Onward to solutions

This week’s article is the final instalment of our three-part series on school violence, a reproduction of a series first published in 2015. We need to be consistent in our approach and avoid our typical start-and-stop knee-jerk reaction, only opening up the conversation when we see an escalation of these stories on social media. School violence is real and ongoing and sustainable action must be taken to root out this scourge on the society.

IN THIS edition we seek to approach the problem of school violence from a behaviour modification perspective. Since many of our students merely “pass” through the school, very often not completing their five years, they are unable to take full advantage of the schooling opportunity and make a better life for themselves.

The big question we must now address is, “How do we break this vicious cycle of school failure?” Any attempt to root out or significantly reduce school violence must involve programmes that would focus on the development of students who can display self-control, discipline and self-regulation. Students must be able to behave within certain limits and conform to rules of interpersonal engagement.

In the past, these facets of education were undertaken in the informal setting of the home and the community. In today’s society, it is evident that not all homes and communities are performing these educational duties and the school is being called upon to pick up the slack.

These human attributes are preconditions to learning and when the child comes to school deficient in these areas of human development he/she is unable to take full advantage of the schooling opportunity, and very often resorts to violent behaviour as a response to the inability to cope.

These interventions must begin from a very early age – preschool and moving onto primary and secondary school. Very importantly, at each step of the way parental involvement is critical. Sport has always proven to be an excellent way in which such self-discipline and self-regulation can be taught.

Curriculum at all levels of schooling must reflect a greater level of sport. Programmes such as Girl Guides, Scouts, MiLAT and MYPART are all very successful in helping to shape disciplined and well-behaved young people who are able to channel their anger and frustration into something positive.

In addition, there must be relevant qualified personnel (guidance officers and school social workers) at all school levels to be able to work with teachers in the school setting to treat children who display offensive and violent behaviour. These interventions must recognise the need in extreme cases to temporarily remove students from the school setting in order that the necessary interventions can be made and the child can then return to school.

“Out-of-school suspension centres” is one form of intervention. While extreme, this approach should be done in consultation, and with the consent of, the parent. However, parents are often unwilling to consider this intervention. The authorities must then be able to exercise some form of “power” to coerce parents to co-operate in such situations.

Opportunities for personal growth and development should however be the focus. These students should be provided with experiences that will aid in developing their emotional intelligence and enhance their ability to behave in socially acceptable ways.

The training/retraining of teachers to cope with the reality of school violence is also absolutely necessary. Unwittingly, teachers are simply unable to recognise student violence as a symptom of a deeper problem, the root of which must be identified and treated if one is to effectively correct the problem. This also underscores the need for adequate social support systems within the educational systems.

The practice of “lumping” all under-achieving students into particular school types at the secondary level only serves to overwhelm the capacity of the school to treat with the behavioural problems, particularly without the contingent resources. This practice results in a feeling of helplessness and frustration on the part of teachers.

The broadening of curriculum offerings to reduce the focus on the cognitive learning domain would also go a long way to boost the self-esteem and self-confidence of underachieving students, channelling their energies into something positive.

These suggestions are by no means exhaustive but provide a starting point for the dialogue. School violence is not just a school problem but has become a national, social scourge. We must all make a concerted effort if we are to bring any resolve to this phenomenon which has the potential to add further decay to our social fabric.