NCJ Number
179024
Date Published
1999
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This videotape presents a panel discussion of violence in U.S. schools and measures to deal with the problem.
Abstract
The program was sponsored by the Executive Office of Weed & Seed, and involved educators, ministry workers, and middle school students. Panelists and students discussed the negative influence of films, television, and computer games as a major contributor to juvenile violence. Another contributing factor is the easy availability of weapons. One of the students suggested that making it harder to acquire guns would help reduce the level of juvenile violence. The panelists agreed that violence in schools reflects the wider society and communities must make changes in the society along with changes in the schools. A suggested program to make schools safer would include: (1) listening to children and hearing their suggestions; (2) developing effective programs; (3) shifting resources to prevention; (4) looking for early warning signs of kids in trouble; (5) linking schools to other community services including mental health services; (6) developing crisis management plans for schools; and (7) funding studies of alternative schools and other ways to turn around the lives of children expelled from school. Finally, increase contacts between the school and students' parents, and devote more funds to intervention, prevention, and treatment rather than to incarceration.