Violence in Schools

Violence in schools has become an extremely serious issue. In the past violence was known to be part of normal incidences whereby kids just crush and later reconcile. However, presently this violence has been leading to murders and serious diseases such as depression due to humiliation. Additionally a big number of suicides by students have been linked to school violence such a bullying. This is especially approaching alarming levels since students are now going to the extent of using guns to bully others. Further, school violence is being turned towards teachers by students. 

 Podcast

The speaker professor Fiona Leach who is an expert on the field of international education explains that there exist three wide categories relating to school-associated violence comprising of psychological, sexual and physical. She additionally states that violence ranges from sexual assault, rape as well as bullying. She makes a very valid point that has been affecting the data collection regarding school-based violence which is under reporting: this is especially so with regard to sexual violence. She gives very applicable solutions regarding curbing violence such as encouraging unity within the student community through such events as student clubs. She additionally views that schools require reducing the authoritarian culture and adopting a culture that is child-friendly and this will definitely increase the reporting of incidents. Nevertheless, she failed to state the contribution of experts in this discussion. She is somewhat biased since she places blame solely on schools administration and fails to acknowledge the input of experts like herself (Vojvoda, 2014).   

Blog

The writer in the blog narrates a story regarding a high school bus driver in Florida who failed to physically intervene when he saw three boys assaulting one other boy in school. To start with I think that she makes an invalid point by stating that the bus driver was justified in stating that he feared the boys.   As an adult the driver was supposed to intervene and deal with consequences later. What if the victim would have his kid? Would he express fear in defending him or her? Once school kids notice that they can molest a fellow student in the presence of an older person like the driver or a teacher then violence will continue to rise significantly (Barberry, 2013).

She makes a valid point stating that she feared he big boys during her early teaching periods but the fact she is a lady teacher it is comprehensible. The writer narrates an encounter in her classroom regarding two boys who were fighting each other. These incidences actually happen but it does not mean that a teacher male or female should fail to intervene. If the student victim loses their life due to fear of intervening that I do not know what would be more depressing between intervening and loss of a life. Her thoughts regarding if she hurt one of the boys and ends up losing her job is another is a situation that is very applicable since it has happened to some teachers who have attempted to intervene. But I think doing the right thing and intervening is the ultimate choice (Barberry, 2013).

Video

The video brings out very valid information regarding violence in schools which is progressively more impacting on teachers once they decide to intervene. It is sad that the students have decided to turn to their teachers in addition doing the unthinkable; killing them. The video shows no bias since the event covered are a news report regarding kids killing their teachers. This video confirms the numerous complaints by teachers that students are in addition extending violence on their direction. The video vividly indicates just how much students have become violent to the extent of harming their superiors. I find this video as being applicable to the present sad situations and could be used as evidence to the threats being posed by school violence. There has been a prevalent discussion regarding ownership of guns by teachers this could may be reduce the incidents of attacks against teachers. For instance Colleen the math’s teacher in Massachusetts having been killed by a crude weapon would have protected herself. However, if a teacher dared shoot a kid for protection reasons on the contrary would trigger huge public outrage. For instance Michael the teacher in Nevada was killed whilst trying to disarm a student. This video shows how much teachers are as vulnerable in school violence. Weapons of any kind must be deterred from getting into the school premises at all times: this act will prevent all acts of violence from transpiring within the school premises additionally the teachers should report any suspicious behavior that could lead to violence acts against them  (Youtube, 2012).

School violence in American Schools is a thorny issue which all stakeholders must address with urgency. Stakeholders ranging from government, educational heads, experts, law enforcement agencies, school heads, teachers and parents require to all add in their inputs towards curbing this vice. Programs in schools to reduce animosity amongst students must be instituted.

Global citizenship refers to the idea of adopting an international perspective as well as lifestyle. Some individuals believe that global citizenship is attained through physically travelling in various nations. However this notion is dying out since the internet has enabled individuals to easily and cheaply travel whilst at their home nation. It is thus easy to span borders within our individual as well as professional lives.  The web has allowed people to interact with other individuals from other nations either socially or professionally and learning a lot about each other’s culture translating the world into a multicultural environment. Currently an individual can read through information on the web and get awareness on what is happening in another nation, its history and its current affairs. People can study other cultures to detail to the extent of comprehending their norms by simply accessing web based information (Schattle, 2008).   

Internet has provided a platform that enables any person to post information freely. Thus any search caries out for instance using a search engine such information will be found. It is therefore imperative to be careful when searching for information on the Web. Several factors should be considered when searching for information on the Web (Wang & IGI Global, 2012).

• The authenticity of the information source e.g. an official website
• Usage of universally accepted material such as peer reviewed journals
• Sourcing materials from credited libraries

These measures will ensure that one locates credible information that can be used both for scholarly, private and professional reasons. The internet is filled with a lot of information mostly misleading in addition to links that direct users to alternative bogus websites. It is thus crucial that information is sought in only official and accredited sources.

References

Barberry, R. (2013). School violence – Schools of Thought – CNN.com Blogs. Retrieved from http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/category/safety/school-violence/

Schattle, H. (2008). The practices of global citizenship. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Pub.

Vojvoda, R. (2014). Podcast #94 – Day of the Girl 2014 – Empowering adolescent girls: Ending the cycle of violence | Basic education and gender equality | UNICEF. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/education/bege_76217.html

Wang, J., & IGI Global. (2012). Societal impacts of information systems development and applications. Hershey, PA: IGI Global (701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA.

Youtube. (2012). Bullying and Violence In Our Schools [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e-YMXQdSLk