Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Preventing School Violence

School violence has become one of the biggest hot-topics" in America. When the topic of school violence comes up, I think almost everyone's mind goes to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Those who are old enough may also think of the Columbine shootings. While these are definitely tragic, extreme cases of violence at schools, violence can also take place in many other forms. Violence can include fighting, and bullying too.

http://www.edf-feph.org/Page_Generale.asp?DocID=13855

As a future teacher, what will I do to prevent violence in my classroom?

First off, I would teach my students that violence of any kind will NEVER be tolerated. They need to know that if they were to become violent against another student or teacher, there would be immediate consequences.

Secondly, I would teach them about where violence comes from. It is very unlikely and rare for someone to just wake up and decide they want to go cause some serious trouble at school by showing how violent and malicious they can be. Violence often comes from emotions being bottled up inside a student until he/she can't keep them in anymore. When a student has been harassed and bullied and made fun of, that student may reach the breaking point at a moment's notice.

Therefore, I will teach my students that respecting others and treating them as they would want to be treated themselves is one of the best ways to prevent violence. By always encouraging students to love one another and to come to the teacher if there is a problem instead of taking care of it themselves, I think violence would be prevented.

The students should be able to calmly and politely say what the issue is, and work together in a mature way to find common ground and understanding. The key to reducing and preventing violence is zero-tolerance, as well as teaching respect and kindness.

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