School Violence

School Violence

School Violence

Introduction

School violence has become a widespread problem within the last few years. "A 1996 Children's Institute International Poll of American Adolescents revealed that 47 percent of all teens believed their schools were becoming more violent, 10 percent feared being shot or hurt by classmates carrying weapons to schools, and more than 20 percent were afraid to go to restrooms because these unsupervised areas were frequent sites of student victimization" (The US Department of Health and Human Sciences, 2003). School violence is affecting children of all ages; it is seen as early in kindergarten where children bring guns to school to scare other children they have been fighting with (Toppo, 2003). School violence has become commonplace in the United States. For example, just by watching the news alone, one hears and sees incidences of school violence. "Highly publicized school shootings have created uncertainty about the safety and security of this country's schools and generate fear that an attack might occur in any school, in any community" (Vossekuil, 2002, 3). Because of this national attention, the United States government began studies to determine the causes and effects of school violence. The purpose of this research paper is to examine the impact school violence has on a student's learning environment and to discover new safety strategies that can be implemented in schools. This research paper will also focus on the factors that can cause a student to lash out, as well as, the effects of their behavior has on the student's peers.

Causes of School Violence

Contrary to popular belief, school violence does not stem from gang-related incidents, but rather from incidences of bullying. Bullying is defined as, "...exposing a person repeatedly, and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more students" (Coy, 2001). The intention of bullying is to make the victim feel stressed and hurt. The bully has power over the person they are bullying. Bullying is a major cause of the growing number of incidents of school violence and it warrants attention from educators starting at a very early level. According to Trump (1998), a common scenario arises when, "...an elementary student is harassed, slapped around, and punched almost daily on the bus ride home from school. After two years of abuse, the student brings a knife to school and pulls it out to stab the "bully" when he or she harasses the student on the bus. The potential outcome: a stabbing or a murder stemming from bullying." Students are not the only source of bullying. "Not only are students bullies but teachers have also been identified as bullies. Many teachers see bullying as a normal, natural part of growing up and are therefore indifferent when they see it occur." (Coy, 2001). When teachers ignore the fact that bullying is occurring, it only makes the student feel alone and feel like he or she has very few options.

The Media

The media also plays a very important role in the spread of school ...