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Putro, Huff, White

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Violence in Schools

fights bullying verbal taunts sexual harassment vandalizing personal property and school

equipment hazing gangs school shootings

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Problem or Solution??

"Zero tolerance is a political response, not an educationally sound solution," said Dr. Russell Skiba, author of the report. "It sounds impressive to say that we're taking a tough stand against misbehavior, but the data says it simply hasn't been effective in improving student behavior."

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Alternative Strategies

Involve teachers, administrators, students, families, and their communities

Early, interactive programs Anti-bullying, anger management and peer

mediation Building student-teacher relationships Challenging curriculum and teacher training in

classroom management and cultural competence

Schools will be safer and more flexible learning environments.

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Punishment

Arnold Goldstein, director of the Center for Research on Aggression at Syracuse University and a strong supporter of zero-tolerance policies, says the key to making the policy work is giving principals the discretion to exercise fairness and common sense concerning each individual case.

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Encourage Accountability

Innovation and experimentation in

schools through delegation. Incentives matter, so effectively addressing school violence must include a high level of individual, parental , school officials, community, and societal input.

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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1.) What are the chief and root causes of one of the biggest problems facing education systems around the world: violence in schools? 2.) What are the effects of school violence on students and how does school violence affect student performance? 3.) What can be done to prevent and reduce violence in schools?

4.) What are the primary short-term and long-term objectives of school violence prevention efforts?

5.) How is the violence prevention efforts in schools tied to broader community-level violence prevention programs?

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Is it fair?

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Listen

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Embrace

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Reality

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EDUCATE

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PROTECT

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UNDERSTAND

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LOVE

UNITY

COMPASSION

PEACE

TOLERANCE

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Commitment

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Acceptance

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Togetherness

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Change

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References

DeVoe, J. F., Peter, K., Kaufman, P., Miller, A., Noonan, M., Snyder, T. D., & Baum, K. (2004). Indicators of school crime and safety: 2004 (NCES

2005–002/NCJ 205290).

Skiba, Russell. (2001) Zero Tolerance, Zero Evidence: An Analysis of School Disciplinary Practice. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Education Policy Center, Indiana University.

Starr, Linda. (2002) Stop Tolerating Zero Tolerance. Education World.