School Violence

What is it?

• School violence is an issue everyone should be aware of, most importantly teachers. School violence is any incident in which violence has taken place on a school campus between students or student and staff. School violence can be as large as the massacre that occurred at Columbine or as small as one student threatening another student.
• School is supposed to be a place that students can come to and feel safe. If students are worried about violence that occurs on their campus it interferes with their learning.
• Every student deserves to feel safe and have an equal opportunity to learn.

Table 2-3: Types Of Violence: Victims and Perpetrators
	% Of Student Victims	% Of Student Perpetrators	Perpetrators' Gender
			Male	Female
Verbal insults	60	50	60	40
Threats	26	23	34	12
Pushing, shoving, grabbing, slapping	43	42	54	30
Kicking, biting, hitting with a fist	24	26	37	15
Threats with a knife or gun	4	5	8	3
Using a knife or firing a gun	2	3	6	1
Theft	43	1	2	1
Other	2	14	18	9

Received from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.dolan/how_to_prevent_school_violence

What can teacher's do to prevent school violence?

• Teacher's have a lot of control of school violence prevention in their classroom.
• Strategies:
  • Set the proper climate in the classroom
    • Make the classroom a community
    • BE CONSISTENT! (trust building)
      • You must treat all students in the same manner and provide the same consequences for certain behaviors. You cannot punish one student for a particular behavior and then let another student get away with that same behavior. You must do as you say you will do. This is where students learn to trust you. If you say one thing and do another, or do not follow through the students will begin to learn that they cannot count on you to do as you say you will. On the reverse, if you follow through and keep to your commitments the students learn that you are someone they can trust and count on.
    • Be patient with your students
    • Accept all questions
      • Never tell a student their question was inappropriate or dumb. They need to feel comfortable asking the teacher questions and know that the teacher will respond respectfully
    • Get to know your students and provide opportunities for them to get to now one another.
      • You can do this by having students fill out a simple survey about themselves. Have them constantly working with new partners and new groups.
    • Respect your students
      • You must model what you expect your students to do. If you do not respect them, they will not respect you or one another.
  • Eliminate prejudice and stereotypes immediately
    • Squelch these issues immediately between students so they understand it will not be tolerated. Most importantly, talk to them about why it is inappropriate so they know why not to do it again. The more knowledgeable a student is in this area the less likely he or she is to participate in being prejudiced and stereotypical.
  • Teach anger management and conflict resolution
    • This is one of the most powerful school violence prevention strategies because it shows students how to address their problems without resorting to violence. This gives them tools for their lifelong toolbox so to speak.
    • Anger management tips
      • Remove yourself from the situation to "take a breather" if you are feeling overwhelmed and angry
      • Letting go of things that bother you
      • How to use words to describe when something bothers a child
    • Conflict resolution tips
      • Model how to talk about problems between students. Teach them to approach the situation calmly and let the student who bothered them know what they did to bother them. For example, "Johnny I did not like when you called me stupid today on the playground, it hurt my feelings." Then encourage students to apologize with meaning.
      • Points to discuss:
        • Talking it out
        • Ways to resolve conflict
        • Problem solving
        • Resolution
  • Be aware of the danger signs of school violence
    • Depression and mood wings
    • Has few or no friends
    • Targeted by bullies
    • Often truant, suspended, or expelled
    • Interested in violent reading materials
    • Blames others for problems
    • Has tantrums, angry outbursts, or makes threats
    • Intense anger
    • Low self-esteem
    • History of discipline problems
    • Cruelty to animals
    • Family problems
  • Pay attention to students during down time or work time
    • Pay attention to the types of things the students are talking about in your classroom. This will allow you to hear the things they are talking about and if there are any red flags.
  • Talk about violence in the classroom
    • You want students to feel comfortable talking about violence. You do not want it to be a foreign subject. Communication needs to be open in the classroom.
    • Provide theoretical school violence situations
      • Blow up a picture of a scene in which school violence is occurring (Ex. One boy pushing another against a wall)
      • Have the students tell you what they see
      • Have a prompt ready and read it to the students about the picture (Ex. Bobby was angry because on the hand ball court Jason kept beating him and taunting it in his face, so Bobby approached Jason after school a pinned him against the wall by pushing him)
      • Talk about the situation
        • Ask questions about the scenario (Ex. What should Bobby have done instead of pushing Jason?)
      • The more school violence is discussed in the classroom the more likely that students will come to the teacher and let him or her know of a violent situation going on.

Resources

• Lesson plans on conflict resolution and anger management for K-12
  • http://www.teachervision.fen.com/classroom-discipline/resource/3038.html
  • http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001717.shtml
  • http://www.angriesout.com/
  • http://www.unf.edu/dept/fie/sdfs/notes/anger.pdf
  • http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SSODoSomethingAboutSchoolViolenceUnitDay2WhatsLifeLikeInMyShoes912.htm
• Additional information on school violence
  • http://www.stoppingschoolviolence.com/
  • http://www.preventschoolviolence.org/

References

About.com: Secondary Education (2010, March 18). 10 Ways Teachers Can Help Prevent School Violence.
http://712educators.about.com/od/schoolviolence/tp/prevent_school_violence.htm

School Violence: Recognizing the Danger Signs
http://www.issda.org/SafetyTips/School%20Violence.pdf

Intervention Central (2010, March 16). Establishing a Positive Classroom Climate: Teacher Advice.
http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/classroom/classclimate.php