School Violence
I am a hothead. Sometimes it takes every bit of my energy to bite my tongue or refrain from smacking stupid people in the forehead. But I understand that you cannot impose your anger on people, no matter what you might think of them.
What I don’t understand is how our school system can allow violent students to walk the halls of a high school and chalk their behavior up to the tired old adage “kids will be kids.” If a child cannot control their behavior, then measures must be taken to teach the child coping skills and while I don’t think the school is responsible for that, I do believe it is the school’s responsibility to maintain a safe environment for children to learn in.
Parents are the most influential people in a child’s life, and when they fail to instruct their children on the appropriate ways to treat others these children pose a potential threat to children who are taught non-violence. Unfortunately, the non-violent children often pay the price. Especially in school.
When children are bullied, threatened, and humiliated for any length of time they are placed under undue stress that can lead to depression, alcohol & drug use, suicide, and acts of rage such as turning a gun on classmates and themselves. Some of our best and brightest will never get the chance to reach their full potential, and be effective leaders in our communities and society.
Zero tolerance, man. Schools have zero tolerance for drugs and weapons but not for violence. They do impose zero tolerance if a child strikes a teacher which I am in FULL AGREEMENT with, but my question is..why is a teacher’s safety more important than a student’s?
Zero tolerance should be enforced across the board and available to everyone who attends or works in a school.
That’s my soapbox.
