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By: Erika Folk. High School Violence. Key Questions. What Causes extreme violence in schools? How can we prevent a tragedy from happening here at Riverside? How safe are we at Riverside?. Number of Incidents.
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By: Erika Folk High School Violence
Key Questions • What Causes extreme violence in schools? • How can we prevent a tragedy from happening here at Riverside? • How safe are we at Riverside?
Number of Incidents -There have been approximately 60 reported major incidents of extreme violence in schools all over the world since 1996. - Forty-four of these major incidents have taken place in the United States. -This can happen in all schools, from large universities like Virginia Tech. to rural schools like Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Columbine High School • 14 students killed • 1 teacher killed • 23 wounded • The most deadly school shooting to date. Two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, came to school one day and set off bombs in various areas around the school and then went on a shooting rampage. After their rampage they turned their guns on themselves.
Characteristics In a study done by the government in the years after school shootings started they found common characteristics between all the school shooters like: • They have feelings of depression or persecution. • They tell other people/students about their plans. • The people they tell usually egg them on leading to the aggressor feeling like they need to live up to expectations. • They do not snap suddenly. • They suffer from suicidal thoughts. • They can be direct victims of harassment, intimidation, or bullying.
Why do people do this? • Many school shooters have had extreme emotional problems and some experts say they could not have been helped, but for many of them this was a source of revenge on the people who they felt have wronged them.
What can we do? Most school shooters felt alienated by many of their peers. They were not necessarily loners and although everyone needs a friend sometimes our friends or the people we talk to drive us to do things we wouldn’t normally do by ourselves. We can: - Make people feel included and accepted. Eric Harris, one of the Columbine shooters once wrote in a journal in 1999, the year of the massacre, “I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things.” - If you hear someone talking about, or someone talks to you about doing something violent at school, hurting someone or themselves at school, or even joking about it, tell a trusted adult either at school or someone who will contact the school. - Plainly and simply be nice to people.
How safe are we at Riverside • The U.S. department of Justice did a survey on what schools are doing to prevent violence and the most popular regulations were: -Suspension for weapon possession -Conflict resolution and multicultural programs -School uniforms -Random locker searches -Lockdown drills -Mandatory staff and student photo ID’s -Police presence in schools and hallways -Video surveillance of hallways and parking lots -ID checks at entrances -Metal detectors at entrances -All book bags must be see through Stars indicate the things we do at riverside. Pride Days!!!