School violence is an urgent problem for most educational facilities in the Unties States. Physical and psychological violence, sexual harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, and the use of weapons on the school premises present a substantial danger to the safety, health, and well-being of the coming generation. Thus, schools and teachers should create a safe and inclusive environment and encourage their students to be more accepting of their classmates. This discussion post will consider measures that can make schools safer.
Several steps can be taken to prevent different types of school violence. According to Yahnke (2019), the majority of measures against the students’ aggressive behavior should be taken by the administration and staff of the educational institutions. For example, physical safety measures such as security cameras and guards can prevent many incidents or help find the culprit (Yahnke, 2019). In addition, zero-tolerance policies should be instituted and enforced by the administration and all teachers. It can be argued that the physical security measures are more effective than the school policies and should be considered as the primary measure along with staff training and emergency protocol development. Zero-tolerance policies and the use of anti-bullying policies may result in lower violence rates but can also lead to students abusing the policy and the suspension and expulsion without any supporting evidence.
Similarly, school administrations must set measures in place to identify and counsel students. Yahnke (2019) notes that schools should employ a mental health professional to handle and support aggressive individuals and those at risk of bullying. This step can be viewed as an essential one as it can help prevent many cases of physical and psychological violence on the school grounds. In addition, teachers and other staff should report violent tendencies and bullying to the school psychologist to address timely. The schools would also benefit from the teachers undergoing psychologist-led training that would allow them to correctly and constructively address violence and bullying without escalating the conflict.
Reference
Yahnke, K. (2019). Ending school violence: 8 steps to improved safety. i-Sight. Web.