Current issues in education and violence in schools
Current issues in education range over a series of subjects, some of them quite serious and needing very immediate attention of all concerned. These issues range from an increasing trend in incidents of violence at schools, concern about maintaining good academic standards, providing value added education to evolve and develop human beings with integrated personality traits and so on. One of the most important of these is the problem of violence at school.
Violence of some type or other is an unwelcome scenario in many of our schools today. Even if we take consolation in the fact that violence is caused by only a small number amidst the large mass of student population, it is taking away the credibility of our social structure.
According to reports, 270 violent deaths have occurred at schools across the USA over the last couple of decades. Statistically, this may not be a huge number; but statistics apart, every precious life that had been lost should be considered as having an impact and value beyond the borders of statistics, which is after all good only for the record books of the authorities. Most of these 270 fatalities have resulted as a consequence shooting incidents in schools. All violent incidents and occurrences also need not result in deaths but can leave bodily scars, injuries etc as well as psychologically indelible marks on the mental framework of the children who have been affected by this malady of violence in our schools.
One of the most common types of violence in schools is a physical attack, generally without any weapons unless some one uses a sharp pencil or a divider or a compass as a weapon to cause injury to others; in addition to the common incidents of the bully attacking those who appear to be weaker than him. At elementary school levels occurrences of violent incidents may be few and far between, but at middle and high school levels they are more frequent. At high school level, violence may take undesirable formats such as fighting with a weapon, sexual attacks, serious physical attacks with or without weapons and perhaps murder too. Injuries resulting from self defense attacks, unintentional but injurious attacks may also fall in the category of violence in yet another form.
Considering that violence has come to exist, we must try to find ways and means to take away this malady from the fabric of our school culture. It is the duty of the parents, the teachers, the administrators, community leaders, the students and all others concerned to plan, prepare and implement solutions so as to eliminate the evil of violence from our schools. Punishment and/or corrective measures after the event are less effective than preplanned steps in dealing with this menace. Establishing good security systems in schools to prevent unauthorized access by strangers, preventive steps to prohibit carrying any form of weapons to schools (provide metal detectors to security staff); appointing full time watch and ward staff at schools, providing ID badges to everyone inside the school premises etc are some steps which need to be immediately taken. Soft issues such as creating an awareness of the undesirable aspects of violence, creating a god fearing nature among the growing minds and personality traits of students, the karmic influence of one's actions etc can also be cultivated among parents, students and teachers.
Frequent interactive sessions and open discussion forums between teachers, parents and students should be organized so as to note and eliminate tendencies for violence among the young populace. Lessons learnt from previous experiences, the impact of even minor incidents on health of the body and mind, character formation etc should be brought out in such open forums. Awareness creation is vital so that schools become safe and an environment for studies can be generated without being intimidated unnecessarily.
Written by kpm111
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