With American students have returned to schools in the wake of the COVID pandemic, a new wave of violence is reportedly on the rise in schools across America.
Even before the pandemic incidences of violence, theft or other crimes were quite common in schools, with 80% of public schools recording that one or more such incidents had occurred, amounting to 1.4 million incidents.
The violence is not limited to secondary and middle schools, as even elementary schools also reported occurrences and this is all based on what is only officially reported. It’ll only make sense that a large number of violent incidents remain unreported and that the actual amount of violence is much higher.
Why is the nation in the grip of a general spike of violence and how might it affect victimization in schools?
The COVID 19 pandemic and social unrest are indeed playing a role in the violence.
Who is to blame and what should be done to address the rampant violence in American schools? Who suffers the most and how could it affect society in general, as children grow up and leave school?
The root causes and risk factors behind the rising violence, whether from students to students, students to teachers, or vice versa, are complicated, ranging from access to weapons, media violence and cyber abuse. The impact of the school community and family environments and personal alienation also play a role in the spike in violent incidents.
You never think it’s gonna happen, the kids just are all a big part of this community. And it is I’m so scared for them and my daughter is safe, but I don’t know if all of her friends are safe. And I don’t know if my nieces and nephews are safe.
Mother of pupil at school shooting
Basically, American culture is to blame for the endemic violence, which is not limited to schools but remains prevalent on the streets, in bars, and other public venues.
What would you say is the root cause of the problem of violence and misbehavior today in schools in America?
That’s a hard question and a big question. As you know, the United States historically has been a violent country. And the United States has celebrated violence on many levels.
You, I’m sure, know that the US is now on another war after four or five or six recent wars. We seem to be in this era where we have permanent, nonstop, worldwide, war.
So the question is, how does that affect people, young people in this country, and I think it does in a lot of ways, it creates a culture of violence, a culture of war, the culture of solving problems violently?
John Gehan, Journalism and Public Administration Specialist
One could say that fighting among schoolchildren is a quite common phenomenon across the world. But what makes the situation unique in America is in part the easy access to guns and the country’s broken gun laws.
US History is replete with incidents of tragic and deadly school shootings, in which innocent lives have been unceremoniously snuffed out.
Therefore, one could argue that preventing violence in American schools is more crucial than elsewhere. From 2000 to 2001 and 2019 to 2020, the number of casualties per year as a result of school shootings range from 15 to 182.
The figures speak for themselves, but how can the status of violence in American schools be assessed, particularly after the pupils had been studying remotely for nearly two years?
I think a lot of students fell behind, studies have shown and I have kids myself. When they went back to school it was very difficult for them. A lot of kids fell behind, whatever the level of schooling, and some kids you know, weren’t socializing properly if they were at a formative age. And they came back and it was, you know, a lot of pressure on them, anxiety, they were behind in their schooling, a lot of frustration.
Some kids fell prey to gangs, high school students who were out of school for a long time. As I say they didn’t have those, you know, positive demands, (role models) that could steer them in a good path whether a teacher, principal, coach; an athletic program can be very important for a lot of the kids, keeping them in school and on a cleaner path.
When those programs were canceled, people were losing their jobs, some homes are broken up, a recipe for disaster and you know, in statistics and on the news, we’re seeing spikes in violence and it’s nightly news, every night there are incidents, depending on where you live, but certainly in the big cities.
Jeremy Kuzmarov, Covert Action Magazine
Gun violence is also plaguing schools nationwide, the first half of the 2021 – 2022 academic year had the most instances of gun violence in recent history. US history is tainted with tragic school shootings some with many fatalities such as the one at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
There were 136 incidents of gunfire on school premises between August 1 and 31 December 2021. At least 26 people were killed and 96 wounded, making it the highest number of people incidences in the five-month period since 2013.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg when the whole history of school shootings is taken into account.
How should the US authorities address the rise in violence in US schools?
The big answer is to stop the war, stop the never-ending wars, reinvest in people’s needs, human needs, social needs, health needs, housing needs, to build a healthy culture.
Now, whether or not our leaders are going to do that is another question.
I have my doubts because our country is largely controlled by the wealthy corporate class that feeds on violence and feeds on war. And I suspect that they don’t want to invest in human needs.
John Gehan
Violence prevention efforts could indeed be successful; however, the education system and the general parenting in America have been disappointing at times.
The lack of real communication between children and their parents or teachers, as well as the absence of clear rules, are among the most immediate issues that need to be addressed.
The American culture means the students often have to fight as a means of maintaining their reputation in their schools. Reputation is often seen as a precious commodity that can only be attained and maintained with a good show of violence.
However, victimization of the students will surely lead to more serious concerns as the children grow up.
