Violence has infiltrated into the school system and is polluting young minds. It is the need of the day for teachers and educators to stop violence in schools in all forms. There have been incidents of shootings in the recent past, with assault rifles and handguns, forcing some States to take action and purchase firearms & tactical equipment for teachers towards self-defense in the classroom. However, Harvey Shapiro reckons to look inward rather than outward for the solution If children and teens are introduced to violence at an early age, it has the potent ability to ruin their bright future ahead. Schools need to explore signs of impending violence so that students can study in peace without fearing for their lives.
Harvey Shapiro is a popular Clinical Professor, educator, and academician at Northwestern University. He resides in Boston and loves spending quality time with his three sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. He graduated in History from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; he completed his Doctorate from the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion in 1996 in Jewish Education. He is passionate about politics, education, literary theory, and Hebrew Literature. He is very fluent in Hebrew and studies Political Science and Jewish History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Harvey Shapiro Northeastern University is an avid lover and keen practitioner of Iyengar Yoga. He loves a lot of physical activities, like basketball and hiking. He is also an author and editor of The Wiley Handbook on Violence in Education: Forms, Factors, and Preventions that is a comprehensive collection of valuable insights given by experts from across the globe on this critical issue. The unfortunate part is violence has infiltrated at the school levels, and it is a grave problem that needs to be rooted out of the educational system. Innovative approaches need to be embraced so that the academic system can help students learn in an environment that does not encourage violence in any form.
4 Steps to cleanse the school system from violence
Now, schools need to take stringent steps to detect its early sign to stop it from erupting into a significant problem when it comes to the critical issue and problem of violence. The following are some simple steps that school authorities should embrace when it comes to the prevention of violence on campus-
- Students incline to create graffiti to spark controversy. Schools should remove them immediately to stop the spread of violence between gangs.
- Every school must have an active unit for crisis intervention to help and counsel students to cope with any prevailing violence in school or near its campus.
- Peer mediation must be included in school
- Offer young students and teens, especially those that are members of juvenile gangs, after school activities that have a special outreach. These activities can be in the form of programs to help students get productively engaged instead of spending time with juvenile gang members.
Harvey Shapiro Northeastern University concludes by saying the above are four compelling yet straightforward steps that every school must include to stop violence in its premise. Students should focus on academic development, and the school plays an indispensable role in shaping the future of these young adults successfully.
