No Need to be Afraid
Early morning in 1988, the sun had raised, and it was time to prepare for the 30-minute walk to school. The neighborhood kids would be seen walking together and congregating along the way, except for one boy who appeared to be walking alone. He was a shy kid and talked to people only when approached by other kids. He was a well-dressed and well-mannered boy that it did not seem like he caused any trouble or trouble followed him. While the young boy was walking to school and about five minutes from the entry of the school, some young boys teased him, called him names, and shoved him continuously. The young boy was so frightened that he started to cry. The other kids laughed at the boy because he was crying. The young boys who had shoved him stated that they would see him after school. The young boy went throughout the day terrified and scared at what they would do to him. Rather than being able to focus on any lessons taught to him that day, he was strategizing how to avoid the other young boys. He watched the clock every minute thinking that it would have slowed down or stopped. But then the end of the day had approached, and the kids were excited to see the fight, except for the young boy. That little boy was, ME!
Unfortunately, school violence has been around for decades and has become more relevant in recent years. What has become of kids who see violence as a way of empowerment or sense of loyalty from friends? According to Bartol & Bartol (2017), violence in schools is more than school shootings. Violence in schools includes aggravated and simple assaults, sexual assaults, robbery, and some forms of bullying (p. 310). While over the years we have seen mass shootings in schools, statistics from the National Center of Education has conducted studies of school violence. Like the young boy from the illustration above, according to studies conducted, during the 2009-2010 school year, there were 49 million students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade, of which 828,000 reported being victims of a crime (Bartol &; Bartol, 2017, p. 310). As a result, many students did not report a crime. These kids are bullied, therefore, causing them to be fearful and potentially traumatized victims for the rest of their lives.
It is important to develop programs and treatments for kids who undergo school violence. I think that there should be more emphasis on getting children who are bullied or tormented the counseling they need in order to overcome the traumatic event that they may have experienced. I also think that there should be a more stringent program for kids who are the aggressor. This type of work requires teamwork (i.e. parents, teachers, counselors, and community support). We cannot control every situation that may arise, but we can tackle an issue one at a time.
Reference
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2017). Criminal behavior: A psychological approach. (11th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.