Violence and Bullying in Our Elementary and Middle Schools

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Violence and Bullying in Our Elementary and
Middle Schools

• A Discussion of Problems and Solutions

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How Serious Is OUR Problem?

• A second-grader in Indiana pulls off his shoe and
  wields it as a weapon, striking his teacher.
• A kindergartner in Philadelphia punches a
  pregnant teacher in the stomach.

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An 8-year-old in Maryland threatens to burn down
his suburban elementary school, plotting where
hell pour the gasoline. Reported USA Today,
1-12-03
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Some of my most violent kids have been in
kindergarten, first and second grade, an
elementary school principal in rural Wisconsin
says. They simply lose control, and it comes
out in extremely violent manners.
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With few resources to combat the problem--its
rare that elementary schools have full-time
counselors or social workers--schools often
resort to stricter discipline to get kids and
parents attention. -In Philadelphia, the first
part of this school year brought the suspensions
of 22 kindergartners.
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Minneapolis schools have suspended more than 500
kindergartners over the past two school years for
fighting, indecent exposure, and persistent lack
of cooperation, among the offenses. Statewide,
Minnesota schols have suspended nearly 4,000
kindergartners, first- and second-graders, mostly
for fighting, disorderly conduct and the like.
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Sept. 26, 2003 A 13-year-old boy fired a 9 mm
semiautomatic handgun into the ceiling of a
Cleveland County, North Carolina, middle school.
He also fired one shot into the closed door of a
classroom filled with students. No one was
injured.
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Fights or attacks with a weapon are more common
in middle schools - twenty-one percent of middle
school/junior high schools reported these
incidents for an estimated 7,576 incidents. (A
National Study of School Environment and Problem
Behavior The National Study of Delinquency
Prevention in Schools, Gottfredson Associates,
Inc., 2000)
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Almost one in five students reported being
threatened after a beating, and again this was a
more common experience for middle school students
(22 than for high school students (16). A
National Student of School Environment and
Problem Behavior The National Study of
Delinquency Prevention in Schools, Gottfredson
Associates, Inc. 2000)
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Educators blame everything from rising rates of
mild disabilities to violent video games to a bad
economy.
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Whats Your Take on the Situation?

• Discuss problems you are seeing.
• Discuss possible solutions.
• Articles are on tables to help you get started if
  you need them.
• You have 15 minutes to chart your problems and
  solutions.
• Choose a reporter to share.

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How do we teach our kids?