Violence in schools has been something we all experienced either firsthand or second-hand. Even though some violence is more harmful than other types, the majority of violence is linked to each other. Such as violence that comes in the form of bullying, this violence is often linked and is found to be the cause of more major violence like mass school shootings. People over time have questioned the cause of mass school shootings, they’ve thought of many ways to try and combat it. But the true way to stop it is the same way you stop anything else in life, you just understand it first. Imagine living in a country where you send your children off to school in the morning. Only to turn on the news a few hours later and see your child’s school surrounded by police, then read your child’s name as one of the ones deceased in a shooting massacre. This is an image for you but is a reality for many Americans.
America has been plagued by school shootings as early as 1764 and only increased from there, we must look at the history of these violent acts. America has always been a global leader in mass shootings and mass school shootings. Unfortunately, this reputation not only stands today but is on track to increase new levels. The first school shooting in the U.S. was reported in 1764 it was known as the Pontiac Rebellion massacre, a man went into a school and gunned down 10 children along with the headmaster. Since then America has had more school shootings in 1 year than any other country did within the last decade. Owning a weapon in America is easier and more common than in other countries, many laws and bills have been brought forward by the likes of President Bush and President Obama. Unfortunately, none of these bills passed the House of Commons. This resulted in a stronger and higher quantity of higher quality semi-automatic weapons ranging from pistols, rifles, and shotguns. The most notable school shooting was in 1999 at Columbine High School in Colorado. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were both 28 years old when they opened fire upon their fellow schoolmates killing 13 and injuring 20 in what was the most notable school shooting in modern history. This is the most notable because it’s the first mass school shooting of its magnitude to happen in the modern era. America and the rest of the world have seen something like this before with so much media coverage, that it caught a lot of attention from the media and newspapers. Then to have such a massacre be followed up by a long continuous trend of similar massacres made Columbine that much more notable because it was looked at as the originator, the trendsetter. The history of school shootings in America is extensive and continues. 8 years after Columbine the deadliest mass school shooting recorded today occurred. The Virginia Tech shooting, April 16th, 2007, when a student went into Virginia Tech University and opened fire on students. He proceeded to kill 33 students and injured 23. These incidents have been happening in America’s history for many years and history is repeating itself every day when we see these same ideas and incidents be recreated by sick, evil individuals.
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Violence in schools is an international issue not just an American issue. Outside of America, there are countries like Canada that deal with a bullying problem. Statistics show that every 1 in 3 adolescent students in Canada have been bullied. 47% of Canadian parents report having a child victim of bullying, 38% of adult males and 30% of adult females have reported experiencing bullying in their school days. Like mass shootings in America, bullying in Canada has also had a large impact on the world. America has set the trend for extreme violence in schools and truly showed the world the worst side of mass shootings. It has made other countries like Canada set safety measures such as locking the school doors during school hours, performing lockdown drills, and having reinforced glass on windows to protect students and teach inside. Here in Canada we constantly have lockdown drills to practice what to do if a school shooter was to enter the school. During these drills, we lock the classroom door, turn the locks off, and hide under the desks until the drill is over. A headcount for everyone is then done. This drill and the measures are influenced by the horrific tragedies the U.S. has experienced. Other countries like the U.K. and France have similar drills in place at schools to make sure students are always protected and trained in case of an emergency. The horrors of the U.S. have implemented fear into the hearts of students, teachers, and all school administrators. A change that has impacted the mental health of students. Canada also has had its influence on the world with Pink Shirt Day. A day came about in 2007 when a grade 9 student in Nova Scotia decided to wear a pink shirt to school, he was bullied and made fun of for wearing his pink shirt. Two other students David Shepherd and Travis Price found out about the grade 9 being bullied and organized an event with a couple of their other friends. They all wore pink shirts to school and also brought thousands of pink shirts to hand out to students, this was all done in support of the young grade 9 who was bullied, this event that started with just two teenagers grew globally and today pink shirts day is an international day in which over 180 countries participate in. Events such as Pink Shirt Day and lockdown drills are international traditions inspired by North American violence in schools. America helped bring greater attention and awareness to guns in school and implementing stricter gun laws. Canada helped bring awareness to bullying and how to positively combat bullying in schools. Though these are two very different forms of violence in schools, they are experiences that students around the world have experienced at least once in their lives. Most mass school shootings such as Columbine were revenge shootings that were instigated by being bullied. If we stop bullying then we stop the root of mass school shootings and 80% of violence in schools.
Whether it be violence through bullying or school shootings, it will leave a sociological impact on the student, teacher, parent, and anyone else involved. Even if you aren’t involved directly, when you know facts such as 1 in 4 children are bullied, you start to think about the schools you send your children to. As a parent, you fear statistics like 1 in every 4 children are bullied, or that it is an estimated 1 billion children that have experienced some type of violence in school. These are numbers that make you think about your kids, it also makes you think of the right school environment you want to put them in. With 1 in 4 children being bullied, this means there is a 25% chance your child sits beside a student who has possibly been bullied too extensively and plans to explode on students like the Columbine shooter. This puts in question just how safe are our school environments. Just how safe are our children at school? Bullying leaves kids scarred and prompts a very unsafe environment for learning. If a child was witness to a mass shooting this could leave huge sociological issues with the child which if not treated correctly could lead to a dangerous situation. Mass shootings have created outlets and organizations for students to reach out to and get professional help. For example, there are kids' help phone lines, where students can call a phone number free of charge and talk to a trained social worker who will sit on the phone for hours if necessary, dedicated to helping students feel secure and safe. There are also organizations like Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE). The sole mission of SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) is to combat bullying and to stop school shooters before they reach the stage of a school shooter, they work to stop the problem before it becomes a tragedy. There are also help centers all across North America in place now for students who need personal one-on-one mental support, there are also rehab centers for students who experienced school shootings and have ongoing PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). With all these new statistics and new studies being found about students who need mental assistance due to bullying and/or PTSD from school shootings, it helps create a safe environment for students and parents. Knowing that there is research being done and help centers put into place based on the research being done.
All in all, violence is violence. Whether a bullet or a bully, it has the same sociological impact on the student. We must not downplay mental challenges expressed by students as simple “phases” because for many children it’s not simply a “phase” but a real mental disorder they are dealing with internally. These mental disorders are also provoked by bullying and made to feel less than. It is something that some students go through daily. We must do a better job at home talking to our children and making sure we understand what they are going through and put our best foot forward to make sure they feel comfortable and loved.
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