School Violence Essay, Research Paper
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered Columbine
High School in Littleton Colorado, firing sawed-off scatterguns and
fliping homemade pipe bombs at their fellow pupils. Twelve
schoolmates and one instructor were killed and 23 pupils were
wounded before Harris and Klebold turned their guns on themselves.
( Grapes 9 )
This was shortly to be remembered as the biggest high school hiting in America.
Columbine is among many schools with force jobs. These jobs
refering force in schools are caused from a figure of jobs within schools
such as packs, societal factors, psychiatric drugs and even the influence of the media.
Although force is committed everyday in schools certain steps can be taken
to forestall the force from predominating.
One of the largest jobs with force in schools is packs. Gangs in schools
hold potency to make more harm than conceivable. They are recognizable by their
vesture. Gangs are sometimes recognized by the colourss that they wear such as ruddy,
blue and black. In the celebrated Columbine hiting the pack named the Trench Coat
Mofia was distinguished by their black trench coats and their Gothic visual aspect.
Appearance is of import since different packs have different images.
Appearance is of import and that is why president Clinton has worked with
school territories such as long beach located in California to back up school uniforms
as a method for cut downing adolescent force. There are two ways that school uniforms
can cut down force in schools.
One is that pupils will be better able to avoid the sort of problem
caused by demoing packs colourss and manners ( conditions on intent or
by chance ) when they pass through packs districts on the manner to and
from school. ( Goodwin 97 )
The other manner is that uniforms allow for easy and immediate designation of
foreigners ( like older pack members who do non belong on campus ) ( Goodwin 98 ) .
Another job with with force in schools is Psychatric drugs. Harmonizing
to a survey done by president Clinton after the Columbine shot, six million
kids in the us between the ages of six and eight-teen are on head changing drugs
prescribed for mental unwellness ( Grapes 91 ) . The most popular of these types of
psychiatric drugs are Ritalin, Luvox and Prozac. At the clip of the Columbine
hiting Eric Harris eight-teen had been under the influence of Luvox along with
and antidepressant to command obsessive-compulsive upset. Curiously plenty four
yearss prior to that hiting Shawn Cooper, a fifth-teen twelvemonth old sophomore at
Notrus Junior High in Idaho was taking Ritilan for a bipolar upset when gap
two shotgun unit of ammunitions about killings pupils and staff. Within the past twelvemonth five
other school shots have been caused due to psychiatric and prescription drugs.
There is small grounds to back up a scientific footing for sorting
ADHD as a mental unwellness. On the Other manus, there is an copiousness of
grounds that stimulations such as Ritalin can bring forth symptoms such as
passion, insomnia, hallucinations, hyperactivity, impetuously and
inattention. And the DEA & # 8217 ; s list of potentially inauspicious effects of Ritalin
includes psychocis, depression, giddiness, insomnia, jitteriness,
crossness and onslaughts of Tourettes or other tic syndromes. While Ritalin
is the drug of pick for handling ADHD, other mental unwellnesss such as
depression and obsessional compulsive upset. ( Grapes 55 )
A atrocious minute happened at the clip of this celebrated Columbine shot
American life was questioned on such issues as schools, rearing, guns and the
amusement industry.
Most Americans already cognize that excessively many of films, telecasting
shows, music vocals, and picture games are filled with rubbish: grisly slaying
scences, taking apart and evisceration, nonstop profanity, colza
and anguish scenarios. The revenant inquiries are: Department of energies it truly matter
and if it does how much and what can we make about it? ( Grapes 60 )
About cognize one can deny the truth which is that kids today are being
influenced by the media.
As of right now there are a little per centum of films, music, telecasting, and
Internet use that can command what kids are aloud to see or hear.
Unfortunately for most childs their state of affairs is non so great they are being exposed to
this type of force everyday. More research should be done on this subject that is
why parents should be highly careful in supervising what their kids are being
exposed to.
By now, it & # 8217 ; s over. If you are reading this, my mission is
comp
lete….Your kids who have ridiculed me, who have chosen non
to accept me, who have treated me like I am non worth their clip are
dead. They are F*cking dead & # 8230 ; Surely you will seek non to fault it on
the apparels I wear, the music I listen to, or the manner I choose to show
myself, but no. Make non conceal behind my picks. You need to confront the
fact that this comes as a consequence of your picks. Parents and instructors,
you f*cked up. You have taught these childs non to accept what is
different. You are in the incorrect. I have taken their lives and my own-
but it was your donning. Teachers, Parents allow this slaughter be on your
shoulders until the twenty-four hours you die. & # 8211 ; Eric Harris
( Grapes 63 )
Above is a missive written by Eric Harris one of the two Columbine slayers.
Social factors are a large portion of life in high school, and being an foreigner is one of the
hardest things to be in high school. Hollywood is a perfect illustration of what creates
this all the cheerleaders and football participants are the & # 8220 ; cool childs & # 8221 ; who merely go on to
be better looking characters. High school is the same manner. Some feel that they
merely can non be excepted because of how they look while others feel merely the
face-to-face, they can & # 8217 ; t except others for the manner that they look.
For childs who feel that they are castawaies there are Groups such as the male childs and
Girls group who help teens experience more recognized. There are plentifulness of other groups
that besides aid with this and can give these teens a sense of belonging.
There are 192 million in private owned pieces in the United States and seven and
half million guns being added to that list every twelvemonth ( Grapes 71 ) . In 1996, pistols
were used to slay two people in New Zealand, fifth-teen in Japan, 30 in Great
Britian 106 in Canada, 213 in Germany and 9,390 in the united provinces ( Grapes 71 ) .
Harmonizing to the centres for disease control more kids are killed each twelvemonth by
pistols than all natural diseases combines ( Grapes 71 ) . Virtually every adult male,
adult female and kid has entree, twenty-four hours or dark to battle arms and manus guns. It is
human nature to on occasion snarl in helter-skelter ways such and the united provinces along
with the unfastened industrial part allows it & # 8217 ; s population to hold entree to guns.
The reply to all this is simple at that place needs to be tighter gun control Torahs and
entree to guns demands to be tougher. The United States needs to sit down with the
leaders from states such as New Zealand and Japan to speak about how they
manage their gun control state of affairss and figure out what needs to be done across seas.
There are many jobs to violence in schools but there are besides many
solutions. One Solution is peer mediation. Peer Mediation is where pupils learn.
to speak out their choler. Peer Mediation can besides Help with societal factors such as
being an foreigner. Possibly If Eric Harris would hold gone to peer mediation the Acts of the Apostless
that he committed would non hold been done. Another Positive idea about equal
mediation is that it may even assist pupils from different packs or even merely societal
groups that they are all teens sing the same jobs.
The Boys and Girls Group is a group based chiefly in urban countries helps
different packs who would usually be in rivalry battles and blood conflicts become
friends and work together. Each new member is welcomed by an big staff member
who helps in doing them experience more recognized.
Although in some schools it is all right for the instructors to be armed this makes
child feel threatened in a positive manner so that they know what their bounds are and non
to open fire in school. And yet there is still one more solution.
Interior designers and designers are seeking to do school a more welcoming topographic point.
They want to take down to locker to waist degree in some instances eliminate them wholly
so pupils can & # 8217 ; t conceal behind them or utilize them as topographic point to conceal their guns. Some
say that there should be glass walls so functionaries can see what is traveling on in the
schoolrooms. And eventually utilizing lighter colourss to soften the ambiance with in the
schools to do childs experience more relaxed.
Preventing school force is a tough undertaking. Schools demand Zero Tolerance to
set up house regulations and tough guidelines. Teachers and other decision makers need to
start early off by learning childs concluding with their jobs.
There are tonss of jobs with force in schools such as easy entree to guns,
societal issues, the media, Gangs and how psychiatric drugs can do kids to toss out
and do jobs at school. On the impudent side to each job there is something positive
that can be done to forestall or assist extinguish it. Violence in schools is a job and in
demands clip be fixed.