Violence in schools is a global problem. The scourge of violence in South African schools is cause for concern. There are reports that appear in the written and electronic media on a daily basis about high levels of violence in our schools. This has contributed to public fear that schools are unsafe. The most visible form of violence in schools is violence against school children. The carrying of weapons such as knives, guns and other weapons has become a norm. Such incidents underline the extent of violence and crime we experience in our communities which generally impacts negatively on education and what happens in the school in particular.
There are many different forms of violence that takes place in a school environment and these all contribute to causing major disruptions. School violence can be defined as any behavior of learners, educators, administrators or even non-school persons, attempting to inflict injury on another person or to the deliberate damaging of school property. Violence comes in many different forms such as bullying, sexual harassment, stealing, harming other students and members of staff.
Bullying is one of the most common forms of violence against students. Bullying is not confined to boys only. Girl to girl bullying is seen as an increasing problem and tends to be verbal more than physical. The distress of bullying and unhappiness can cause an increase in absenteeism and some victims even feel the need to change schools in the hope of
Bullying when we hear that word our thoughts are drawn to what society today was labeled a plague. This plague is sweeping through the school systems and causing mayhem where ever it happens to rear its ugly head. Statisticians have noted the increase in the reporting of bullying, this is one of societies rallying points that more incidents of bullying are being reported today then five, ten and even fifteen years ago. Some see this as a cause from violent video games others say it is caused because it is seen as a normalcy in school. But there are they who say that that the increase in the reporting of bullying is a misnomer, a mistake, a case of seeing a shadow at sunset and guessing height.
Adam looked up and saw the source of his agony sit down in a chair across the room. Adam grabbed the gun from his bag and took his aim, and pulled the trigger.¨ School violence is at an all time high. School shootings and other illegal activities are not uncommon in schools. Teachers currently are not armed, and can do very little to protect the students in their classroom. Teachers should be allowed to be armed during school hours, because they can protect their students, keep the school a safe place, and prevent other illegal activities.
The person who is most likely to be a perpetrator for this type of act is someone who is depressed, has anger management, and has suicidal thoughts. It is said that a majority of these children who do attack at schools live in a two-parent household. They say that these parents never really pay attention to their schoolwork, no supervision, and have no idea what is going on in their normal activities. This lack of knowledge really defines how a person
The causes lead to school shooters who go into schools either with targets or to show their power and they try to harm others. After the attack, the effects can be severe considering it can cause physical and mental issues to the victims or witnesses. This controversial and seriously impacting tragedy has made a huge impact on the world and many are trying to find ways to stop it. There are many layers to school shooting that the world needs to understand. School shootings which are usually done by males (aged 13-18), mostly happen during the school day.
The school environment is one that has been stressed to be a safe and enjoyable place to learn. However, for many individuals, that is not the case. Students around the world have very unique experiences at school, which can unfortunately become abhorrent. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), and average of 96 Americans lose their lives to gun violence each day (Gun Violence by the Numbers). There are several causes of death by gun violence, but one of the causes that have become a growing problem is school shootings.
Bullies are usually stronger and victims are usually perceived as weaker and unable to protect themselves.” (Masterson,1997) Bullying expands in many aspects of everyday life; from schoolchildren and teenagers, to adults , working environments and even spouses and family members. Considering that the first signs of bullying appear among schoolchildren, we should examine it in its infancy, that is, bullying in early years and school life, which in turn becomes with the passage of years violence and in some cases even crime. As far as bullying at school is concerned, “one definition is that a student is being bullied or victimized, when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time , to negative actions on the part of one or more other students.”
Bullying is an undesirable, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves actual disparity of power. According to Megan Brooks bullying is a serious public health problems, with significant short-and long-term psychological consequences for the child who is bullied and the child who is the bully. This only tells us that bullying can lead to difficulty that a certain children may experience and will have either short or long term problem. “Bullying has long been tolerated as a rite of passage among children and adolescents, but it has lasting, negative consequences and cannot simply be ignored.” Committee chair Frederick Rivera, MD.
This article explains what is bullying exactly. Bullying is any form of psychological, verbal, or physical abuse that occurs repeatedly among schoolchildren over a period. Statistically, the dominant type of violence is emotional and occurs mostly in the classroom and courtyard of schools. Bullying is a kind of torture, methodical and systematic, in which the aggressor sums up the victim, often with silence, indifference or complicity of other comrades. The author explains some characteristic and consequences of bullying.
Sexual assault is a form of forced sexual violence. The term sexual assault can be defined as an act in which a person sexually violates a victim without the victims consent. This is one of the most common problems faced by many schools in South Africa, the problem of sexual assault amongst learners in South African school. Sexual assault is an unlawful act, which the perpetrator can be sentenced to jail for practicing it. Sexual assault can be in a form of fondling of unwanted sexual touching, forcing a victim to perform sexual acts such as oral sex or penetrating the victim’s body and torturing a person in a sexual manner.
What is bullying? Bullying is hurting someone unreasonably or to cause embarrassment. School is supposed to be a place where students should feel safe and sound. Many students have difficulty to go to school every day due to bullying issues. Bullying is becoming a terrible problem in our society.
Bullying in Schools What seems fun and harmless for some students, is painful and degrading to others. Bullying has been a critical issue around schools, but before it was not as dangerous and know as it is now. These do not means bullying was not happening, it means it was not taken into consideration by parents or teachers. They thought it was just peer pressure or a kids game, and sooner or later the kids would be friends again. At one point, bullies think it’s normal to be mean and abusive to other students.
Bullying is a widespread problem in our schools and communities and has a negative impact on students’ right to learn in a safe and secure environment without fear. It is a process in which one person repeatedly uses his/her superior strength or influence to mistreat, attack or force another person to do something (Van der Werf, 2014). Bullying or peer victimization is now recognized as a complex and pervasive problem (Beran, 2009). It is an ongoing problem that is not restricted by age, race, gender or class. This behavior generally takes one of four forms, physical such as assault, verbal which involves threats or insults, social which entails exclusion or rumor spreading, and cyber which includes aggressive texts or social network posts
Bullying Can Be Prevented Bullying is a form of violence to pick on victims because they are different from their bullies, have insecurity/jealousy or home problems. The hate towards their victim has something to do with the victim having an unusual gift or being intelligent the bullies has yet to become. It is important that this behavior should be prevented or it will become worse. Bullying is one of the main issues public and private schools have to face on a day-to-day basis. When the bully takes it too far, the victim snaps and retaliates by fighting him/her back physically or verbally.
By knowing the cause and effect of bullying, students can identify it and immediately report it. Students are sometimes afraid to report incidents of bullying, because they are afraid of consequences like dislike and increased conflict with the bully. To prevent this fear, students should be encouraged to speak to an adult without any hesitation. By doing so, “The adult can give comfort, support, and advice, even if they can’t solve the problem directly. Encourage the child to report bullying if it happens” (“How to Prevent Bullying”).
Bullying is defined as repeated oppression, physical or psychological of a less powerful individual by a more powerful individual, people or group. It consists of three main types of abuse which are physical, verbal and emotional. Bullying in schools is a common and worldwide spread problem that can have critical and negative implications on the general school climate as well as on the right of students to study in a safe and secure environment without fear. Many people believe that bullying is part of life, happens in all schools and so it’s not an issue to worry about and that it lets individuals know what life is all about as it toughens them but in reality bullying is a detrimental problem that affects most school going children and teenagers physically, emotionally and socially.