YOUTH VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS

According to the Center for Disease Control there are different forms of violence. These include bullying, fighting, use of weapons, gang violence and electronic aggression. What classifies any of these as school violence is when is occurs on school property, on the way to or from school, at a school sponsored event or on the way to or from a school sponsored event. Youth violence includes persons between the ages of 10 and 24, although pathways can begin in early childhood. There are many different aspects that have been attributed to the cause of violence in our schools. One such aspect is the deterioration of social and economic conditions. Families have not been trained to cope with the problems associated with easy access to weapons, illegal drugs and alcohol. These three things combined with the exposure to video games, television and music that are obsessed with violence have presented parents with an astronomical challenge. First and foremost it is the parents responsibility to provide their children with non-violent problem resolution. Research has identified violence to be a learned behavior. There are several contributors to these learned behaviors, such as the frequent witnessing or experiencing violence in the home or local community, drug and alcohol abuse, and exposure to media depicting violence. “By not monitoring children’s behavior, and by not showing children how to replace aggression with constructive behaviors, parents send the indirect message that it’s OK to use aggressive behavior to get what they want.” By not showing our children that it is wrong to use aggressive behavior we are telling them that they can do what they want to whomever they want. If parents do not show their children how to behave then that leaves it to someone else to do it for them. In most cases this falls on television or even