Causes And Solutions Of School Violence example essay topic

Presentation #1 Topic: School Violence General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To inform what needs to be done to stop school violence. Central Idea: To inform the effects, causes, and solutions of school violence. INTRODUCTION: Since the April 20, 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado I have been looking deeper into the issue of school violence. The number of extremely violent crimes committed by students has been increasing in the last few years. These incidents are not only increasing in number, but in the amount of bloodshed in each occurrence. Some experts seek to analyze the effects this violence has.

Others figure the causes to be everything from movies to video games. In the end it has been determined that there are many solutions that must work together to help solve this urgent problem. MAIN BODY: I. Effects- 2 main effects. Copycat crimes 1.

Since the Feb. 19, 1997 shooting in Bethel, Alaska, there have been 9 more school shootings (Start 'Em Young 1-3). 2. Six of these shootings took place in a 4-month period. B. Students feeling unsafe in school 1. For thousands of students throughout the country, the feeling of being the next victim looms over their heads. 2. For many students, feeling unsafe creates a very difficult learning environment (Nolin, Davies, Chandler 2).

II. Causes- 3 main causes. Parental Violence 1. Children are influenced by what they see and hear, but what they are exposed to will often have the lasting effect on them. 2.

If a child witnesses a parent behaving badly, such as shouting at or hitting another person it is likely the child will copy the parent's behavior later in life. 3. If a parent chooses to inflict pain on their child for a behavior they see unacceptable, this teaches the child that using force to get your way is okay (Peterson). B. Video Games 1. There is no doubt video games are a cause of school violence, especially with scientific proof supporting it. 2. A study conducted by Buchanan and Funk in 1996 showed that 50% of boys listed action video games as their favorites.

These games include " first person shooter' games such as Doom and Quake. It turns out that one of the gunmen in the Columbine shooting played Doom quite often (Walsh 2). 3. Craig Anderson and Karen Dill of Iowa State and Lenoir-Rhyne Colleges conducted a study in which they gave video games to students who were not predisposed towards aggressive behavior. Some students were given violent games, and others non-violent games to play. Those given violent games showed an increase in violent thoughts and behaviors, whereas those given non-violent games did not show a change (Walsh 3) C. Movies / Television 1.

After the March 24, 1998 Jonesboro, Arkansas shooting, the head of the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force of Juvenile Violence said that children do not kill one another; it is a learned skill (Grossman 4). 2. David Grossman, the author of Trained to Kill, agrees with this statement adding, 'killing one's own kind is not a natural instinct. ' IV.

Solutions- 2 POSSIBLE solutions. Community Involvement 1. Having a community that shows interest in not only helping with problems a child may have, but helping with an adult's problem too can create a healthier environment for the child. 2. Also, with a strong community support groups can be formed to keep everyone educated on the issue of school violence. B. Protective Parents 1. Parents need to lock up any weapon that a child would use as a source of violence.

2. Parents need to be active in their child's life. Kids who are ignored tend to direct their attention towards TV, movies, and video games. CONCLUSION: As can be seen, school violence is very complex and is without definite answers to the questions of causes and solutions. This type of violence is fairly recent and has not been given a chance to prove any solutions to be right or wrong. Since there are many factors that contribute to the problem, experts agree that only a combination of solutions working together can help stop school violence.

Bibliography

Grossman, David. 'Trained to Kill. ' Christianity Online. 21 June 2000.
web Mary Jo, Elizabeth Davies, and Kathryn Chandler. 'Student Victimization at School. ' National Center for Education Statistics. October 1995.
22 June 2000.
web George. 'Kids Learn From Adult Behavior. ' 22 June 2000.
web 'Em Young. 20 June 2000.
web David A. Ph. D. 'Video Game Violence-A Research Update. ' National Institute on Media and the Family. 23 November 1999.
21 June 2000.
web the family. org/1999 vg rc 3.