Stop violence in schools!: Violence in the world-School Violence

Whose problem is school violence? The answer is all of ours. Just as it is a problem we all must deal with, it is also a problem we all must work to solve.

Since the 1992-3 school year, 270 violent deaths have occurred at schools across the nation according to The National School Safety Center's Report on School Associated Violent Deaths. The majority of these deaths, 207, were shooting victims.

However, the number of deaths in the 1999-2000 school years was almost one quarter the number that occurred in 1992-3. Though those numbers seem encouraging, most people would agree that any statistical data of this nature is unacceptable.

What about a big amount of persons losing their lives like CHILDREN? Along these years there were many massacres but the worst one was in September 2004 the ‘‘Beslan school hostage crisis' which took three days. It all happened when a group of rebels kidnapped over 1200 children and adults at School Number One. There were over 700 injured persons and at least 380 deaths!

Another tragedy is the Columbine High School massacre .On April 20, 1999, in the small, suburban town of Littleton, Colorado, two high-school seniors, enacted an all-out assault on Columbine High School during the middle of the school day. The boys' plan was to kill hundreds of their peers. With guns, knives, and a multitude of bombs, the two boys walked the hallways and killed. When the day was done, twelve students, one teacher, and the two murderers were dead; plus 21 more were injured. The haunting question remains: why did they do it?

In Europe, it is reported that physical violence in the school setting has been static in recent years but that ‘minor violence’ (rudeness and verbal harassment, for example) is increasing. Generally this minor violence is labeled as’ lack of discipline’, but it is important to note that the research suggests that minor violence can spiral and lead to

serious acts of violence.

Sources:

Beslan school hostage crisis, Martinfrost .6.Apr.2011. .7.Apr.2012

<http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/beslan_siege.html>

''Beslan school hostage crisis'' ,Wikipedia .4 .Apr. 2012. .10. Apr. 2012.

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis>

Melissa Kelly, ''School Violence'', About.com.9.Apr.2012

<http://712educators.about.com/cs/schoolviolence/a/schoolviolence_1.htm>

Jennifer Rossenberg, ''Columbine Massacre'',About.com.10.Apr.2012.

<http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a/columbine.htm>

European Communities, ''Violence and school'' 2008 ''Europa.eu'''Printed in Belgium, August 2008

<http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/daphnetoolkit/files/others/booklets/08_daphne_booklet_8_en.pdf>