Violence in the Schools:
Media Hype or Stark Reality?
The media often send conflicting messages regarding violence in our schools. A Phi Delta Kappa survey of public attitudes toward schools, revealed that fighting/violence/gangs was the biggest problem facing local public schools. However, when a Harris poll asked educators how safe they felt, only a small percentage (2%) reported feeling "not very safe" or "not at all safe" in the schools.
Another survey of about 400 high school students, revealed that nearly half the males had carried a gun to school at least once. In contrast, a 1990 survey revealed that 4% of a nationally representative sample of students (grades 9-12) reported carrying a gun to school in the last 30 days. How are we to know what is really happening in our schools?
To better understand this phenomenon, Teacher Talk invited an array of educators to participate in the second Teacher Talk Teacher Forum.
- Chuck Hibbert, Director of School Security in Indianapolis,IN
- George Jennings, Assistant Principal
- Rob Lugo, Adolescent Counselor
- Carl Nelson, Home-School Advisor
- Kim Freund, Teacher
- Julie James, Teacher
- Leroy Robinson, Teacher
all participated in the Forum focusing on conflict and violence in the schools. The synergy of this process became evident as the participants shared their collective wisdom. This issue of Teacher
Talk is but one product of the Forum.
This document was last updated 6/30/97 by Chandra Hawley.
Copyright
1996 Indiana University -
Center for Adolescent Studies, all rights reserved.
Kris Bosworth - Director