Walk Up, Not Out - How to Respond to School Violence

Following every shooting in a school there is an almost immediate call to ban guns. Politicians propose a series of new laws and the national media proclaims the evil of guns and the danger that they pose to every child. If we could end violence in our schools, doesn’t just make sense to ban or at least severely restrict the ownership of firearms? Well, actually no! Banning firearms, creating "gun free zones", limiting magazine capacity, declaring some firearms "assault weapons" because of their appearance, or any other proposal that attempts to address school violence by focusing on an inanimate object (the firearm) simply won’t work. Firearms are not the cause of violence in schools (or anywhere else); and even if we could wave a magic wand and somehow make all firearms disappear, a student intent on committing violence in a school could easily find instructions on the Internet to build other weapons. 

Research conducted by James Alan Fox, Professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy at Northeastern University, and doctoral student Emma Fridel, found that: "while certain policies may help decrease gun violence in general, it’s unlikely that any of them will prevent mass school shootings... Mass school shootings are incredibly rare events and no matter what you can come up with to prevent it, the shooter will have a workaround, Fox said, adding that over the past 35 years, there have been only five cases in which someone ages 18 to 20 used an assault rifle in a mass shooting. Fridel said increasing mental health resources for students is a strategy that might improve school safety, calling this a critical need that has been historically overlooked. She also said that the U.S. is facing a desperate shortage of guidance counselors. In 2014-15, the student-to-school counselor ratio was 482-to-1, according to the American School Counselor Association, nearly twice the organization’s recommended ratio."

We have a mental health problem that is a major part of our school shooting problem. Gun laws might make it a little harder to get a gun to do the deed, but someone who is mentally deranged enough to want to kill multiple people will find another way to do what they want to do.

But we need to do something! There has to be a way to ensure that our children will be safe while they attend school. We need to address the underlying causes of violence in schools, and one of those primary causes is bullying.

A 2003 research paper Bullying Behavior: What is the potential for violence at your school? found that “Bullying behavior played some role in all the school shootings during the past two years. Not only do victims of bullying behavior bear emotional scars that can lead to violence, the victim of bullying behavior is frequently disliked by peers. This double whammy, so to speak, of being picked on by a bully and ostracized by peers can have devastating consequences.”

Another study Teasing, rejection, and violence: Case studies of the school shootings (April 2003)  reported that “Case studies were conducted of 15 school shootings between 1995 and 2001 to examine the possible role of social rejection in school violence. Acute or chronic rejection - in the form of ostracism, bullying, and/or romantic rejection - was present in all but two of the incidents. In addition, the shooters tended to be characterized by one or more of three other risk factors - an interest in firearms or bombs, a fascination with death or Satanism, or psychological problems involving depression, impulse control, or sadistic tendencies.”

A 2009 study The Nature and Extent of Bullying at School reported in the Journal of School Health stated: "School bullying is associated with numerous physical, mental, and social detriments. A relationship also exists between student bullying behavior and school issues such as academic achievement, school bonding, and absenteeism. Prevention of school bullying should become a priority issue for schools. The most effective methods of bullying reduction involve a whole school approach. This method includes assessing the problem, planning school conference days, providing belter supervision at recess, forming a bullying prevention coordinating group, encouraging parent‐teacher meetings, establishing classroom rules against bullying, holding classroom meetings about bullying, requiring talks with the bullies and victims, and scheduling talks with the parents of involved students." 

Addressing bullying in in schools doesn’t create the political platforms and media spin that you get from calling for a ban on guns. Addressing bullying holds individuals responsible for their actions, requires that parents stay actively involved in the lives and activities of their children, and that schools enforce standards of conduct and courtesy for both staff and students.

Bullying can occur in face-to-face confrontations between students before, during, and after school; and in today’s interconnected digital world, bullying (cyberbullying) can occur on-line.

Studies have found that 28% of U.S. students in grades 6-12 experienced bullying, with that number dropping to 20% of U.S. students in grades 9-12.

9% of students in grades 6-12 experienced cyberbullying, with that number increasing to 15% for students in grades 9-12 (older students are more likely to have an on-line presence and own personal electronic devices such as smartphones).

To address bullying it is necessary to understand it. Not every person can become an expert in preventing bullying nor in the behavioral health of children, but we can all take time to learn about this cause of school violence and we can learn to take steps to prevent it.

A Bullying Prevention Training Course is available on-line to help you understand ways to effectively address bullying. The course takes approximately 90 minutes to complete.

The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) offers a short (30-45 min) on-line course, Cyberbullying: Our Children, Our Problem,  that can help you understand cyber-bullying.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) offers a free 20 minute course will help teachers in grades 3-7 maintain a positive classroom environment that is safe and inclusive so all students can learn and thrive.

The Friends’ Online Training Course for Adults produced in Sweden (course is available in English) aims to give adults tools to support young people’s right to safety and equality.

 

On March 14, 2018 students across the United States walked out of their classrooms to protest school violence. This walk out garnered some political attention and media spin, fueling demands for more gun control. On the same day however, with far less media attention and almost no political support some students seemed to have found a much more effective way to address violence in their schools.

Instead of walking out of school, these students walked up to their fellow students and offered a kind word, a handshake, a pat on the back. They included students who they previously might have excluded and listened to classmates that the might have previously ignored. They said we won’t accept bullying in our schools. To the victims of bullying they said you are not alone, let me be your friend.

Of course, one day of kindness doesn’t erase every wrong, and standing up to bullies doesn’t make them suddenly turn into saints. But what walking up instead of walking out does is address at least part of the cause of school violence by lessening the factors that build up violent intent.