Blog Post #2 - School Violence
Protesters take part in the March for Our Lives in New
York City on March 24, 2018. Students protested because they were angry about
gun violence occurring in schools in the United States. Photo by Drew
Angerer/Getty Images
School violence can take the form of bullying,
fighting, gang violence, the use of a weapon, or sexual violence. This is a big
problem as data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows. One in five students reported being
bullied on school property (CDC, 2019). Also, 8% of high school students have
been in a physical fight on school grounds (CDC, 2019). School violence is a
serious problem that should be reduced as much as possible.
In the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting,
which occurred in Parkland, FL., in 2018, Pew Research Center found that a
majority of teenagers feared the possibility of a similar tragic event
happening at their school (Graf, 2018). Lower-income families were especially
worried about school shootings (Graf, 2018). Moore (2002) explored the issue of
school violence in his documentary on the school shooting that occurred at Columbine
High School in Columbine, Colorado.
The issue of school violence sparked debate over
reform after the Columbine and Parkland shootings. Many people wanted to ban
certain types of guns, while others wanted to arm teachers. I have a different view
on the matter since I believe that the main problem causing these tragedies is
the decline of brotherhood. People no longer have a sense of identity with their
communities or classmates, and no longer see themselves as a collective. As a
society, we have become more individualistic, and this results in alienation,
which leads to anti-social behavior. If stopping school violence is our aim, then
we should help students to develop a feeling of belonging to the collective of
the school and community.
As a future teacher, I would like to create this
family environment in my classroom. Perhaps incorporating communal learning
activities related to the unit would help. Alternatively, it might be possible to
create social activities for students as time permits during the school year.
These activities could help to provide students with a feeling that they are
part of a greater community, which might help with any feelings of alienation
that they experience.
References
Graf, N. (2018, April). A majority of U.S. teens fear a shooting
could happen at their school, and most parents share their concern. Pew
Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/18/a-majority-of-u-s-teens-fear-a-shooting-could-happen-at-their-school-and-most-parents-share-their-concern/
Great Job Michael, I like the how you added the picture I think it makes people more likely to read what is under it. I agree that school violence is a serious problem in many different ways and the variety of violence we say in schools is staggering. School shootings have been a serious issues over the years due to many factors one being how easy it is to obtain a firearm epically in Florida where Parkland occurred. I actually really like your viewpoint on why these shootings keep happening , its a very interesting standpoint because it makes sense as teachers we need to make everyone feel comfortable and work together as a community. Great Job Mike , I think if every teacher had your mentality with this schools would be a better place.
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