Preventing School Violence Essay

Teachers should encourage students to take lockdown and active shooter drills held during the school day seriously.

Teachers should encourage students to take lockdown and active shooter drills held during the school day seriously.Ask them to think about a location during a drill, "If this was an actual emergency, where should I go to be safe? Try and make yourself available and let students know that they can talk with you about their concerns and fears about school violence. Keeping these lines of communication open is essential to violence prevention.

Sharing with teachers may help everyone become aware of warning signs and also provide them with specific directions on what to do about them.

Creating effective plans so that all staff members understand and follow is one key to helping prevent school violence.

Come down hard on students who say prejudicial comments or use stereotypes when talking about people or groups. The Fourth Amendment can stop the police and other government agents from searching for a student or property without "probable cause," however, students have fewer privacy rights in school than outside of school.

Make it clear that they are to leave all of that outside the classroom, and it is to be a safe place for discussions and thought. As stated in the introduction, students may know something about what other students may be planning.

Use debate formats to shape productive classroom discussions.

Further, teach students ways to manage their anger through role-plays, simulations, and learning center activities.There may be other ways to prevent violence as well.Therefore, teachers need to know how to evaluate the information they may learn to try and prevent acts of violence within all schools.School violence is a concern for many new and veteran teachers as marked by the increasing number of shootings by students on school property.What have we learned from some of these tragic events? Investigations on the Columbine (1999) massacre revealed that students knew something about the plans.Use teachable moments to help teach conflict resolution.If you have students disagreeing in your classroom, talk about ways that they can resolve their problems without resorting to violence.If your school hosts an anti-violence forum, join in and help.Become a member and look to see what kind of help is needed.All schools work to prevent school violence and schools are very safe places.Students, staff, and parents all have an important role in promoting school safety. © 2015, National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 657-0270, Fax (301) 657-0275; to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers This handout provides guidance for talking to children after high profile violent acts.