I am sure this is a simple coincidence, but from the time school prayers have been eliminated and the display of the 10 Commandments in schools prohibited, the school violence has risen, teenage pregnancy has risen, school drop outs have risen, academic standards and achievements have fallen, etc.

This is really important. Students shouldn't feel threahtened to go to school. Most of the schools I went too were very violent. There were fights everyday. It got so bad that we had police and metal detectors. Metal detectors are pretty useless, they prevent nothing. The worse thing was some of the teachers provoked the students to fight each other. For every great teacher, there's a crappy one who's just waiting for their retirement check. I feel sorry for the dedicated teachers who just want to teach. Instead, they are daycare workers.

Certainly a concern, although I was a substitute teacher in an inner city district for awhile, and I have to say that the movies exagerate beyond responsibility. Most of the students there are just kids, like anywhere else.

This is a great concern today.I just read an article in ODE Magazine about a school that had severe problems with violence,vandalism and overall bad behavior.They actually had to have police presence there.Today,the situation is vastly improved.The solution? They replaced the vending machines with water coolers ,and instead of serving french fries and hamburgers they started providing nutritious foods in the cafeteria,including more vegetables and fresh salads.Evidently,and there have been numerous studies about this-nutrition has a profound effect on human behavior.A diet full of sugar and fat that is devoid of many vitamins and minerals makes people irritable and interferes with their concentration. I'm not suggesting that this is a magic cure all,but it should certainly be looked in to. I would also recommend that parents take more interest in what movies and tv shows their children are watching-and also what video games they play.

I don't think that teachers or anyone else in the school system should be paddling children. I work in a school. I see that certain kids get punished while others do not. The problem is the parents. They make excuses for their children. It use to be that if a child got in trouble at school they got in twice as much when they got home. Now the parent feels sorry for the kids, berates the teachers, principals, councilors, etc... I've heard parents tell their children to just call them if the teacher gives them any trouble, the parents are as bad as the kids-worse. If a child does have decent parents they will find out the facts then do what is right. They will hopefully back the school. If there's a problem, take it up with the teacher or principal, that's their job.

It is a bigger problem in schools now only becasue of the mind set of children on the whole nowadays. When I came to this specific issue on the site I immediately read goneaways comments. I just new we would see things exactly the same way. You go Woman! The kids today have no honor. They cannot deal with lives downers and humiliations like we did, they dont know how to lose, so now there stabbing and killing each other. In my day we knew we were taking a chance on losing a fight when we challenged some kid to 'meet me at the flag pole after school'. It was the chance we took to fight for our cause or ourselves. With the lazy parents of today, the working mothers and the dead beat parents of single parent families, the kids are not prepared to handle these things anymore. Hell the young adults arent either!! Any punk can flap there jaw and directly abuse a teacher now, or terrorize a weaker kid because he/she knows there will be no real recourse. Girls fight today as much as boys do. How pitiful is that. Another indication of Mama not being at home where she should be. Nothing motivates a kid like good ole'fashion FEAR. And parents just dont do that near enough now. They have all bought in to this new age methods of that kind of crap you hear Dr. Phil talk about...HA! Parents get off your ass and dicipline your kids. Know them and know them well, if you do you will know that they can handle it when you take a leather strap to them and teach them their place. My kids are constantly talking to me about how different the kids at school think than we do. They have been diciplined with corporate punishement many times and I know they love me and look to me for boundaries. It makes them feel safer and stronger because of it. All I need do is see them (the kids) and see how they act to know their parents are losers who dont pay attention to them. Its a sad state and It make me angry that I am right in the middle of all the incompetience! The young parents of today just don't realize that if they want better schools, better neighborhoods, hell better companies and corporations...Get off your ass and teach your children something about honor, authority, self respect, accountability and selfworth!...I gotta go, Im irritated now and need a drink!

There are a multitude of challenges to public education, just from the nature of the beast. Having grown up in private school for most of my primary grades, then entering the public system for middle and high school, I see the contrasts more sharply then some. The easier solutions to the myriad difficulties in the public system stem from several tracks. Firstly, public school districts are not equally funded, and this leads to disparities in salary, equipment, facilities, and other basic needs. Secondly, parents do not or will not teach their children proper moral values such as respect for property, following instruction, cooperative play, and others. Thirdly, the government intrudes on the educators at several levels, preventing proper instruction of useful knowledge and skills. The public school system may be a good concept from the standpoint of providing educational opportunities to every child, but these basic issues need addressing before the system can live up to its potential.

process of elimination at an early age. some of those high school jocks deserve what they get

I agree with PBeav's point. I'm done fighting this fight, now I'm just funding it (through my property taxes) but there are two distinct problems. There's one type of violence in urban schools (one of my children chose that experience) and an entirely different problem in suburban schools, but neither is widespread. Both solutions are the same, however: detection/punishment of the perpetrators and assurance of the safety (and minimal disruption) of innocent bystanders. The reason the solutions are so elusive comes down to lawsuit paranoia. Too many frivolous lawsuits have been won by opportunistic parents of violent or disruptive students, and those verdicts are shouted from the mountaintops. The judges who look at a stupid case and say, Wow, this is a stupid case. We'll not waste the court's time with such stupidity, only get publicized by their enemies at election time. Administrators consider themselves successful if they can stay out of court, regardless of the incredible compromises necessary to accomplish that.

Well, this is certainly not something limited to just public schools. However, school violence anywhere is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a student. Many of the kids who go on those killing sprees in their schools usually were picked on and victims of violence before they did what they did.

I don't know why this is rated as a public school issue. This happens in all schools, because there will always be those students who don't care what trouble they cause or get into during their h.s experience.

yes its horrible, but im sorry there will always be a high school punk, bully or a fight, there will be always be violence, because there is always that person who doesnt give a s**t if he gets caught, or if he gets suspended in fact wouldnt mind it. So unless they start brainwashing the problem children this will always be a problem.

school violence can possibly be a very touch subject for some, comming from personally experince, its a lot more than beating people up there is so much verbal harrasment, and a lot of school dont do anything about it, and can report it and report it but there are so many rules involved, that its impossible so for people who high school has been the best years of your life theres a lot more out there that its a living hell

The school violence issue is one that should be addressed from a psychological perspective. I think that the problem with the school system in this country is that it seems to adopt a one size fits all mentality. Kids, especially adolescents, have issues that need to be addressed individually. Obviously it's very difficult to do this when schools are so big and overcrowded many times. But it is very important that each kid be treated as an individual. It would be helpful if teachers were to be able to spot cases where kids can get violence and then have them refered to the school psychologist. Education should be a holistic process (not to sound like a nut or anything like that). Especially at the elementary and secondary level, kids ought to be taught life management skills and other courses besides the normal curriculum that will help lead to a normal adult life.

In addition/response to what forgotten hero said, if the teaching profession paid and had the admission requirements of the law profession, we would get teachers who cared enough to help solve the problems before they escalated to a dangerous level. The requirements to become a teacher are laughably low as is the pay.

If these teachers actually cared then they would help solve the problems of the students before they elevate to fist fights and massacres. But instead they wait until something savage and unnecessary happens. As long as the teachers get paid then they don't care how many kids get hurt or expelled. You know today's educators only care about their paycheck since they're always demanding more money.

The most important issue. Old-timers whine about when school was safer in the 50's and 60's forget that nobody is simply thrown out of school anymore. There will always be school violence until public schools stop become glorified day-cares for students who should be thrown out.

When I give this five stars, I am speaking of the importance of the issue. It's mind-blowing enough that people actually engage in lowbrow fisticuffs in a facility meant to educate and better. But, when they fight over silly things like name-calling and boy/girl-friends, that's just insane! I remember in high school, when everyone else would run to go see a fight, I would calmly walk away from it. Sadly, I had to dodge some to avoid getting trampled. Whether it be security cameras, security officers or a staggered release of classes, methods should be taken to stop mindless violence in our schools!