Three Approaches to Coping with School Violence Essay -- Exploratory E

We humans fuck off always sought to increaseour personal energy in the only direction wehave known by seeking to psychologically steal it from othersan unconscious competition that underlies all human conflict in the world. (James Redfield, 1993, The Celestine Prophecy, New York Warner Books,6566)Some tutor critics and statisticians have observed that drug-dealing, vandalism, robbery, and murder have replaced gum-chewing, talking out of turn, tardiness, and rudeness as the most chronic problems afflicting todays civilises. If the intent of this observation is to transgress and sound the publics sensibilities, its working. Of course, some of us may interpret such suggestions as merely dark, stoic, and cynicalscare tactics quite in keeping with the current national mood about many another(prenominal) social loves these days.Yet, as a profession (and a society) maybe a little shock treatment now and then is good for us, especially if we ourselves work in relatively safe schools and communities. Maybe its time to remind ourselves that one schools problem can become every schools problem if the profession at large is not watchful and careful. No school is immune to the potential of extreme violence, as many of us, without meaning to, have learned. If youre a long-time, veteran English teacher, you may never have conceit youd see the day when an issue of English Journal would be devoted to school violence. The idea never occurred to me, either. But here we are, and here that issue is. And, whats more, its high time. While none of us needs convincing that the violence problem is serious in a great many places, some of the statistics are sobering. The National Education Association (March 1994)reports that the number of children... ... suffice.Works CitedAnderson, Elijah. 1994. The Code of the Streets. TheAtlantic Monthly (May) 8194.Elam, Stanley M. 1993. The 25th Annual Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup Poll. Phi Delta Kappan (Oct.) 137152.Guns Among Young People in t he U.S. 1993. Youth Record. Washington, D.C. Youth Policy Institute. (Aug. 3) 10.Jones, Clarisse. 1994. Report Shows Violence Rising in domesticates. The New York Times (Aug. 13) 27.Merina, Anita. 1994. Fighting School Violence Means Taking on Guns. NEA Today (Mar. 12) 4.Survey of the American Teacher 1993 Violence in Americas Public Schools. New York MetLife.Zimmer, Judith. 1993. We Can Work It Out. Culver City, CA Social Studies School Service.Denny Wolfe is professor of English Education andDirector of the Tidewater Virginia Writing Project atOld Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.