Mass shootings have been on the rise in recent years. The places mostly targeted by the perpetrators are places with huge crowds of people, especially in schools. This article explores this topic in details and gives different perspectives on a number of issues. Some of the issues the author puts into perspective are the reasons why the shootings take place, and what can be done to avoid them. The frightening reality is that over a million learners are injured or threatened with a weapon within the school premises. However, Scott Poland, Ed.D thinks that college campuses and K-12 schools are still some of the safest learning institutions.
Learning institutions ever since the wake of shootings have tightened up security and instituted measures of “zero tolerance” to violent students. The schools have mostly emphasized measures such as the installation of surveillance cameras and increased police presence that the author thinks are not enough. Instead, the author proposes the institution of other measures such as engaging mental professionals, knowing learners well and teaching students on anger management and problem-solving. In one case, a student in a trial explained that they had shared their intentions cause violence with fellow students. However, none of the students reported the case or even tried to stop him.
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From the article, it is clear that schools have taken measures to prevent mass shootings in schools. However, I think that more efforts should be geared towards sensitizing the issue not only in schools but also in other environments such as community and family. The people that always interact with the children are in a better position to tell when the kids exhibit anger and violent behaviors. The whole community should, therefore, be trained on how to look out for those signs, and what measures they should take to correct them.
School Violence: What You Need to Know by Education.com
School violence is confined in all schools, both urban and suburban. Violence in schools comprises of physical violence, which includes corporal punishment and student-on-student fights; psychological violence, which includes verbal abuse; sexual violence, which includes sexual harassment and rape; and other forms of bullying such as cyberbullying as well as carrying of weapons in learning institutions. This article explores this topic in depth and brings to the understanding of the damage violence brings to students, parents and the whole community. The article also looks at the effects of media reportage on violence cases, especially on the younger children.
From the article, the author talks of how media coverage on school violence occurrences can exacerbate the problem further and affects the lives of people, especially the younger children. Frightening details, video footage and the panic these stories reported bring can fuel the flames of fear in children. This means that it could be frightening for learners to realize that the schools they go to each day are no longer a safe haven, but a place where violence could erupt anytime. The author provides materials that can help parents on ways to cope with the frightening news that the media disseminates on school violence. The excerpts explain to parents on how to explain tragic events to children, how to recognize and react to fear in children, as well as tips on how to look out for signs of stress in children.
From the article, I learned that though the information is power, it can also cause destruction. Heartbreaking interviews and graphic footage of violence can adversely have an effect on younger children. However upsetting this can be, it also difficult to escape such big stories because they are reported on almost all media platforms, on television, social media, on the car radio, as well as on the front page of newspapers. It is therefore important for parents to understand how to deal with such cases. Parents can watch the news with their children and talk about what they are viewing. This will remind children that what they watch on the television does not represent what happens across the globe.
Teach Your Child to Make Peace by Meg Cieply Peterson
In a world that is coupled with violence, competition and materialism, and the notion that these factors make an individual powerful, parents are left with the question on how to teach children to be loving, compassionate and balanced human beings. In this article, Meg Cieply Peterson brings into perspective on the various ways in which parents can teach their children to make peace. Meg advises parents not to panic when their children report that they are enemies with their best friends. Instead, Meg acknowledges that a majority of childhood conflicts often resolve themselves in a short period of time and that parents should be tuned and patient to their kid's emotional cues. In this way, the parents will be able to know when to step in and offer guidance.
It is important for parents according to Meg, to understand that childhood friendships are like rollercoasters, in that they are up and down every single day. Meg further advises that children can only learn to resolve conflicts only with sparing guidance, gentleness and with empathic ears. Some of the tips given by Meg include; involving parents of the other child, teaching children to take responsibility for their role in the conflict, listen but most importantly talk about the issue with the children as well as involving the children in making peace by asking them the advice they would give in order to resolve the conflict.
From the article, I have learned that parents should understand that navigating through friendships is a skill that children develop over time. Parents should, therefore, be role models and always be present so as to provide a ready ear for their children grievances. Parents should not expect too much to come out of formal peace negotiations. I also learned parents ought to exercise a lot of patience when handling children conflicts.
Bullying and the Special Needs Child by Lynn Moore
According to Lynn, previous studies show that children with disability are likely to be verbally or physically bullied as compared to other typically developing children. Lynn Moore is an expert in this field because she has for over twenty years dealt with children with special needs. However, Lynn also asserts that the children with special needs can also be the bullies. She, therefore, advices parents to teach children with special needs that not all people see the world as they do. Parents, in addition, can facilitate healthy interactions between all kinds, those with disability and other typically developing children. Furthermore, the development of action plans and social skills can also help decrease the cases of bullying.
From this article, I have learned how to manage children with special needs. Since the kids are prone to bullying, it should be the responsibility of the community as a whole to explain to other children that the special needs are just like them, the only difference being that they are struggling with some social skills. They should also be taught to take leadership roles and respect all their classmates without stigmatizing others. In this way, they will help stop the cycle of bullying by showing support for their peers with special needs.
