School Violence. Why? And What to Do?
School violence, while declining, is still a too-common occurrence. Further, the highly publicized incidents are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The obvious question that continues to arise is why does it happen?
One standard response is that violent students come from dysfunctional families. Yet few of their families seem to be in this category. Despite stereotyped impressions to the contrary, many, if not most, of the assailants have come from middle- and upper- middle-class families.
But, even if the charge should be true, there is no way "society" can enter the homes of millions of families (which families?) to determine the upbringing of their children. And if the government can't adequately educate their children what's the evidence that it can change family cultures.
Even more nebulous is the response that society has lost its bearings, no longer honors the old-fashioned values, etc. Again, even if true, it's not a helpful guide to dealing with school violence. Even the federal government with all its resources cannot control "society."
Such broad-based explanations largely ignore the role of the schools. Schools cannot "correct" families or society. They can do something about their own operations.
Some of the proposed and enacted solutions have their shortcomings.
One is the call for security guards. For minor instances they may be of value but in at least one school a security guard was shot.
Another suggestion is for metal detectors. While this may have merit it should not lead to complacency. In one incident, two students set off a false fire alarm and shot those leaving the building. Metal detectors would have been useless. At Columbine high school in Colorado, had the two assailants faced metal detectors, those staffing them might have been the first ones to be shot.
Consider the following, from a virtually inexhaustible source of sad statistics:
In the 2002-2003 school year there were 7,229 serious incidents in Philadelphia alone, 976 of which were weapons violations. Keeping in mind that the district has more than 250 schools and 200,000 students, that's still an average of slightly more than 40 per day.
Nationally, From August until October 2003, in the current school year, there were 18 violent deaths in the public schools, more than in either of the previous two years.
In a survey of the nation's students a few years ago about half reported they were afraid to use their school's restrooms.
What are some of the things the major tragedies have had in common?
First, most have not occurred in inner city schools.
Second, almost all of the assailants have been young white males.
Third, guns have almost always been the weapon of choice.
While it is true that all but one of the major events occurred in a public school, to stress it as a public vs private school phenomenon would be too simplistic. The public schools involved have been large ones to which students are assigned. That may not be the entire explanation but it may be part of the explanation.
Violence, at least of this magnitude, is rare in the thousands of small public schools, and none were sites of the fifteen most notorious incidents. Nor have they occurred in public schools of choice, such as magnet, charter and other alternative schools.
It may be more than coincidental that most schools of choice are small. The fourth annual federal study of charter schools concluded that the average size of new ones is 137 students. People establishing schools for themselves do not create large ones. Only school boards and superintendents have such an "edifice complex."
Literally hundreds of studies have consistently found that large schools are less effective and more dangerous than small ones. In addition to the research, we are repeatedly given living, or dying, proof.
The good news is that the national crime rate in the public schools has been declining. For example, the number of high school students saying they were crime victims declined from 9.8% in 1995 to 5.7% in 2000, a decline of more than 40%. Serious violent crime among students 12-18 from 1992-2000 was cut in half, from ten per 100,000 students to five.
"Ratio of the number of black teenagers citing violence as their school's biggest problem to those citing racism: 6:1" p. 2, The Gazette, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sunday, March 26, 1995
David W. Kirkpatrick is a Senior Education Fellow with the U.S. Freedom Foundation and The Buckeye Institute.
