a psychiatrist.
Fifth, parents should help their children create a balance between their school activities and their extra-curricular activities. Without this balance, students become overloaded with things to do. When all the frustration builds up, then school violence starts.
If all of these, and more, prevention steps are followed, violence in schools could stop. Yes, there will still be small fights and arguments, but guns and knives at school would definitely stop. Let’s all follow these steps and end school violence today.Violence in School: What Should Be Done?
by Brittany West“Violence with weapons kills the body. Violence with words kills the soul.” That’s a quote from, “Teen Pledge for Non-Violence,” written by parents after the Columbine Massacre. This statement is very true. A gun may kill your body, but words will kill your soul when said to be harmful.
Many people in this world have lost all hope in life for themselves; sometimes they go insane and become risks to themselves and others. In order to assure that these people feel like they’re worth something, instead of hurting others to make themselves feel stronger, I’d suggest peer response groups or different things to build their confidence.
The American Psychological Association (http://helping.apa.org/warningsigns ) says that violence is used to retaliate against anyone who has hurt them or even someone they care about. The best thing to do is to figure out and recognize the warning signs. If you see these signs in your friends or yourself, and if you think it could become hazardous to yourself or others, get professional help as soon as possible.
Warning signs include loss of temper on a daily basis, frequent physical fighting, significant vandalism or property damage, increase in use of drugs or alcohol, increase in risk-taking behavior, detailed plans to commit acts of violence, and threats or plans for hurting others. Withdrawal from friends and feeling constantly disrespected also signal problems.
Counseling is a very good way to reduce any of those symptoms. Every school should be required to have a counselor. I know from experience counseling really does help!
If someone in school starts to become seriously violent, then they should be suspended for a long time. When they report back to school, they should have to go to counseling for at least a week.
I agree with some suggestions for having a safer school from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (http://www.nwrel.org/cnorse/urbaned/summer98/article2.html ). Increasing surveillance around the school will minimize the problem of bullying and stealing. You can even train parents, students, or other volunteers to act as monitors on school campuses. Removing graffiti immediately can also help by showing the school has discipline. Teaching kids about anger, human nature, and “emotional intelligence” are also good ideas.
I think if we had a time every week to talk about teen violence and how we feel about it, then it would open up a lot of windows for people who could be thinking about hurting themselves or others. I also think that the school administrators should provide violence prevention programs to all students weekly. Students should be able to demonstrate social skills that reflect training in non-violence. If we are successful at making peace at school, then there should be a way to award or at least recognize our good work. For example, the school could host an award ceremony and place it in the newspaper.
Violence of any kind, whether it be with words or actions, should never be tolerated by anyone!