Introduction
Student violence has been a major concern in the recent past. In earlier days this was not common and nowadays it has become rampant and raises teachers’ and parents’ concern. This violence may have its roots in early childhood, promoted by the school environment, and may extend in adulthood if left unchecked. student-on-student violence involves crimes like bullying, beating, use of weapons, name-calling, robbery, and intimidation.
School violence is caused by various factors. Behavior is a contributing factor. If some students with low self-esteem, poor communication skills, etc they may always feel left out and may result in violence. The family background also determines the habits of a person. Students from families where domestic violence prevails grow up knowing violence is part of society and so practice it, regularly. The violent parents or guardians act as role models to the children. Parental guidance contributes immensely to children’s behavior and as such many violent parents don’t have time for their children and so no time for monitoring what they do. This leaves the children with no option but to get into bad companies or get involved in violent activities.
Schools admit students from different cultures and races. The differences in background, upbringing, and opinions usually contribute to violent behavior (Bose).
Violence against Asian Students
The issue of student violence was studied by miller in 2009. He analyzed how the Asian students from countries like Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Pakistan, etc are mistreated by Americans and Blacks in the South Philadelphia high school. The Asians live in fear in the school, and even on their way home. Nina Sachdev has added to Millers’ article. She reports on how the Philadelphia district is risky for Asian students. According to her action should be taken to protect the Asians, a motion that has been neglected by the authorities for years.
The student-on-student violence in Philadelphia is more towards the Asians. They are usually injured to an extent of being hospitalized. The other races are not subject to the assault. A recent attack of two Asians is said to be because they were fresh in the school but if it is so freshmen from other races could also have been attacked. A Chinese student comments and says that they are assaulted just because they are Asians. The violence is started mostly by the African-Americans
The issues of student violence are not restricted to the Philadelphia school district but also other districts in the nation. The assault has also been seen in York Region, San Francisco, and California district schools. They are directed towards Asians. To stop this racial violence among the students, these districts have formed organizations like Asian American Legal Defend Fund, an organization for Chinese Americans, etc to fight for their rights. The issues have also been decreased by the intervention of the administration and the school districts. Hiring Asiatic counselors to counsel the students is also another way of reducing the violence in these states.
Student-on-student violence is an issue that is on the rise and has to be addressed with the agency. It leads to the death of many students and even health complications. The harassed students many times end up with altered behavior and end up being violent as well. Their academic performance is affected as the environment is not conducive for their studies. Violence not only affects the students but also the teachers, parents, and the countries economy at large. Various solutions can be offered to prevent this violence.
Solution to violence
Violence in schools can be avoided by arranging parents’ and teachers’ meetings to address the problems that the students face and to look for solutions. They should teach the students what is expected of them in society to avoid violent activities. Parents setting time apart for their children can help change the children’s behavior positively. The family environment provided by the parents also determines their behavior. If the family is not at peace the students learn violent tactics from there so parents should be role models. Teachers should monitor the behavior of students in school (Bose).
Counselors should be involved in the counseling of students who have altered behavior before they cause violence. They act as student advocates and ask for funds from organizations to curb violence in school. Other professionals like psychiatrists should be involved to monitor the student’s behavior. In schools with racial discrimination, counselors from different races should be involved. There should be good communication and relationship between the students and the counselor for this to be effective. This method has been used to eliminate race-based student violence in certain school districts.
Security maintenance is very important in curbing violence in schools. It involves the installation of metal detectors, giving information on violent hotspots, and even the employment of guards for close surveillance. Students can also be involved in keeping an eye on their fellows and report any suspicious behavior to the authority. Setting up laws for criminal acts also helps prevent violence among the students. The zero-tolerance rules where after committing a crime, including possessing a weapon, drug, racial discrimination, etc suspension or expulsion is guaranteed eliminates violence. It touches on various issues like equality and seriousness in academics. It has been effective and is shown to reduce violence cases by up to 70%. This solution usually controls misbehavior but affects the lives of students who are expelled (Hoffman, 1996).
Conclusion
Students can also help in preventing violence by explaining its effects to their fellow students who have these habits. The embarrassment and problems it brings to them and their families should be emphasized. By being friends with students who have violent attitudes makes them feel that someone cares about them and they are not alone. Most students involved in violence are always alone and don’t have friends. They can also advise their fellow students with behavioral alterations to seek medical professional advice. Support from fellow students can greatly change the negative attitudes in life (Hoffman, 1996).
The introduction of student unions that support peace within the school helps curb violence. The students join hands with the communities which are the roots of discrimination that cause violence. The inequality in the school and the community lead to discrimination. The involvement of government authorities also helps in decreasing violence (Hoffman, 1996). The students, parents, teachers, professionals, communities, and government authorities union can lead to effective eradication of student to student and other forms of violence in schools.
References
Bose, D. (2010).Causes of Student Violence in Schools. Web.
Hoffman, A. (1996). Schools, violence, and society. Praeger, Westport, CT.