School violence in the United States

According to the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics, school violence is a serious problem.[1][2] In 2007, the latest year for which comprehensive data were available, a nationwide survey,[3] conducted biennially by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and involving representative samples of U.S. high school students, found that 5.9% of students carried a weapon (e.g. gun, knife, etc.) on school property during the 30 days antedating the survey. The rate was three times higher among men than among women. In the twelve months preceding the survey, 7.8% of high school students reported having been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property at least once, with the prevalence rate among men twice that as among women. In the twelve months preceding the survey, 12.4% of students had been in a physical fight on school property at least once. The rate among men was twice the rate found among women. In the thirty days preceding the survey, 5.5% of students reported that because they did not feel safe, they did not go to school on at least one day. The rates for males and females were approximately equal.

The most recent U.S. data[4] on violent crime in which teachers were targeted indicate that 7% (10% in urban schools) of teachers in 2003 were subject to threats of injury by students. According to the data 5% of teachers in urban schools were physically attacked, with smaller percentages in suburban and rural schools. Other members of school staffs are also at risk for violent attacks, with school bus drivers being particularly vulnerable.[5]

During 2007–2008, teachers’ reports of being threatened or physically attacked by students varied according to the instructional level of their school. A greater percentage of secondary school teachers, 8%, than elementary school teachers, 7%, reported being threatened with injury by a student, and this pattern held for teachers in suburban schools as well as for teachers in rural schools (figure 5.2 and table 5.1).[6]

Controversies

Lax school authorities

In 2005, on a school bus in Montgomery County, Maryland, an 11-year-old girl was attacked by a group of several older boys, who the girl said grabbed her breasts and feigned sex acts. Also in 2005, on a school bus in Colonial Heights, Virginia, south of Richmond, three boys and two girls aged 8 to 13 held an 11-year-old girl down in the back of the bus and sexually assaulted her.[7] In the Maryland case, the child's mother called the police, not the school, although a school administrator did notify the girl's mother (the students were not charged with sexual assault because the police mishandled the paperwork). In the Virginia case, the girl told her mother and was taken to a police station, prompting coordinated investigations by the police and the school. The bus driver testified that she saw the incident happening, but never stopped the bus. The girl was dropped off at her normal bus stop.

In 2008, the Baltimore School District failed to intervene in an act of violence committed against a teacher. A student had taken a video of a peer beating her art teacher. School officials ignored the problem until the video was posted on MySpace.[8] Some cases of school violence have not been brought to the attention of the authorities because school administrators did not want their schools labeled unsafe under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.[7] With or without NCLB, in the US, there has been a history of underreporting violent incidents occurring in schools.[9][10][11]

The media

School shootings are rare and unusual forms of school violence, and account for less than 1% of violent crimes in public schools, with an average of 16.5 deaths per year from 2001–2008.[2] There exists an uneven number of male versus female perpetrators of school shootings, where males outnumber females.[12] Some commentators claim that media coverage encourages school violence.[13] On the other hand, the press would likely have been faulted if it did not cover serious threats to public safety such as the Virginia Tech massacre, Columbine massacre, and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[14]

See also

References
  1. National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Indicators of school crime and safety. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Understanding school violence. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  3. Eaton D, Kann L, Kinchen S, Shanklin S, Ross J, Hawkins J, Harris WA, Lowry R, et al. (2008). "Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2007". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 57 (4): 1–131. PMID 18528314.
  4. Dinkes, R., Cataldi, E.F., Lin-Kelly, W., & Snyder, T. D. (2007). Indicators of school violence and safety: 2007. Washington, DC: National Center for Education statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics.
  5. Peek-Asa, C.; Howard, J.; Vargas, L.; Kraus, J. F. (1997). "Incidence of non-fatal workplace assault injuries determined from employer's reports in California". Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 39 (1): 44–50. doi:10.1097/00043764-199701000-00009. PMID 9029430.
  6. Robers, S., Kemp, J., and Truman, J. (2013). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2012 (NCES 2013-036/NCJ 241446). National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, DC.
  7. Williamson, E., & Aratani, L. (June 14, 2005). As school bus sexual assaults rise, danger often overlooked. Washington Post. B01.
  8. Nuefeld, S. (April 10, 2008). School violence appalls officials]. Baltimore Sun.
  9. Schonfeld, I.S. (2006). School violence. In E.K. Kelloway, J. Barling, & J.J. Hurrell, Jr. (Eds). Handbook of workplace violence (pp. 169–229). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  10. Office of the New York State Comptroller. (2006). Reporting of violent and disruptive incidents by public schools (Rep. No. 2005-S-38). Albany: Author.
  11. California Legislative Analyst Office. (2009). Review of school crime reporting. Sacramento: Author.
  12. Robertz, F.J. (August 1, 2007). "Deadly Dreams: What Motivates School Shootings?". Scientific American: 54–59.
  13. Brown, J.; Munn, P. (2008). "School violence as a social problem: Charting the rise of the problem and the emerging specialist field". International Studies in Sociology of Education. 18 (3–4): 219–230. doi:10.1080/09620210802492807. S2CID 143609241.
  14. Zarembo, A. (June 18, 2016). Are the media complicit in mass shootings? Los Angeles Times.
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