Violence Essay, Research Paper

The problem with violence in the schools is fundamentally based on several major issues. These issues are in a variety of fields, not any one field. These issues range from the structure of modern schools to the foundation of the modern family.

The schools today are now set up as they have never been before. Schools are now set up so that the government mandates attendance. This means that school is no longer a privilege to attend but a mandatory thing instead. The problem with this is that it limits the effectiveness of discipline by the school administrators. This means that since the students are forced to attend school the act of expelling students is no longer any good. Now when a student is expelled he is only forced to either return to the same school the next year or he must go to a new school. This means that it is impossible to remove these “problem students” from the classroom. You can only relocate them. Additionally, the restrictions on discipline the schools are permitted to administer have escalated to the point where habitual offenders rarely receive harsh punishments and trying to alter negative behavior is all too often a futile attempt.

A decline in the number of households where the children are truly raised by the parents only exacerbates the problem of increased violent behavior. Direct parental guidance has been severely reduced in families. A contributing factor would be an increase in the number of single parent households. With only one parent present, it is much harder to give a child all of the attention and discipline that is needed. Another problem that is present in single parent families is the fact that a single parent is forced to work longer hours to make sufficient wages to support the family. This means that the parent is absent from the household even more than they would normally be. Further complication arises from the fact that it is normally the mother that is present in single parent households. Traditionally, the mother takes a role as a nurturer and not as the disciplinarian. This leaves a void in the social education of the child as far as knowing that there are consequences for negative actions.

Children today are exposed to a higher and more graphic level of violence in entertainment than any prior generations. Repeated exposure to acts of violence desensitizes one to traditional responses brought on by such acts. This, in turn, means that we have produced a generation where violence is accepted instead of being condemned.

Adding to the problem is the popular choice of “role models” for today’s children. These role models are no longer such wholesome characters as the “Superman” and “Wonder Woman” type characters of the past. Now children look up to professional athletes and sports figures. Rarely does a month go by that one of these figures does not make the news for committing a violent act. This in turn leaves an impression that such behavior will be tolerated and, perhaps even emulated.

In summary, the increase in school violence mirrors this society’s bend towards a more violent nature. Are we to expect our children to learn from our words and not our actions? If so we are mistaken, for actions always speak louder. If we are to expect the children of today to be less violent and have higher moral standards, then society must be willing to change so that these lessons are taught by example, not issued through commandment. We must first learn for ourselves before we try to teach others.