Assignment 2
In “Understanding School Violence,” (2015) school violence is defined as “youth violence that occurs on school property, on the way to or from school or school-sponsored events, or during a school-sponsored event.” Events such Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy-Hook have increased student’s and parent’s fear and has led people to believe that school violence is on the rise. Violence at schools does not have to only consist of shooting such as these incidents, but can include fights and bullying. School violence is not an exact science on why these things occur, but there are explanations and a few interventions that could led to society decreasing and hopefully eliminating school violence.
When student’s become afraid to go to …show more content…
Parents and teachers should look out for possible warning signs of violent youth. One of the biggest warning signs is if the child has been abused at home or is in a dysfunctional family (Meadows 2014). Students may also give signals in their writings, in fact, “in more than half the incidents, some type of signal was given” (Meadows 2014). Other signs are if students threaten teachers or other students and students who constantly fight or disrespect others (Meadows 2014). There are more individual theories that can reduce the likelihood of a child engaging in violence. These follow Hirschi’s control theory and the elements are attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief (Riedel and Welsh 2016). Attachment means “the extent to which one cares about others and their expectations and opinions,” commitment entails the child’s “commitment to conventional goals,” involvement is whether the student is involved in “conventional activities” such as extracurricular activities, and belief is “the degree of moral validity that youths do or do not attach to conventional values” (Riedel and Welsh 2016). After individual explanations, there are institutional explanations. There are factors of the school itself that can lead to violence such as overcrowding, a high student to teacher ratio, low student academic achievement, and poor facility design. School Climate Theory states that schools have their own “personalities” …show more content…
The first is behavioral strategies which “reward good behavior and punish bad behavior”. The next approach is cognitive oriented programs that focus on “trying to change or improve student’s way of thinking.” Social skills programs try to provide student with skills to properly socialize with others. Of course, there is counseling where students try to talk through their issues, and then there is peer mediation that teaches students about conflict resolution (Riedel and Welsh 2016). Another intervention that has been popular is Zero Tolerance. Zero tolerance is “policies that require mandatory expulsion or suspension for a violation” (Meadows 2014). Zero tolerance is “both preventive and punitive,” but there is a threat of “over-enforcement” (Meadows 2014). Although a lot of administrators strongly believe in zero tolerance policies, “there’s simply no evidence that they work” (NPR
In “Understanding School Violence,” (2015) school violence is defined as “youth violence that occurs on school property, on the way to or from school or school-sponsored events, or during a school-sponsored event.” Events such Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy-Hook have increased student’s and parent’s fear and has led people to believe that school violence is on the rise. Violence at schools does not have to only consist of shooting such as these incidents, but can include fights and bullying. School violence is not an exact science on why these things occur, but there are explanations and a few interventions that could led to society decreasing and hopefully eliminating school violence.
When student’s become afraid to go to …show more content…
Parents and teachers should look out for possible warning signs of violent youth. One of the biggest warning signs is if the child has been abused at home or is in a dysfunctional family (Meadows 2014). Students may also give signals in their writings, in fact, “in more than half the incidents, some type of signal was given” (Meadows 2014). Other signs are if students threaten teachers or other students and students who constantly fight or disrespect others (Meadows 2014). There are more individual theories that can reduce the likelihood of a child engaging in violence. These follow Hirschi’s control theory and the elements are attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief (Riedel and Welsh 2016). Attachment means “the extent to which one cares about others and their expectations and opinions,” commitment entails the child’s “commitment to conventional goals,” involvement is whether the student is involved in “conventional activities” such as extracurricular activities, and belief is “the degree of moral validity that youths do or do not attach to conventional values” (Riedel and Welsh 2016). After individual explanations, there are institutional explanations. There are factors of the school itself that can lead to violence such as overcrowding, a high student to teacher ratio, low student academic achievement, and poor facility design. School Climate Theory states that schools have their own “personalities” …show more content…
The first is behavioral strategies which “reward good behavior and punish bad behavior”. The next approach is cognitive oriented programs that focus on “trying to change or improve student’s way of thinking.” Social skills programs try to provide student with skills to properly socialize with others. Of course, there is counseling where students try to talk through their issues, and then there is peer mediation that teaches students about conflict resolution (Riedel and Welsh 2016). Another intervention that has been popular is Zero Tolerance. Zero tolerance is “policies that require mandatory expulsion or suspension for a violation” (Meadows 2014). Zero tolerance is “both preventive and punitive,” but there is a threat of “over-enforcement” (Meadows 2014). Although a lot of administrators strongly believe in zero tolerance policies, “there’s simply no evidence that they work” (NPR