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Getting serious about school safety
(CNN) -- There was Paducah, Springfield and Littleton -- once unknown towns until teenagers there killed their schoolmates. Like millions of students, Jessica Nation knows it can happen anytime, anywhere. "Whenever I go to school, I have the fear of wondering what might happen," said Jessica, 17, a senior at Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana. "The fighting has gotten so bad."
High-profile violent acts in schools across the country have made school safety an important issue discussed in school hallways and government chambers. While a U.S. Department of Education study showed fewer school-associated violent deaths in recent years, the number of multiple victim homicides increased. But for Nation and her peers on the National Crime Prevention Council's Youth Advisory Board, fear is not the only thing that has increased. More and more, students are becoming actively involved in finding solutions to what sparks school violence. "One of the more positive things we're seeing -- and very, very hopefully, a new trend -- is the increasing involvement of youth," said Jack Calhoun, president and CEO of the National Crime Prevention Council. "It's been an enormous success in this country. We are saying to kids, 'We need you.' " The fact students are part of the dialogue -- that they're seen as the solution and not the problem -- is one major step. And students are also doing specific things in their schools, like peer mediation and conflict resolution programs, that show movement toward a common goal of school safety. "The change is coming slowly, but people are starting to become more conscientious of what's going on and kids are starting to come together," Jessica added. "Kids are getting tired of getting a bad rap, and teens from all across the nation are coming together for a cause." No school is immuneA 1999 survey by Metropolitan Life indicated 25 percent of students have been victims of a violent act that occurred in or around school. The same study found that one in six teachers reported being victims of violence in and around school, compared to one in nine five years ago. Students and experts agree the sense "it can't happen here" is a thing of the past.
Outside the classroom, Congress, as well as many state legislatures and local school boards, have drawn up many plans aimed at curbing school violence. This type of action most often occurs after violence erupts, as it did with the shooting deaths at Columbine High School in Colorado. "There was kind of a knee-jerk reaction," said Jane Grady, assistant director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence in Colorado. Many measures and policies "don't make [students] feel safer. It makes them feel more paranoid, like they are in some kind of lock down." 'Teenagers just get a bad rap'Phillip Lovell, 21, a senior at Georgetown University and an intern at the National Crime Prevention Council, said intense public attention on a few isolated incidents leads to misperceptions of young people. "It makes kids think that they're getting stereotyped," Jessica said. "They think that they're being the focus -- that all kids are bad. But it has only been a minority that causes violence, and you have to get to those kids." Brandon Boxler, 17, leader of Students Against Violence Everywhere, said "teenagers just get a bad rap" overall. But more important, he said, are the strained relationships between teachers and students. "Some kids feel like teachers are on power trips," said Brandon, a senior at North Durham High School in North Carolina. "If you can improve the way students and teachers communicate, if you can make a closer attachment, you can make a difference. If I have a problem or see something … I don't have to bottle it up inside." 'You are the solution'To Brandon, school violence is not a matter of being right or wrong. It's a matter of being "stupid." "It's a problem at our school and a lot of schools," said Brandon. "I call it 'stupid conflict.' When little conflicts are handled improperly, that leads to violence. … And violence is stupid." While welcoming some government action on firearms and emergency plans, Brandon, Jessica and experts insist the focus really should be on changing the feeling inside the schools, themselves. "The climate of the school has to change … to make it a safe environment for learning," Grady said. "Administrators and teachers have to get to know the kids. Part of the problem is that students have felt really disconnected."
The best people to get that message across, experts agree, are other students. Peer mediation and conflict resolution groups that have sprung up at schools across the country, experts say, help students spread the word. "It makes it 50 million times more powerful," said Brandon. "Peer pressure is the strongest force in any teenager's life. This is using that peer pressure in a positive way." Besides being aware of 'warning signs,' student groups also aim to enhance the sense of school community. For instance, Boxler said he's been encouraged by the cultural diversity festivals and dances "that show we can have fun without conflict." The key, according to Lovell, is that students are seen "not only as the source of the solution, [but] as the ones being hurt." RELATED STORIES: FBI: School threat report not meant for student profiling RELATED SITES: National Crime Prevention Council | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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