Trends in school violence: past, present, and future

1
Trends in school violencepast, present, and
future

• Chris Johnsen
• Ludi Garcia
• Denise McManus
• Lori Williams
• Melanie Scott

2
Areas of research

• Bullying
• Weapons

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Bullying

• When I was a young boy, the bully called me
  names, stole my bicycle, forced me off the
  playground. He made fun of me in front of other
  children, forced me to turn over my lunch money
  each day, threatened to give me a black eye if I
  told adult authority figures

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Cont

• At different times I was subject to a wide range
  of degradation and abusede-pantsing, spit in my
  face, forced to eat the playground..To this day,
  their handprints, like a slap on the face, remain
  stark and defined on my soul.
• -Eric E.
  Rofes
• Making our
  Schools Safe for Sissies

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Bullying

• Bullying is more common in elementary school than
  in junior high school.
• The goal is to gain control over another child.
• Bullies tend to be more popular with their peers
  than children who are simply aggressive.

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Bullying from elementary school to adulthood

• In elementary school, a bully will usually pick
  on children younger than themselves.
• Boys are more likely to do the bullying.
• In junior high, bullies tend to pick on children
  their own age.
• Boys are still more likely to do the bullying.
• SO

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Research shows that

• Bullies usually come from families that show
  little affection.
• Parents of bullies are not consistent in
  discipline techniques.
• Bullies are not normally model students.
• Bullies tend to gain a certain popularity due to
  their intimidating tactics.

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Short term effects of bullying

• They are not well liked by teachers or peers.
• They have a difficult time maintaining lasting
  friendships.
• Performance in school is typically low.

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Long term effects of bullying

• Bullying often leads to other serious problems.
• Bullies are more likely to use drugs and alcohol
  as adolescents.

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Teachers can help

• A bully should be placed in a small group so that
  he/she can
• work cooperatively
• respond appropriately
• show affection
• learn discipline consistency

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Weapons

• It seems that as long as people have been
  associating with each other eventually some type
  of conflict results.  If the conflict escalates
  to violence, people resort to weapons in order to
  achieve supremacy.  Early weapons probably were
  fists and feet.

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Weapons

• When people associate there is an increased
  possibility for conflicting opinions which can 
  escalate to physical violence.  Therefore, when
  students gather at a school, the opportunities
  for conflict, disagreement, and violence exist. 
  It is possible that Socrates might have found the
  need to pull an angry Plato off another student
  because of a casually flung comment about the
  style and fit of his toga. 

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Weapons past, present, and future

• Within recent memory, weapons at schools were
  simple and relatively harmless.  My father
  recalls from the 1930s, the bully who grabbed
  him by the collar of his shirt, pulling them face
  to face as he verbalized his threats.  The
  bullys weapons were his hands and his words.  My
  father suffered these insults for several days,
  and then responded with his own weapon.  His
  older sisters helped him arrange a selection of
  straight pins sticking out of the collar of his
  shirt.  When the bully grabbed a fist full of
  fabric, he also got the straight pins in his
  hand.  Fortunately for my Dad, the threats then
  ceased. 

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Cont

• Weapons at school sites have become more
  elaborate and sophisticated through the years. 
  Fists and fighting were augmented with stones,
  sticks, and other readily available objects. 
  Thirty years ago typical weapons confiscated in
  schools were knives, slingshots, BB guns, and
  blunt instruments such as bats or clubs. 

15
Cont

• Many studies indicate that the proliferation of
  more sophisticated weaponry used by todays
  students happened because of the culture in which
  we live where violence is visible through the
  media, in games, and in every day existence. 
  Violence experienced through radio, TV, movies,
  and games is unreal, impersonal, and glorified. 
  Easy access to firearms has resulted in the
  school shootings which have stunned and horrified
  most rational people.  It is not too surprising,
  however, in retrospect to see that violent role
  models, alienation or estrangement with parents,
  and immaturity coping with feelings and emotions,
  coupled with easy access to powerful weapons have
  led young people to respond in a violent manner. 

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Common weapons used in schools

• A list of weapons confiscated recently at a high
  school in the United States includes handguns or
  facsimiles of handguns (this includes revolvers
  and automatic pistols), rifles, shotguns, starter
  guns, flare guns, BB guns, pellet guns, a variety
  of knives and sharp objects, clubs, bats, bows
  and arrows, blunt objects, screw drivers,
  slingshots, brass or artificial knuckles,
  daggers, swords, throwing stars, bombs,
  explosives, rockets, missiles, mines, grenades,
  and poisons. 

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Reasons why students use weapons

• Some of the reasons given by students for why
  they had the weapons are that they 
• needed protection.
• were holding it for someone.
• used it in a crime.

18
Cont

• wanted to scare someone.
• saw friends with weapons.
• feel important with a weapon.
• wanted to get even with someone.

19
Statistics

• The United States Department of Justice Report
  for 2001 indicated that 
• 7-9 of  9th through 12th grade students had been
  threatened or injured by a gun, knife, or club on
  school property during the proceeding twelve
  months. 
• 6 of those same high school students routinely
  carried a gun, knife, or a club at school during
  the proceeding thirty days.  That 6 is an
  improvement, however.  In 1993 12 of the high
  school students routinely carried those weapons. 

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Implications for the future

• Society can alter the future picture of weapons
  in schools.  Studies indicate that factors
  including societal violence, media violence,
  violence in sports, violent video games, and
  sport hunting all tend to blur the effects that
  weapons have on us.  Educating the public about
  these facts may influence the weapons of the
  future, however, some established cultural icons
  would have to change or disappear.   

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Sources

• Youth Risk Behavior Survey
• Aspen Colorado High School District
• The American Journal of Public Health 86 
  pp.568-572
• Teens and Weapons Stop the Violence
• Just Say NO To Weapons
• The National Institute of Justice
• Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse
• www.chubb.co.uk/chserver
• www.blakeassociates.com
• www.democracynow.org
• www.seattleschools.org 
• www.ext.nodak.edu/

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Dr. Modells Feedback

• I liked the presentation format on bullying, it
  is a significant problem in the U.S.
• I would have liked to have seen more statistics
  on bullying effects and frequency
• Further, what does the future hold? This is not
  clear. Are there bully prevention programs?
• Grade 70/80