Is Violence Taking Over Our Schools?
Janice B Colley
Trinity International University, South Florida Campus
Critical Thinking and Writing
Professor Terry Hudson
October 17, 2007
Is Violence Taking Over Our Schools?
A school should be a place of learning and fun, but is the violence in schools put
teachers and students in an unsafe environment? To safeguard our schools from
this violent trend, schools officials need to find the hidden dangers within the
schools, find the safety problems and implement ways to alleviate and fix the
problems.
An ERIC source identifies the dangers involved:
There are hidden and observable dangers that will lead to violence. These hidden
dangers are not always directly observable, and therefore they are difficult to
identify. However, I believe that these hazards are contributing to an
unprecedented crisis in our schools. We are seeing more violence than ever
before: more diagnoses of learning, behavioral, and emotional problems: and
more students unable to attain basic skills in rudimentary subjects necessary to
succeed in our technologically advanced society ( 2007, p.1).
Most times parents do not regard the above listed problems as major issues in their
children’s lives, and so the professional help that should be given is not obtained at
an early age. The core of the problem has to be found and dealt with. Without the
proper help, behavioral problems can escalate into violence.
Children with behavioral and emotional problems can be living in an
environment that is very abusive. One can imagine waking up everyday to hostility
and negative criticisms. When these students come to school, they have so much
anger that is stored inside of them. That anger can be easily released to their teachers
and peers during communication or some form of confrontation. Teachers sometimes
reprimand students in front of their classmates and that can cause outburst of anger.
Students can become very offensive and confrontational. They sometimes
harbor resentment towards their teachers and peers which can lead to violence that
involves death.
As Peter and Skuba put it:
In order to recognize problems within a school climate, I look for “red flags” that
can help to discover problems early in order to make needed changes. These flags
include typical students who are nonetheless not thriving in school. Such
children are like canaries in the coal mines: they react more quickly to toxic
(unsafe) conditions within the school ( 2002, p.155).
Students who have other issues in their lives will become the easy target of drugs,
guns, and violence. The schools are becoming an outlet for gang violence which is
rampant in our society.
Another danger that is observable and leads to school violence is bullying.
A student is being bullied or victimized when exposed repeatedly over time to
negative actions on the part of one or more students. Negative actions can include
physical contact, words, making faces or and intentional exclusion from a group.
An additional criterion of bullying is an internal strength (an asymmetric
relationship). The student who is exposed to the actions has difficulty defending
him or her (Olweus, 1995, p.6).
Bullying has taken over our school environment. Even though it is obvious and
reported in most cases, students are scared to go to school when they know
that they will be beaten up. Some students become withdrawn and depressed which
can lead to suicide or school violence.
Bullying is not just a schoolyard problem. Childhood bullies tend to have later
problems. These include: school attendance, performance and behavioral problems
(Limber, 1996, p.8).
Some of these bullies enter society very angry, they have low self esteem and see
everyone as their enemies. Some are not able to build friendships or form a
relationship, hold a job and have a stable family life. They end up in crime and
drugs. This is very sad because schools are supposed to help teach students moral values
and prepare them for society. With these types of behavior, these students will not be able
to contribute effectively to society.
Now that some of the problems are identified, we need to identify safety
issues. Some schools do not have the proper security to keep intruders out. That is
an issue that needs to be addressed by law makers. In the same manner that
security has improve at our airports, the same improvement is needed for our
schools. Schools should be a safe haven. Our students are our future leaders. We
also need to know that safety issues cannot be solved individually. Parents, teachers,
students and law makers have to be involved.. “Schools cannot be made completely safe
by security guards or mental detectors” ( Youth Violence, 2002, p.150).
The students who have behavioral problems must get help.
Bullying must not be tolerated in the schools. Teachers and administrators must
watch for warning signs from students who have anger problems and who are
depress and withdrawn. “Bullying is a pervasive problem for school children in the
U.S. as well as internationally with an incidence rate as high as 80%” (Bosworth, et al,
1999).
Drugs must not be tolerated on or near school premises. Guns on school premises
should carry a stiff penalty. Students who break these rules should be dealt with
according to the law. Students should be carefully searched each time they enter the
school premises.
Problems that are identified need a plan in order for a solution to be
implemented.
78 percent of schools have some form of violence prevention program plan in place.
This is the first step in managing any critical situation. The time to think about a crisis
plan is before the crisis occurs not afterward (Associated Press, p.1).
Law makers always wait for disaster to happen before preventive methods are put in
place. A typical example is the Columbine shooting.
Surviving School Violence has suggested tips for surviving a crisis:
Have a plan and communicate that plan to staff. Report all suspicious
incidences to law enforcement authorities. Work with local law enforcement
agencies and provide blue prints of your campus. During and After a Crisis:
If your school is in a crisis situation, your crisis plan must yield to law
enforcement. Communicate first with students and parents. Be proactive with
the media. Remain visible with staff. Provide support to employees. Make grief
counselors or an employee assistance program available ( Surviving School Violence,
p.2).
If these plans are to be effective, staff and students must realize the importance of
them. Every school is at risk of violence. Preparation is the key to handle these
problems when they arise.
Now that we have identified the problems and safety issues and have outlined a
plan and its implementation, school violence can be controlled or alleviated.
“Prevention is better than cure”. Let us all work to stop school violence. Let us
work for the betterment of our children and teachers by making their schools
environment safer.
Works Cited
Biskup, M. D., & Cozic, C. P., (1992). Youth violence. San Diego, CA.
Greenhaven Press.
Bosworth. K., et al, (1999). Factors associated with bullying behavior in middle
School. Retrieved October 12th 2007 from, http://aboutkids.org
ERIC-Educational Resources Information Center-Hidden dangers within our
Schools. Retrieved September 17th 2006 from, service@edrs.com
Limber, S., P., (1996). Bullying among school children. Retrieved September 27th
2007 from, http://aboutkids.org
Olweus, D., (1995). Bullying among school children, facts and intervention.
Retrieved September 27th 2007 from, http://aboutkids.org
Peterson, R., L., & Skiba R. (2001). Creating school climates that prevent school
violence. ERIC-Education Resources Information Center. Retrieved September 27
2007 from, service@edrs.com
Surviving School Violence, how to be prepared in a crisis. Retrieved October 7 2007
from, http://www.selfjpa.org/resources
Making Marriage Last in this Century
Karin Chan
ENG 111E, Critical Thinking and Writing
Trinity International University Florida Regional Center
Professor Terry Hudson
October 17, 2007
In this century of space age courtship, instant messages, and internet love connection, the union of a beloved couple seems too far-fetched from making the marriage last. One of the most intimate relationships between a man and woman is the sacred union of a marriage. In today’s society, the word marriage is precariously replaced by the word divorce. Yet, there is hope for a brand new marriage in fulfilling three basic needs: communication, emotion and love.
What is Communication?
Communication is “the transfer of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1999). In the human genus, the communication between a man and a woman appears to be on the opposite sides of the brain. They are like Mars and Venus. They communicate at a different level. For example, men usually think that women are impossible to understand; that the women are the real problem; that women are inferior. However, God says “Husbands, be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner”(1 Peter 3:7 NIV).
In my opinion, there are five levels of communication between two persons: the first level is cliché. Both persons speak, but they are not sharing anything.
The second level is fact. Both persons share what they know, perhaps a little more. For instance, the wife may say “How was work today?” and the husband may say “Good, I’m tired. Is the dinner ready?” The third level is opinion. Both persons share ideas and judgments. For example, the wife may say “Johnny earned an F on the math quiz today” and husband may say, “Johnny is lazy and he is not working hard. Johnny can not watch TV for one week.”
The fourth level is emotion. Both persons share what they really want. The fifth level is transparency. Both persons share everything and there is nothing held back. The ideal level of communication is transparency. However, it will take time and trust to build the relationship to that level. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26, NIV).
What is Emotion?
Emotion is “an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, love, hate, etc. is experienced” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1999). The key element is to meet each other’s emotional needs.
When a couple first married, they find each other irresistible because they have been meeting each other’s needs. As time passes, they stop caring for each other and they become miserable. They usually look for an easy way out to solve their problems. Mostly likely, they end up in a divorce court. However, God says, “What God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matthew 19:4 NIV).
Accordingly, there are ten emotional needs that most people have:
the need of admiration, affection, conversation, domestic support, family commitment, financial support, honesty and openness, physical attractiveness, recreational companionship, and sexual fulfillment. For example, when someone leaves you with a feeling of happiness and contentment, you feel satisfied with your emotional needs. On the other hand, when someone leaves you with a feeling of unhappiness and frustration, you feel unsatisfied (Harley, 1997).
The couple would have work on meeting each other’s needs in order to fulfill the emotional appetites of an individual.
What is Love?
Love is an abstract word. Love is defined “as a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person, especially when based on sexual attraction” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1999).
Love is like a bank account. There are ways to make deposits to each other’s accounts and also there are ways to make withdrawals. Human beings, however, are usually self-centered. There are habits, likes and dislikes that a person is acclimated to. It is not easy to adjust or to compromise with another human being.
When a woman and a man marry, they discover that there are things that they do in certain ways that may irritate or hurt the other person’s feeling. For instance, the wife may say “who will wash the dishes tonight?” There is no volunteer. Since the man is accustomed to leave the dirty dishes on the table, he will continue this behavior until the wife gets frustrated. This act will make a withdrawal from the love bank account because this habit will hurt the other person’s feeling. Let us imagine that this habit is repeated six nights per week, it will eventually make the wife angry and she will make a withdrawal from the love account. The way that they treat each other will increase or decrease the love account. On the contrary, if the man actively assumes the role of cooking and cleaning, the wife will make a deposit into the love account.
There is a reaction in every action. From God’s perspective, love is an unselfish act because “God is Love” (1 John 4:16). “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God” (1 John 4:7). In summary, the basic elements to make marriage last are fulfilling the needs of each other by communicating openly; meeting each’s other needs, and loving one another. The bottom line is to treat each other the way that you want to be treated.
Works Cited
Harley, W. (1997). Your love and marriage. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company.
Webster’s college dictionary. (2000). New York: Random House, Inc.