School violence

School violence in the United States
I was shocked with the news of 32 people killed on the Campus of Virginia Tech last April 16 th.
However that was not just an isolated case, it was perhaps the best known all over the world, but it is just one more of the many cases you can read every day in the American newspapers. That is the reason why I will consider the causes and possible solutions to this crisis in schools.
School violence does not exist in a vacuum, it is directly related to the violence in our society. For many children particulary those who experience family violence early in their lives , school can often be safer than the environment where they live.
Agression and violence are the direct result of learned behabiour. American society is full of examples of violence and aggression that unfortunately have become a part of their daily lives regardless of where they live, work or play.
The main causes of this terrible situation are serious personal and phycological problems suffered by the agressors. The reason may be romantic break up, a sense of isolation, loneliness, luck of family atmosphere. The influence of drugs and alcohol, also affects their aggressive behaviour . The media also help shape the minds of children, cartoon, video games and movies are full of examples of brave, aggressive and violent male characters.
Nearly 50 % of the homicide perpretators have some type of warning signal prior to the event. Among the students who commited school homicide 20% where known to have been victims on bullying.
Bullying is a form of aggression that children begin to show in their first years of school. It can lead to more violent forms of behaviour if it is ignored by the school authorities. Unfortunately disciplinary programmes in schools typically do not take seriously the development of violent behaviour in children until it is almost too late to reverse. Educators are expected to pass along information , few are expected to promote values trhough education . This is not to say that nothing can be done to change this culture of violence .The disciplinary policies of schools need to change from excluding and suspending students to addressing the problem from a preventive perspective.
It is necessary to take threats and talks of suicide seriously. Pomoting prevention programmes that are designed to help teachers and other school staff in respond to incidents of bullying between students.
To conclude I can say that it is everyone s responsibility to do more to prevent violence among children and young people and to teach them about ways to solve arguments and fights without violence.