School Violence Essays (1564 words) - Crime, School Bullying

School Violence Violence in society is more prevalent today than ever before. Media and entertainment have opened up violent images for children to see. Availability of weapons to school age children seems incredulous. News stories of elementary school children bringing guns to school and killing classmates are sickening yet true. What is happening to our country? What is happening to our schools? It is no secret that academic performance has declined over the last thirty or forty years. Today's students are not as proficient in the ?three R's? as are parents or grandparents was. ?Cultural illiteracy,? is rising. Cultural illiteracy indicates a failure to ?possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world,? or to ?be deficient in one's understanding of the basic terms and concepts that a person needs to function properly in our society.? (Schroder 75). As public education has grabbed the attention of parents, policy-makers, and political candidates, the problems of school violence have received increased attention. School safety has become the sixth initiative of the U.S. Department of Education's Goals 2000 program. They propose Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools by the year 2000. (Perlstein B. 02) Despite heightened public attention following a surge in multiple homicides in schools, overall school crime rates are declining, according to the new 1999 Annual Report on School Safety. (Journal of American Medical Association 34) ?Although America can be glad that school crime is decreasing,? said President Clinton; ?we must take firm steps to ensure the safety of all our young people in their communities and in their schools. Congress should finish its work on the juvenile justice conference and finally pass a comprehensive and balanced bill that includes common sense gun provisions that will keep guns out of the hands of children and criminals.? (Quindlen 98) A source of conflict in many schools is the perceived or real problem of bias and unfair treatment of students because of ethnicity, gender, race, social class, religion, disability, nationality, sexual orientation or physical appearance is what a report noted. An update on hate crime legislation and related statistics is included, but the report also notes that hate crimes are often underreported and data collection is further complicated because state definitions of hate crime vary. Recent data shows that about fifteen percent of eleven, thirteen, and fifteen-year-olds have been bullied because of their religion or race, and more than thirty percent have had sexual jokes, comments or gestures directed at them. (Schroeder 75) Gun laws are an interesting issue in the never-ending civic debates that is this nation. There is hardly any true debate about them at all. Polls have long shown that the majority of the American people, even the majority of gun owners, support government efforts to make sure guns are less dangerous and less often in the hands of the violent, the deranged and the very young (Schroeder 75). This makes any reasonable person wonder how such public consensus can have spawned such an illusion of strife, and so much stillborn legislation. The answer is simple. Many of the elected officials who oppose gun laws aren't true believers. Many experts believe that the shootings at Columbine and other schools are not just a school problem. They say that problems in American society also play a role. Some experts say there is too much violence in the media, including movies, music, and TV. The American Academy of Pediatrics has urged a limit to the amount of TV kids watch because it is too violent. (Perlstein B.02) Just recently I found an article on a teenager in an Oregon school shooting who received one hundred and eleven years in jail. Kip Kinkle pleaded guilty to a jury in September of 1998 to a May shooting that injured twenty-four students at his high school. As a 15-year-old high school student, Kinkel shot his parents who were both popular Spanish teachers, Bill and Faith Kinkel, at home on the day he was suspended for bringing a handgun to school. The next morning he drove the 10 miles to school and opened fire with a .22-caliber rifle in a crowded cafeteria, killing two students. (Online 1999) While there are can be no guarantees, many cities around the country are turning to community programs