ELIANA HERMOSILLA

JOURNAL NO. 10

School Violence

Violence

The major concerns that our society is facing today includes the hostility and violent behavior of students in the schools. This is well-indicated from the fact that the proportion of Juvenile killing has doubled since the period of 1980s. These increasing acts of hostility disturb the process of learning and put negative effects on students, the general community, and the school itself. There are many consequences which the students will have to face as a result of their mental distraction and frustration. This not only causes troubles for the school management but also for fellow students and the faculty members. If we look at the causes of growing school violence, they are compounding and varying with the passage of time. The Forensic psychologists, who observe and study the criminal behavior, consider that school killers are way too different from other violent adolescents, which include gang members or drug dealers. For one reason or the other, they begin killing their mates and fellows. They either threat those students directly who they feel are teasing or frightening them. Most of the times, they express these ideas and thoughts to fellow their fellow students. Generally, other students either ignore the comments or simply turn away from it.

Social problems are not the only cause for such actions. There are cultural matters too which cited to be the foremost instigators of violence related to schools. Opposing culture or backgrounds are certain to collide in a violent way. A snide or derogatory comment is often the origin for a shoving agrees or fist fight. More often, the Catholic schools become the victim of violence rather than public school. They bear less tolerance but a better teaching environment. Making fun of or laughing at other students results in low self-esteem and this is one many characteristics of students who brings violence in the schools. There are many forms of violence. One of them includes bullying which is defined as deliberate behavior repeated during certain time which can harm, terrorize, or disgrace the victim. It takes place within the framework of disparity of influence between the victim and the bully, either actual or apparent. Bullying may be physical, verbal, or relational. According to estimates, the prevalence of bullying differs among studies and methods. A student self-report survey conducted in 2005, by the National Centre for Education Statistics reported that approximately 28 percent of students were harassed at school in six months. (Mathhew, 2)

Solutions

The need for school counselors in recent years has assumed great significance because of the increasing unrest and behavioral problems in the fraternity. It is not that there are no problems in the past. But in recent years, the statistics has shown an unprecedented increase in incidents of school violence such as drug abuse. The role of school counselors is not limited to the rehabilitation cases and therefore has gained considerable importance. There is a rich literature about the effectiveness of counseling interventions in school violence. The proper applications of counselors has a ...