1. Violence In Schools Tricia Noce EDU 474 March 29, 2004

2. What do you think of when you hear the term “Violence in schools”? Columbine Weapons Fear Bullies Harassment Confusion Insecurity Vulnerability Safety

3. Definition of Violence 1.Physical force exerted for the purpose of violating, damaging, or abusing 2.The act or an instance of violent action or behavior. 3.Abusive or unjust exercise of power. 4.Abuse or injury to meaning, content, or intent Dictionary.com

4. Scary Statistics! Students aged twelve through eighteen were victims of more than 2.7 million total crimes at school. Youth are far more likely to be victimized by violence than to commit violence. Nearly five percent of students aged twelve through eighteen reported that they had been bullied at school in the last six months. In general, females were as likely as males to report being bullied.

5. Yikes! Almost one in five students reported being threatened with a beating A total of 3,523 students were expelled from school for bringing a firearm to school according to the most recent Gun-Free Schools Act Report Only nine percent of violent crimes against teenagers occurring in school were reported to the police compared with thirty-seven percent of such crimes occurring on the streets.

6. Different kinds of Violence Verbal –Name calling –Slander –Teasing, ridiculing, verbal intimidation –Threatening –Using vulgar language directed at a particular person or group –Starting rumors, gossiping –Making rude noises Physical/Sexual –Hitting, kicking, pushing and shoving –Spitting –Using a weapon either to intimidate or injure a person –Sexual assault –Stalking –Vandalism, damaging property –Physical intimidation –Making vulgar gestures

7. Placing the Blame Who is to blame for the presence of violence in schools? –Video games? –TV/Movies? –Music? –Family? –Health issues? –Environment? With so many different people with different backgrounds, it can be impossible to know what causes a child to be violence. Most likely violence is a result of several different factors. We do know that violence is often linked to self – esteem issues. Children with poor self images are more likely to be violent than children with healthy self-images.

8. Let’s talk about Bullying 160,000 students skip school each day because of intimidation by their peers 81% of students reported being harassed by a peer and 63% experienced sexual harassment by a peer of the same gender Bullying is the most prevalent form of violence in schools Bullying can be defined as a behavior that is intended to harm another person, occurring repeatedly over time, and involving a power imbalance Children are aware of which children have less power and take advantage of that powerlessness. Bullying occurs most often over racial and gender issues

9. Where do we find Violence in schools? Violence can be found in any school and any classroom in any area of the world at any time. Any age group, nationality, race, sex, religion, or gender can experience school violence, no one is immune. No matter how hard we try, conflict between students will occur and conflict can and sometimes does lead to violence.

10. Violence vs. Conflict Violence –Involves some form of attack whether physical or verbal –Is done for the purpose of hurting another person and is not accidental Conflict –Is a natural part of every day life –Can be used as a learning tool if dealt with correctly so that violence can be avoided –Students are constantly together and constantly changing, conflict between them is inevitable.

11. Prevention tips Anticipate problems and get to them before they start! –Use seating arrangements to separate students who may have difficulty getting along –Use positive reinforcement to encourage positive behavior Get students involved – help them make a connection –Community service –After school activities, clubs, etc. –Sports teams –Community centers Create a community and a safe environment –Help students to feel responsible for the classroom environment –Teach RESPECT –Encourage diversity!

12. Creating a peaceful classroom environment Take an interest in each student –Take into account different cultural backgrounds Be fair and consistent with classroom rules Show that you are human Get on the students level Model the behaviors you want to see in your class, ie. Respect for people and property

13. Conflicts do Happen… Address unacceptable behaviors early before problems get out of hand Work with the students, not against them Don’t take sides Make sure the resolution to the problem in acceptable to both you and your students. Don’t ignore any problem!

14. One Way to Resolve problems Peer Mediation –Students are selected and trained to help students resolve problems –Two mediators will sit with the student(s) with the conflict and help them to come to a solution for the problem –Mediators do not solve the problem for the students, they help them to find their own ways to be successful. My Experience with Peer Mediation

15. Another idea for resolving problems The Violence Continuum –Teachers introduce the continuum to students –Violent acts divided into categories –Teachers record the number of violent acts committed by students each day –The intervention plan Does it work? –In my experience, no. –In a way, violence has become a joke through this program –What do you think?

16. Want more Information? http://www.safeschools.org/ This website offers: –workshop opportunities –Publications about making schools safe –School Security Assessments –Other general information

17. Works Cited Indiana University- Center for Adolescent Studies (1997, June 30) Tips for Creating a Peaceful Classroom. Retrieved October 15, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://education.Indiana.edu/cas/tt/v2i3/peaceful.html Indiana University- Center for Adolescent Studies (1997, June 29) Violence In Schools. Retrieved October 15, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://education.Indiana.edu/cas/tt/v2i3/violence.htmlhttp://education.Indiana.edu/cas/tt/v2i3/violence.html http://www.securityworld.com/community/statistics/schoolviolence. htmlhttp://www.securityworld.com/community/statistics/schoolviolence. html http://216.239.51.104/u/nazareth?q=cache:7TNZb1FUnfkJ:www.ei- ie.org/camp/english/peace/eed- violence.pdf+occurrences+of+violence+in+schools&hl=en&ie=UTF -8