The Justice Department (1991) corroborated the NSBA (1994) study stating that 82 percent of the school officials surveyed believe school violence has increased in the past five years, especially student-on-student violence.

Violence or the threat of violence has a direct impact on the quality of education provided and on the way teachers and students work together in the classroom. Students are very perceptive. They may not articulate their perceptions, but most students know whether or not they are receiving a good education, an education that will prepare them to compete in the job market, college, or anywhere else. When students perceive that their education is inadequate or inferior, when the expectations for them are less than for others in the class, they often develop a sense of helplessness and frustration (Futrell, 1994). This sense of frustration often turns to anger and violence when they don’t know how to handle the obstacles to an effective education. For example, academic failure in school contributes to delinquency, antisocial behavior, and criminal activity—all of which can lead to violence. According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation Network report, The Challenge of Youth Violence (Sausjord & Friedman, 1994), “Youth who lack basic skills and a strong sense of self-worth are more likely to be drawn into violence.”

Students frequently act out their hostility by being disruptive. This in turn creates an atmosphere in the classroom and the school that militates against constructive teaching and learning. For example, teachers are less apt to teach at their full potential, class assignments are less creative and challenging, and the ethos in the school is less motivating if tension constantly permeates the environment. In addition, teachers, like students, are less eager to go to school every day. Thus, students in these schools are much more likely to be taught by a “revolving door” of substitutes (Kozol, 1991; Wise, 1993).

MEASURES TO ENSURE SCHOOL SAFETY

Youth violence in many schools, frequently mirroring the situation in the surrounding community, has reached pandemic proportions. In some communities the situation is so bad that young offenders are being sent to boot camps or “shock incarceration programs,” or are required to perform supervised community service.

Especially frightening is the increased availability of weapons, guns in particular. The fact that more and more weapons are showing up in schools underscores how readily accessible they are. In response to this phenomenon, schools are resorting to random checks of students’ book bags, backpacks, or lockers. They are also increasing their use of metal detectors to identify students carrying weapons. Many schools are moving to physical means of control—fences, blocked access roads, and locked and chained doors—to guard against violence.

Such measures are costly and reflect the real and unpleasant image of being locked up. They divert funds from efforts to reform education and restructure schools: to raise standards by improving the curriculum, reducing class size, providing professional development programs for teachers or special programs for students.

All of the strategies described herein are important and, perhaps, necessary. However, they are too little and, perhaps, too late. Most strategies to curb violence in school and society are designed to respond to violence after it has occurred rather than to prevent it.

ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education Box 40, Teachers College Columbia University New York, New York 10027 212/678-3433 800/601-4868 212/678-4012 (Fax) Director: Erwin Flaxman Associate Director: Larry R. Yates Managing Editor: Wendy Schwartz This publication was produced by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, United States Department of Education, under contract number RR93002016, and from Teachers College, Columbia University. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the position or policies of OERI or the Department of Education. Preventing Violence in Schools Gang Activity at School: Prevention Strategies School Violence and the Legal Rights of Students: Selected Issues

• An overview of violence in schools

The issue of school violence is not a new phenomenon. “Discipline in the Public Schools: A Problem or Perception,” which appeared in the January 1979 edition of Phi Delta KAPPAN, traces school violence back to the 1950s when the problem was not discipline, but juvenile delinquency. In that decade, “there seemed to be a marked

• Extended School Hours

Another strategy being used by an increasing number of schools is extending the number of hours that the school is open to students. In some communities, after the regular school day has ended, schools are kept open so that students can participate in organized activities such as sports, gymnastics, crafts, art, music, tutorial programs, or

• What do you think are the major issues facing education today?

These essays are intended to make this individual come across not just as a competent teacher but as a unique, caring, thinking individual who cares deeply about her work and the impact it has on those whom she teaches. Unfortunately, more and more children are being abused or exposed to abusive situations in the home. Research

• Perceptions of school violence

Legal decisions and public policies concerning the rights of students in the maelstrom of school violence must be viewed in the context of the current state of safety in the schools, both as documented and perceived. There is, in fact, a conflict between “facts” and “perceptions” with respect to both current and projected levels of

• Private Schools Vs. Public Schools

Sample essay topic, essay writing: Private Schools Vs. Public Schools - 1192 words Private Schools vs. Public Schools Many people in today's society believe it's wise to send their children to private schools. In making the decision on whether to put children in public or private schools, they look to four main factors: curriculum, class size,