How can we effectively curb school violence?
Not so very long ago, parents felt confident sending their kids off to school – one of the safest environments – knowing that kids were engaged in learning, playing, making friends and learning to socialize with their peers. Unfortunately, school is not now such a safe environment. Today, parents must worry about their kid's safety. This is a sorry state of affairs. How did it come about that bullying, beatings and fatal injuries came to be, if not expected, feared, as a result of sending your kids to school? As a society, we must all consider why school violence is on the rise. Perhaps if we get at the root causes, we can begin to solve this problem. School violence is the result of a lack of discipline in the school room, combined with substandard personal ethics on the part of some kids. The home environment plays into this formula as well. Cultural factors, such as the 'latchkey child' are also contributory. Some say that violent video games cause our kids to become desensitized to the real life consequences of violence. Certain music, with lyrics that seem to promote a violent and aggressive perspective are also listed as primary reasons for school violence. As with all demonstrations of anti-social behaviors, it is perhaps more fruitful to see what gives rise to undisciplined and non-ethical behaviors. All generations of kids are characterized by rebellion against the norm. Rebellion against the status quo is a normal state of development in kids everywhere. The question becomes, what has impacted the minds of kids today that leads to gross demonstrations of school violence against their peers? When a tragedy such as the Columbine killings is analyzed, the commonality in such terrible incidents is revealed. The kids who perpetrate such violence are generally outsiders in the world of their own peers. These kids feel compelled to go the extra mile in order to differentiate their rebellion in a way that won't be forgotten. We need to ask why. The suffering these kids inflicted on the world at large is inestimable. During adolescence, kid's hormones are going crazy and their judgment is less than measured. Does this mean we should excuse behavior that ends so tragically? Must we accept responsibility as a society in creating the conditions to set such horrible demonstrations of school violence in motion? No, it's then too late. Parents and teachers alike need to watch for signs of estrangement in our kid's behaviors. It's a fine line. A penchant for certain music might be a clue, but then again, it may mean nothing. We are supposedly the sensible persons. Imparting a sense of compassion in our kids may help to stem this plague of school violence. If all of our kids understood that the geeky kid is only acting geeky or anti-social due to a lack of friendship, perhaps we'd experience less school violence. This is the next generation.
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