Reducing Violence Through Peaceful Classrooms

Scenario:                                   

   John is a seventh grade student with a history of several  "out of school" suspensions from fights with students and one incident in which he struck a teacher. One day after repeatedly bullying one of his classmates, John confronts him in class and says, "You had better watch your step this afternoon! No one is going to be able to help you when I’m finished with you." Students hearing the conversation between the two boys laugh nervously. Distracted by the noise, the substitute teacher looks up from his desk and reminds the class that their assignment is to be completed by the end of the period.

    As the dismissal bell rings, John runs through the hall to his bus and grabs a back seat. Everyone else keeps a distance from John leaving a seat open across the aisle from him. The last person to board the bus is the classmate John had been bullying all day. He takes the seat across the aisle from John. Ten minutes into the bus route, the school bus driver notices from her rear-view mirror that John and the classmate are fighting. The driver decides rather than stop the bus to intercede in the fight, she will drive back to the school so that the principal can intercede. As the bus approaches the school, the student viciously strikes out at John escalating the fight. Suddenly,  John pulls out a gun from his book bag striking his classmate on the head with the butt of the gun knocking him into the aisle unconscious. Screams echo throughout the bus! The bus driver stops the bus in front of the school and rapidly honks the horn to draw the principal's attention. Hearing the horn, the principal approaches and enters the bus to find one student  lying unconscious in the aisle, John holding a gun in his hand, and students crouched behind their seats.

Discussion Questions

1. First, determine from the readings the earliest warning signs for violence John exhibited . 
    Next, relate how his current behavior demonstrates immediate warning signs for violence.
    How might the teacher have more effectively responded to John?

2. Propose strategies you would recommend to make the school a safer place for everyone
    (reflect information from the readings).

3.  Describe the developmental consequences for children who are victims of or witnesses to,
     family, school, or community violence.

4. What factors contribute to violence in schools? Discuss several strategies
     found to be effective in preventing gang violence.

| Youth Depression, Suicide, and School Violence

Early Warning signs of violent behavior

ERIC DIGEST: Violence and Young Children's Development

Student Fights

http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/198604.pdf

Page developed by Jermaine Neal as part of his honor's project in school health