Does School Violence Starts at Home

The best place to start is understanding the cause of school violence and then one can understand what to do to work toward a prevention. In this qualitative research plan, I will be gathering data and putting it all together to come up with a decision as to whether school violence starts at home, looking at different problems that may occur and problems with obtaining the weapons and whether or not the home environment is the problem. I will be using archival and previously recorded sources of data. This type of study will be done through data collection but will leave room to further the research.

This article will cover some of the possible causes of school violence including domestic abuse, gang activity, drugs, depression, and anger issues. It will cover the involvement of parents, teachers, and other students.Problems to be faced are when and where the children get the guns that they use to reek havoc, looking into home life and dysfunctional families, children that are not popular and are picked on continually, children that can not deal with anger issues, and those who joke about committing violence.The variables used in this paper are different schools and different children and their home and school life. Is the family dysfunctional? How well does the child deal with every day stressors? How does the child feel, is he/she feeling isolated from family or friends? Are the children giving clues that they plan to kill or are thinking about violence? Each of these variables will change the outcome of different situations of violence.

Does School Violence Start at Home? Does school violence start at home? Could there be other reasons for school violence?The violence in Littleton, Colorado known as the Columbine Tragedy is just one example. There are also tragedies, or attacks, in Jonesboro Arkansas and Paducah Kentucky, and then on to Oregon and Virginia. We seam to mourn real violence such as these tragedy's and relish simulated violence such as what one sees in the media, or on television (Dillard, 2000)In our schools we have counseling for those that need it. If a student goes to the counselor and expresses a desire to kill other students they will put them through psychological and parental intervention hoping that this will help his thoughts. However, if a student goes to the counselor and expresses their thought of wanting an abortion, she may get a free ride to the clinic. What does this show our students about the value of human life (Dillard, 2000)Starting with Students in dysfunctional families that cannot deal with stresses in their daily life, the feeling of isolation, not having friends or those who are picked on are the ones that are potential school shooters.

These children may be ones that “joke” about shooting people, talks about the plans to kill someone, threatens other students, have problems handling anger, and most leave clues that they are thinking about violence.The problem is not just our children but adults as well. The oldest known school massacre was in Bath, Michigan on May 18, 1927. A school board member upset over loosing his farm to higher taxes in order to build a new school, planted dynamite in the basement killing 39 students and injuring more.

Another incident was a father that did not want his son enrolled at a Huston elementary school. He place dynamite in a suitcase and left it on the playground. The son and his father were killed along with two other children, the custodian and a teacher. Other children and the principal were injured.Where do students get the guns that they use in these shootings? A survey done in 1998 found that 31% of the students homes kept guns in the home, 40% of those are left unlocked and loaded.

Out of 7,000 violent crimes committed each year by children with guns. The guns that are used come from the homes of the children. In California, the schools showed that two-thirds of the cases showed that the children got their guns from relatives or friends. And a study from Alfred University showed that 24% could get a gun without problems.

This is a problem that needs correcting.Some of the arguments are that school violence start at home, others argue that it is their environment, and yet some others argue that the different states have higher crime rates and this is what directs the child to violence. This could be because the criminals, or youths, do not think about the consequences of their actions. Others feel that the death penalty does act as a deterrent to murder and that there are alternatives for youths committing violence.

Not all states have the same cost, monetary wise, and there is bias that needs to be looked at. Some of the variables are nationality and whether the students are female or male. The groups being compared are gangs, groups of children not in gangs, and how they are raised.School violence takes many forms in and outside the school. It can be bullying, physical abuses, verbal abuses, brawling, shooting, the use of dynomite. The most common forms are bullying and physical abuses but shootings are now listed as one of the extrme cases.

The reasons for school violence are numerous, but the top reason is bullies inside the school. The bullies try to dominate other students leading to fighting. If the child being bullied can't take it then he/she may go overboard and bring a gun to school and start shooting (Constitutional Rights Foundation Website).Parents share in the influencing of school violence as does teachers, school authorities and freinds of the child.

The parents, or caregivers, that show no responsibility or caring toward the child will be an influence by turning the child into an arrogant one because he feels neglected and alone. However, if the parent or caregiver shows the child love and care the child will grow up with the proper attitude. Teachers have almost the same amount of contribution as the parents or caregiver. It is up to the teacher to see that the child is not being bullied inside the classroom or that it is not happening elswhere in the school.

Friends contribute to anything that the child does. The quality of friends can guide a child toward good and bad. Being in the circle of "bad" friends will make it difficult for a child to develop the proper attitude and should be avoided (Constitutional Rights Foundation Website)In 2006 a study was done by the U.S.

Department of Education along with the U.S. Department of Justice. This study revealed that public schools experienced violent incidents increased from 71% to 81% over a five-year period. This study also reported that gang presence at school increased 3% over a two year period.

There is however, no direct connection between the gang activity and school violence that can be established. The study also found that 8% of teachers were threatened with violence on the school grounds and 2% were physically attacked each year (Constitutional Rights Foundation Website).Although the specific incidents of school-based fatalities are too numerous to list, there were 48 school-associated deaths in elementary and secondary schools in one year alone, from July, 2004, through June, 2005. Statistics indicate that efforts to curb school violence are making some headway since 1992, a high point for school-based violence. From 1992 to 2004, violent incidents occurred less frequently in school than away from school, according to the above listed study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Education Center (Constitutional Rights Foundation Website).Teen gun violence was on an increase in the late 1980's and early 1990's and claimed 85 young lives.

In 2004 there were not only fewer gun related murders but fewer teens were carrying guns and suicides started to decline. The National Institute of Health study interviewed 1,219 students from seventh and 10th graders in Boston and Milwaukee. Forty-two percent of those students said that they could obtain a gun when they wanted and 17% said they had carried a concealed gun at one time. A study done in 2007 by the University of California at Davis' Violence Prevention Research Program found that the American gun shows were open for illegal activity including unlicensed sales of guns to prohibited individuals (Constitutional Rights Foundation Website).

Public heath experts have found that race and ethnicity, income levels, and other measurable elements such as anti-social behavior from smoking and drinking to violent behavior and suicide as risk factors. The 2001 survey of U.S. Adolescents conducted at the University of Minnesota found that these measurable factors only partially explain adolescent health risk behaviors. Some investigators believe that school performance and the nature of friends' behaviors along with family relationships are the key factors (Constitutional Rights Foundation Website).

The violence in schools, in the 21st century, had approximately 22.9 million property crimes and 8.1 million crimes of violence. There were over 20,000 victims of family violence that involved children and nearly 1/4 of those were public school students. The crime and violence at a public school includes rape, robbery, murder, arson, and others with urban enviroments having a higher poverty rate (Bennett-Johnson, 2003).Bennett Johnson states that "The School Violence Resource Center (2002) suggests that an urban environment has certain "risk factor domains.

" These domains include: Individual risk factors include delinquent friends, aggressiveness of the individual, any substance abuse, lower intelligence, and birth complications. Family risk factors include any history of family crime and violence, lower or lack of expectations by parents, the lack of monitoring by parents, parental involvement in drugs, and child abuse and neglect. Community factors include the availability of weapons, drugs, violence, large numbers of broken homes/families, high transient populations, and economic deprivation within the immediate area. School risk factors include such things as early delinquent behavior(s), academic failure, lack of commitment to school, and gang involvement. (Bennett-Johnson, 2003)Does School Violence start at Home? Some believe that violence does start at home. When children are raised in a safe, healthy, and loving environment they tend to be less likely to become violent.

However, children that are raised in a home that has violence, such as fighting or have lack of discipline, they seem to become violent or bullies at school. But do we just blame the parents? The media has a hand in what goes on, Cartoons show an increasing amount of violence and children watch television more and more. Television has become the ultimate babysitter with parents and care givers not paying attention to what the children are watching (Colon).There are numerous biological problems that can cause school violence but there is also the genetic predisposition to violence and the environmental violence as well. Genetics and the upbringing are the biggest influences on a child's behavior.

So ,Yes, school violence can start in the home especially if there is argumentative parents or domestic violence. The monitoring of what the child hears and sees on television or the music they listen to is important along with how the family interacts and the love and care that is given to the child. (Fryer, 2011)Children with behavioral problems such as ADHD, have been linked to school violence. This is because they do not have the same self-control as the child without problems. They have problems making friends, focusing, and concentrating. The effects of this disorder leads to arguing and fighting not only with other students but peers also.

Psychiatric Disorders such as bipolar disorder, can also lead to school violence if the child is not diagnosed and treated. Fetal alcohol syndrome can cause a child to have learning and behavioral problems. According to the Mayo clinic more than 40,000 children in the United States are exposed to alcohol each year. There is also the learned behavior problem, “when a child has a genetic predisposition to violence and his environment is violent as well---the outcome will not be in anyone's favor” (Fryer, 2011).The federal government has conducted crime victimization surveys that provide alternative conclusions to school violence.

These self-report data shows that youths ages 10-17 have reported stable levels of violent crime victimization. However, we must realized that not all crimes are reported and those that are reported, not all are prosecuted. The rate of serious offending's as of the mid-1990s was comparable to that of a generation ago (Larson, 2011).The Center for Disease Control's “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance” Survey is the most widely cited source of prevalence information about school violence-related behaviors and experiences.

The YRBS is administered to a random sample of students who are representative of the United States school population. The YRBS has found that since 1992 school associated deaths including suicides and homicides committed by adults have decreased more than 50%. They have found that fights and weapon possession at school has declined but that males and high school students report higher rats of fights and weapon possession at school. They have found that African-American and Hispanic students tend to report the higher rates of weapon possessions and self-reported crime victimization at school does not vary by community urbanization. Urban-school students do report higher rates of gang presence (Larson, 2011).

Training for the school psychologist is a very important thing when it comes to children. Specific violence prevention skills may be needed. Most practitioners should possess the baseline training that can be generalized but further training should be considered. (Larson, 2011).In prevention we find that there are two major tasks that need to be incorporated into a plan, creating an organizational structure and identifying concerns through assessment. The school psychologist is important to the process because they can use their training in collaborative and organizational consultation to bring order and focus to the process.

The organizations to consider are community, district, and building (Larson, 2011).Working in tiers, we need to establish mobilization of community involvement, determine target groups from all schools, assess current resources and programs, foster coordination of activities and evaluate components across agencies. This is where the school psychologist can be a powerful influence in the process (Larson, 2011).“Eight Harvard Law School students in the HLS Education Law Clinic of the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI) spent a full day at the Massachusetts State House, testifying before the Joint Committee on Education and lobbying legislators to garner support for legislation proposed by the Clinic to create safe and supportive school environments” (McArdle, 2011).

Many schools in the past five years have established initiatives to help the students in addressing many student problems such as bullying, truancy, traumatized children, and students with social and emotional difficulties. Today, schools are struggling to implement and coordinate many efforts and research shows that the goals of these initiatives would be reached through a more broad framework that would provide a safe and supportive environment for all students. We need a sage and supportive environment at school ranging from special needs or disabilities or normal children. The legislation has acknowledged that every child has issues and would benefit from the framework proposed by the research of TLPI (McArdle, 2011).When the Massachusetts legislature passed "An Act Relative to Children's Mental Health" in 2009, the framwork from TLPI was established.

The report included a number of recommendations to create a safe and supportive school environment which will be included in a bill. The next step is to advocate with the chair to vote the bill out of the education committee and into the hands of the TLPI. This bill will move forward to the floor of the House (McArdle, 2011).There are numerous biological problems that can cause school violence but there is also the genetic predisposition to violence and the environmental violence as well. Genetics and the upbringing are the biggest influences on a child's behavior. So ,Yes, school violence can start in the home.

The monitoring of what the child hears and sees on television or the music they listen to is important along with how the family interacts and the love and care that is given to the child (Fryer, 2011).With all this knowledge and studies being done, we can clearly see that some school violence starts at home but other factors from Individual risk factors include delinquent friends, aggressiveness of the individual, any substance abuse, lower intelligence, and birth complications to, Family risk factors include any history of family crime and violence, lower or lack of expectations by parents, the lack of monitoring by parents, parental involvement in drugs, and child abuse and neglect, and Community factors include the availability of weapons, drugs, violence, large numbers of broken homes/families, high transient populations, and economic deprivation within the immediate area also have a hand in some of the school violence. (Bennett-Johnson, 2003)