A few weeks ago, on February 14, 2018, a young man, Nikolas Cruz attacked his school with a rifle and opened fire at his schoolmates at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Rapp, 2018). According to reports, the teenage boy had been expelled from the school days before the attack. He travelled to the school in an uber, hid himself in the crowd, and started firing at other students with a semi-automatic rifle (Rapp, 2018). Even though the young man escaped from the scene, the police were able to track him down. Today, he is in custody awaiting full trial. Cases of violence in public schools in the United States and other parts of the world are not new; many young people have put their lives and those of other innocent students in grave danger in the recent past. Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people and injured about 21 others making the attack one of the deadliest in the country. In 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris attacked killed 15 schoolmates and injured about 20 others at the Columbine High School (Rapp, 2018). Therefore, this paper seeks to discuss the factors that lead to increased violence in public schools.
Bullying is one of the problems that have led to increased cases of violence in public schools, not only in the United States of America, but also in other parts of the world. Bullying has double effect when it comes to influencing violence in schools. The first effect is that it allows bullies to harass and victimize other students. About 48 percent of cases of violence in public schools are related to bullying. Bullies use their strength, social status, and physical appearance to inflict pain on other students (Devine, 2016). The second effect of bullying in public schools is that it nurtures the desire for revenge among the victims. After being bullied for sometimes, the seemingly weak students develop hate for their bullies. Sometimes, hate develops into hate gives way to the quest for revenge. For this reason, it is important that teachers, parents, and the government through the department of education take bullying with the seriousness it deserves. Bullies should not be allowed to take advantage of other students in public and private schools (Schuler, 2017). Parents should also take time with their children to teach them good behavior and the need to respect, love, and care for others regardless of their race, physique, religion or economic status.
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Deviant children such as Adam Lanza who killed his mother before proceeding to Sandy Hook elementary school where he used a gun to kill 28 people and injured two others should be controlled from home (Rapp, 2018). Parents should be on the vanguard of controlling their children’s behavior to avoid cases of bullying and violent acts in public schools. Teachers should also help change behavior in ways that do not make students feel unwanted and unworthy. Some teachers and schools do not have policies that stipulate how bullying should be handled without influencing negatively the lives of both the perpetrators and the victims.
Peer pressure and bad companies are other major reasons public schools have become ample breeding grounds for violence. Gangs in schools are products of peer pressure and group psychology that allow violence to thrive in public schools. The Columbine High School incidence in 1999 mentioned above was a product of peer pressure and gang life in schools (Rapp, 2018). The perpetrators, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were members of a gang called Trench Coat Mafia (Rapp, 2018). According to reports, the two had been targets for bullying for many days. They sought revenge against their bullies by firing upon their schoolmates killing dozens and injuring others. In the end, the two young men believed to have had promising futures because of their superb academic performances took away their lives by committing suicide in one of the classrooms. Parents and teachers should always endeavor to advice and guide students to stay away from gangs in schools because they could easily change their behavior by turning them into deviants.
Behavioral and psychological problems also play part in escalating acts of violence in public schools. Depression, chronic stress, and other psychological problems have, in the recent past influenced students to engage in heinous acts of violence in schools. For example, in 2005, Jeffrey Weise at 16 years was going through depression in life (Rapp, 2018). One day, because of his emotional and psychological condition he woke, took a rifle, killed his grandfather, and proceeded to Red Lake High School where he killed 10 students and injured seven others (Rapp, 2018). After battling with the police for some time, Weise went to one of the empty classrooms and committed suicide. Because of depression and other behavioral problems, Weiss took away lives and risked others (Klein, 2012). For this reason, it is important to address issues dealing with stress and behavioral problems among students before they escalate to unmanageable levels, as witnessed in Weiss.
Cases of fatal school violence are prevalent across the world. Even though this paper has used examples within the United States of America, it does not mean that other countries across the world have not had such cases. What is important however is for the stakeholders to take charge and ensure that public schools do not become avenues for bullying, victimization, and death. Parents, teachers, and the government should take the lead towards safer public school not only in the country, but also in other parts of the world that have not been used as reference points in this paper.
- Devine, J. (2016). Maximum security: The culture of violence in inner-city schools. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
- Klein, J. (2012). The bully society: School shootings and the crisis of bullying in America’s schools. New York: New York University Press.
- Rapp, L. (2018). The Deadliest School Shootings in U.S. History . Retrieved March 18, 2018, from https://www.ranker.com/list/deadliest-school-shootings-100215/loganrapp
