School Violence

School Violence

Rebecca Martin
May 5, 2013
Research Paper

School Violence

There are approximately eighty-five thousand public schools in the United States. The annual crime rate of these schools is estimated to be more than three million a year. About forty thousand students and eight thousand teachers are attacked each month while at school (Lunenburg 2). While the concept of school violence is not new, the manner has drastically changed. Name-calling and fist-fighting were once grounds for discipline or dismissal, and were referred to as violent acts (Blystone 201). The violence we see today involves guns and knives. A fifteen-year-old boy opened fire at Santana High School near San Dieago. He succeeded in killing two students and wounding thirteen others. He was said to be smiling as he walked around shooting his weapon, a handgun with a large barrel. Why did he commit this horrible act? He was picked on regularly and he had recently had two skateboards stolen (“Two Dead In School Shooting). Studies suggest that, “helplessness, hopelessness, self-doubt, a sense of failure, fear, and a negative view of the educational profession,” are results of school violence (Rawles 5). What causes children to act out in such a manner? Students who display violent behavior feel that they are not important, or they have been bullied or persecuted by their peers, they have no desire to be in school, and there is a lack of discipline in the schools.
Many of the students who display violent and inappropriate behavior feel that they are not important to their peers or teachers. Everyone wants to feel accepted and wanted by others, and these feelings are very strong in children. Students who are greeted by name from teachers, friends and authority figures develop connections with those people, and those connections generally result in a reduction of behavior issues (“What’s Working” 6). If students do not feel noticed, many times they will find ways to make their presence...

Similar Essays