Cause And Effect Essay on School Violence Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

What causes school violence? it would be easier for adults to control school violence if there were only one reason why it happens, but there is no one cause. There are three main causes for school violence witch includes the media, school harassment, and social problems. The media influences children by showing them violent acts in movies, video games, and music.

The social problems consists of child abuse, a culture of violence, and poor peer relations. There were the violent movies, like natural born killers, which the gunmen watched over and over again. вќ tenth this refers to the shooters at columbine highschool who would watched the movie natural born killers вќ repetitively. All god's creatures do it.' with that comment came a long discourse on his claims of the benefits, blessings, and positive elements of murder. Many scenes and sequences in the movie portrayed glorification and praise of the murdering duo. вќ capalert this glorification of violence can push a already disturbed mind toward murder.

Next, violent video games also contribute to school violence in much of the same way movies do. There were the video games they played, too, with their casual killings and gruesome effects. In fact, one student said the killers acted like they were playing a video game, choosing their targets at random and laughing when they died. Shoot the kids at school all in a bloody pool i'll show the teachers too 'cuz they can't tell me what to do getting c school violence is a many faceted problem, making it difficult for researchers and practitioners to pinpoint its causes. Many school violence statistics, for example, do not match the norms in our larger society. Simultaneously, school based studies reveal that many violent behaviors have increased among children and adolescents. Department of justice, reveals that public schools experiencing violent incidents increased from 71 to 81 percent over a five year period 19 2004.

The same study reports that the percentage of students who reported gang presence at school increased from 21 percent in 2003 to 24 percent in 2005. Although no direct connection between gang activity and school violence can be established, the initiation of gang activity in neighborhoods and schools does frequently coincide with increased violence reports. Eight percent of teachers say they are threatened with violence on school grounds at least once a month. Although the specific incidents of school based fatalities are too numerous to list, there were 48 school associated deaths in elementary and secondary schools in one year alone, from july, 2004, through june, 2005.

Statistics indicate that efforts to curb school violence are making some headway since 1992, a high point for school based violence. From 1992 to 2004, violent incidents occurred less frequently in school than away from school, according to the above listed study by the bureau of justice statistics and the national education center. In the context of school violence, it is critical to recognize that a large majority of young people are not violence prone, do not have criminal attitudes or criminal records, and can be demonized by legislators, the media, and the general public. Michael males, a professor at university of california at santa cruz, points to another source beyond the attitudes and behaviors of children. More than any past generation, he writes, today's kids are far more likely to grow up with parents who abuse drugs, get arrested, go to prison, disappear, fail to maintain stable families. Poverty, disownment, and messed up adults are by far the biggest problems kids face, and the mystery is why only a relatively small fraction of modern kids are acting dangerously.

Therefore, while it is critical that schools and communities recognize that school violence needs to be addressed, it is also critical that they respect the hopes and rights of the majority of students who are neither perpetrators nor victims of school violence and who want nothing more than to receive a good education in a safe environment. Most educators and education researchers and practitioners would agree that school violence arises from a layering of causes and risk factors that include but are not limited to access to weapons, media violence, cyber abuse, the impact of school, community, and family environments, personal alienation, and more. During the late 1980's and early 1990's, teen gun violence increased dramatically in the united states. More teens began to acquire and carry guns, leading to a sharp increase in gun deaths and injuries.

According to the national youth violence prevention center nyvpc , fewer teens are carrying guns now 2004 , and gun related murders and suicides have begun to decline. Even so, claims the nyvpc, many teens still illegally carry guns and harm others and themselves. A national institute of health study recently interviewed 1,219 seventh and 10th graders in boston and milwaukee. Forty two percent of students claimed they could get a gun if they wanted, 28 percent have handled a gun without adult knowledge or supervision, and 17 percent have carried a concealed gun…. How do young people gain access to weapons? according to a report issued by the university of southern california school of medicine, approximately 35% of u.s. Homes with children under age 18 have at least one firearm, meaning that roughly 11 million children live in homes with firearms.

A 2007 study by university of california at davis' violence prevention research program concluded that american gun shows continue to be a venue for illegal activity, including unlicensed sales to prohibited individuals. Although cho purchased his weapons from a licensed gun dealer, his medical records declaring him mentally unstable did not surface during the transaction. Following the virginia polytech shootings, the u.s house of representatives passed a measure that would, according to the los angeles times, streamline the system for keeping track of criminals, mental patients, and others including youth under 18 barred from buying firearms… currently, the bill has yet to pass into law, although many legislators believe the bill will be approved by both house and senate. By the time the average american child reaches seventh grade, he or she will have witnessed 8,0 murders and 100,0 acts of violence on television. Some people say that so much violence on television makes american society including its children more violent. In 1956, researchers compared the behavior of 24 children watching either a violent cartoon episode woody woodpecker or a non violent cartoon the little red hen. During subsequent observed interactions, children who watched the violent cartoon were more likely to hit other children and break toys than those who watched the nonviolent cartoon.

Ross studied the effect of exposure to real world violence, television violence, and cartoon violence. Group one watched a real person shout insults at an inflatable doll while hitting it with a mallet. Group three watched a cartoon version of the same scene, and group four watched nothing.

When the same children were later exposed to a frustrating situation, groups one, two, and three responded with more aggression than did group four. Surgeon general under the nixon administration, released a report concluding that televised violence. On the other hand, many researchers, including the respected expert jonathan freedman of the university of toronto, maintain that the scientific evidence simply does not show that watching violence either produces violence in people, or desensitizes them to it. A 19 study conducted at case western reserve university and kent state university found disturbingly high levels of violent attitudes and behaviors in 2,0 young students but could not find a direct link between the viewing of televised violence and violent tendencies in their subjects. More recently, a 2004 report published by psychological science in the public interest. A journal of the psychological science institute, claims that extensive research on violent television and films, video games, and music reveals unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior. According to this 2004 report, this new research base is large and consistent in overall findings.