Students Collaboration With School Official example essay topic

Sixteen year old Nicholas Elliot of Virginia Beach, Virginia opened fire on his school with a semi automatic pistol in 1987; he said someone had called him a racist name. Fourteen year old James Alan Kearny of Goddard, Kansas killed the principal and three others within his school on January twenty-first of 1985. Afterward, he reported that he had been brutally bullied and beaten for years proceeding the shooting. After being teased about his weight, twelve year old Nathan Farris of DeKalb, Missouri shot a classmate and then himself on 1987. In 1997, fourteen year old Joseph Todd of Stamps, Arkansas shot two students; he claimed to have been humiliated by teasing. (Dedman, "Bullying, Tormenting Often Led to Revenge in Cases Studied").

Is this what should be happening in America's schools? Should students have to be more concerned with their safety, rather than obtaining a good education? Incidences similar to the ones just described occur every year in school systems across the country. Because searches and metal detectors do not appear to be effective, it is time to move away from intervention and start working on prevention. The first major step to reduce school violence is to change the atmosphere within the school. After this has been accomplished, the next task is to train the students and staff about their responsibilities to reduce the amount of violence in school system.

Changing the atmosphere is an important step that can be taken to reduce amount of violence in school system. Importance of this is due to the fact that atmosphere enables development of psychological problems in young students. Without an appropriate atmosphere, a little seed of dislike will never grow to a huge and blind monster of hatred that is capable of murdering other people. In a paper addressing school shootings, Thomas De Zengotita said "the cruelty of the prep and jock culture toward those who do not fit in is the underlying issue for these kids" (Zengotita). Analysis of atmosphere of different schools with shooting incident has revealed that assailants have similar status in their respective atmosphere. For instance, assailants are generally rejected by their peers ("Psychologist Details Troubling Similarity in Recent School Shootings").

One may never know the frustrations this causes and the psychological damage it has. Unfortunately because of this, victims are blinded into thinking that the only way out is to kill. Another important step in changing atmosphere is to identify situations that may cause psychological damages in some group of students. Success in process of identification requires following three major steps.

First, thorough sociological research should be conducted on students in different schools throughout the country. Focus in this research study should be on reasoning the development of different kinds of behavior in youngsters. Secondly, researchers throughout the country should cooperate and communicate with each other, so they can share their findings. Knowing different perspectives of a certain problem in different places, researchers can better conclude and find a practical solution for that certain problem. Finally, establishment of research organizations that gather thinkers and researchers is necessary. These organizations should be responsible for conducting regular seminars where experts and thinkers can discusses different solutions that they have found.

Attempting to develop a practical solution for school violence crisis should be the sole purpose of these organizations. The third important step in changing the atmosphere is to identify students with psychological problems. The first key is to reduce class sizes to a limited number of students. Overcrowded schools and classes hurt both the educators' efforts to know their students and students' efforts to know one another.

The result from this is often misunderstanding, frustration, and violence. Smaller classes can enable schools to become communities in which students know and value one another as individuals. Also, special training in psychology should be provided to all educators. Having a basic knowledge of psychology, teachers would be able to better identify students with psychological problems. Finally, school psychologists should be always present to assist teachers to better identify psychological problems. They can also assist students with mental problems in indirect ways; more exactly, they may consult students without being in position of professional psychologists.

For instance, a school psychologist can consult students in position of an academic counselor. It is also a good idea to have psychologists teach at least a subject to students, so they would have a better opportunity to interact with students and identify students with psychological problems. In all cases of school shootings, the violent intentions of the shooter had been communicated to their peers. Often these confessions included details as specific as the time and the place of the attack. These threats, unfortunately, were laid on deaf ears.

They are rarely taken seriously and it is even more rare that these plans are reported to school officials or to other adults ("Psychologist Details Troubling Similarity in Recent School Shootings"). The shooting that took place in 1997 near Bethel, Alaska is a prime example of this lack of concern. Sixteen year old Evan Ramsey had told so many students about his plans and his "hit list" that on the day of the shooting his friends crowded onto the balcony in the library to watch the action. This plan was so well known that one girl was able to turn to another and say "you are not supposed to be up here, you are on the list" (Dedman, "Deadly Lessons: School Shooters tell Why"). This reveals the importance of students' responsibility in identification of their psychotic classmates and their plans. Students should be conscious about their surrounding especially about students with unusual behavior.

They have to immediately report any person that they think is suffering from mental problems. For instance, they have to report students who are preoccupied with violent fantasies. In addition, they should attempt to identify and report suicidal students, who feel rejected, humiliated, bullied, or mistreated. No one better than students can identify these psychological troubles in other students.

Finally and most importantly, they have to be alert about students who have threatened others about their intention of violence. All threats should be taken seriously. When it comes to life of live humans, there is no room to take a risk. All threats of violence, without an exception, should be reported to school officials.

Students can also help to reduce violence by their active cooperation with school officials. Their collaboration is helpful in three ways. First, students can help school psychologists to better identify psychotic troubled students. More exactly, students can assist by actively reporting unusual behaviors and feelings to school psychologists. Secondly, students can cooperate with school psychologist to better identify a particular person.

They can play a role of a friend to that person. During their fake friendship, they can obtain more details about his psychological problems. Therefore, they can assist school psychologists by providing more details about psychotic troubled students. Finally, students can collaborate with school psychologists to identify various gangs and groups of students. They can go into a particular gang as a member, and they can assist school psychologists by reporting the members, philosophy, and plans of a particular gang.

"Gang activity at school is particularly susceptible to the Ostrich syndrome, as administrators may ignore the problem. An unfortunate consequence of such denial is that opportunities to reduce violence are lost" (Schwartz). Students collaboration with school official is indeed the best tool to identify sources of school violence in schools. Teachers play an essential role in dealing with school violence.

Studies have shown that children consistently admire and respect those teachers that are strict in setting high standards for behavior and academic performance, who demonstrate a personal interest in their students. It is also important that teachers follow strict codes of conduct throughout the whole school. This code of conduct should be shared with students, and should not be altered by teachers. Students should never have the feeling that they might be able to get away with something because a teacher rarely enforces the rules. In addition, it is important that teachers be active listeners. They have to be friend to their students, and they have to attempt to more interact with students and understand their feelings.

Assailants have offered one unanimous suggestion to America's schools: "Listen to us". Adults may be able to learn what has been planned, if they take the time to ask (Dedman", Deadly Lessons: School Shooters tell Why"). Teachers and administrators have to be conscious about signs of violence. They have to report to the principal as quickly as possible any threats, signs of or discussions of weapons, signs of gang activity, or other conditions that might invite or encourage violence.

Also, whenever they witness to teasing in the hallways and cafeterias, they have to immediately report it to an appropriate person in school, no matter how minor it may seem at a time. Finally, teachers should talk to students and try to identify their problems and their emotional needs. One never really knows what goes on in someone else's life ("Psychologist Details Troubling Similarity in Recent School Shootings"); a smile could be exactly what they need. Teachers and administrators have to take threats seriously. Teachers have to report any possible threat of violence that they may have heard. Sensitivity of this matter lives no room for negligence.

An excellent example of this is what happened at a school in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. At the age of eighteen, Wayne Lo had planned to attack his school. The school knew he had received a package from an ammunition company, but they had decided to let him keep it. Also, a student had tried to warn counselors that the shooting would take place but they did not take him seriously.

Because of their negligence, on December 14, 1992, Lo opened fire on his classmates. After the dust cleared two people were killed and twice as many wounded. This all could have been prevented if adults had opened their eyes to what is around them. Adolescents are victims of more crimes than any other age group in the United States (Furlong).

Even though our federal and local governments all address this issue with numerous laws and policies, there continues to be three million crimes committed in America's public schools annually (Yell). Elder teachers remember the days when disruptive behavior in school meant running in the halls, throwing spitballs, and pulling ponytails. Today, the disruptive behavior is much more frightening. It takes the shape of brutal beatings, stabbings, and shootings.

Youth violence disrupts schools and is taking its toll on students, teachers, parents, and communities. Youth violence is threatening the entire structure of public education. The issue of school violence needs to be solved quickly. This problem cannot be solved by the efforts of one force, but it will rather take the teamwork of the government, communities, and the schools to help reduce the violence. If policies such as the ones described are not implemented, students will continue going to school in fear. World Count: 2055

Bibliography

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