Conceptual Limitations of School Violence - Essay Example

Bullying as it pertains to school violence and number Lecturer's Introduction Despite concern about violence by pupils on pupils and pupils on teachers in schools it is important to remember that, in general, children are far more often victims of violence than perpetrators' and that 'Schools can either be a force for violence prevention, or can provide an experience which reinforces violent attitudes and adds to the child's experience of violence When a child forces another to do his or her bidding, we call it extortion; when an adult does the same thing to a child, it is called correction. When a student hits another student it is assault; when a teacher hits a student it is for the child's 'own good'. When a student embarrasses, ridicules or scorns another student it is harassment, bullying or teasing. (Harber, 2004) Bullying can take many forms-physical violence, threats, name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumors, persistent teasing, and exclusion from a group, tormenting, ridicule, humiliation and abusive comments. All are a form of violence. Teacher-pupil bullying also exists. Pupil-pupil bullying is a common problem in schools internationally. Though there are variations in the types of bullying perpetrated, bullying is carried out by both males and females and both males and females are the victims. However, apparently schools play no part in creating it and do their best to put an end to it. Schools can play a large part in actually creating the problem of bullying. For example, lower achieving pupils, belittled in the competitive atmosphere, may strive to regain some dignity through bullying. It is also pointed out that while school sport has the potential for learning team spirit, giving your best and shared endeavor, it can also exclude those who do not excel and it can become brutish with over-competitiveness, over-stressing the body and the promotion of aggression and violence. Conceptual limitations of school violence make it difficult to address the issue in any serious or systematic way. While all children who are treated brutally do not go on to become bully because there are often countervailing and modifying socialization influences, and because they do not have the opportunity, serious damage can be done to individuals and the results can negatively affect societies. The second, related idea is that authoritarianism and its emphasis on automatic obedience to orders is very dangerous as it conditions and permits individuals to carry out violent acts by proving a justification or legitimating for them. Many individual acts of violence have been carried out and justified in the name of the duty to obey. Types of Violence Bullies normally resort to various types of violence they often subject victims to, like physical manhandling and mental and emotional harassment. One important aspect of this can include various forms of sexual harassment-verbal sexual aggression, the threat of sexual abuse, unsolicited physical contact and enforced sexual interference. The underlying authoritarian and patriarchal context of direct sexual violence in schooling and its role in reproducing hegemonic forms of violent masculinity are often more hurting for the bullied children. the teachers appeared to pursue their amorous activities both inside and outside the classroom quite openly; in the classroom, boys and girls would whistle or hiss if a teacher called on a particular girl known to be of interest to him to read out loud or come in front of the class. Boys were loud in their condemnation of such teachers, not for moral reasons but because they saw it as unfair competition. (Harber, 2004) Moreover, male teachers who behave in this way are indicating to boys that such behavior is acceptable. Some key findings of the research were: - Sexual abuse of girls by girls by male pupils and teachers is accepted along with corporal punishment, verbal abuse and bullying, as an inevitable part of much of school life. It exploits unequal power relationships and the authoritarian ethos within schools. - The reluctance of education authorities to address the issue and to prosecute perpetrators allows abuse to flourish unchecked. By their inaction, authorities condone and encourage it. - Sexual abuse of girls in school is a reflection of gender violence and inequality in the wider society. Domestic violence against women and children is commonplace, as is rape and forced sex within relationships. Women are considered as 'belonging' to men and hence accorded lower value and status. A study of the violence experienced by pupils at five junior high schools in America found that not only was bullying common but that 25 per cent of the female pupils had experienced sexual harassment at the hands of male students. The pupils said that teachers did not notice or ignored the violence experienced by the pupils. Administrators at the schools perceived violence to be less of a problem than the pupils and felt that teachers were more aware of the problem than pupils thought they were. (Harber, 2004) Schools are often heavily gendered institutions with male-dominated cultures. These cultures are frequently made up of paternalistic leadership styles, competitive hierarchies, over-emphasis on success, individualism, performance and getting ahead. White, middle-class, heterosexual men mainly hold power in our schools and they sometimes block change from taking place because they are power and gender blind about their own taken-for-granted positions and social relationships. What is often being brushed under the carpet about boy's behavior in schools, are the ritual insults, jeering, sexist jokes and name-calling made against girls and put-down of boys; the touching up and sexual harassment of girls, sexist graffiti, the sexual teasing; the bullying and psychological and relationships is particularly supportive of a non-democratic society under both authoritarian and democratic political systems. Schooling as reproduction and perpetration It is widely thought that education in the shape of formal schooling can change society for the better and indeed it has this potential. Through meritocratic education, the argument goes, greater productivity, prosperity and equality can be achieved. Theoretical discussions of education and social change often stress the beneficial role of schooling, for example human capital theory in relation to greater individual and social economic productivity and modernization theory in terms of the adoption of social values that enhance the quality of life. These are only inherently and truly beneficial in the framework of an education firmly aimed at democracy, human rights and peace, the purpose of the present section is to suggest that schooling also has two other significant roles. The first is reproduction. This is where schooling does not act as an agent of change but simply reproduces characteristics of the surrounding society. (Harber, 2004) Working-class children go to school, experience the social relationships and expectations that correspond to working-class employment and then leave school to go into working-class jobs-and their prospects are even worse if they rebel. If control is a, if not the, major function of schooling then it must play a significant part in reproducing what already is and therefore supporting the status quo. The situation of most working-class children is not actively harmed according to this analysis, it is just that, despite the rhetorical claims of equal opportunity surrounding formal education, their life chances are not actually improved. For decades, researchers have consistently found that children subjected to physical punishment tend to be more aggressive than their peers, and will likely grow up to use violence on their own children. These effects are not confined to victims of what is legally classified as abuse: even 'acceptable' levels of physical punishment may perpetuate aggression and unhappiness. (Elliott, 2003) Bullying and Violence in Multicultural Schools Three approaches or strategies to issues of schooling and group identity are often set out. The first is 'assimilation' where the burden is placed on those coming into the school to adopt the values and lifestyle of the existing dominant group in the school or the wider society, thereby reproducing this dominant position. Diversity is ignored on the assumption that all will conform to a given and established pattern of traditions, rules and structures. A 'multicultural' approach, on the other hand, recognizes and even celebrates cultural difference and includes examples of diversity in the curriculum. However, this has been criticized for failing to address the use of power by one group to maintain or extend their socio-economic and political advantage over others by direct and indirect forms of discrimination. A third approach, 'anti-racism', builds on multiculturalism by acknowledging and analyzing forms of power, prejudice and discrimination and actively challenging them through school rules and the curriculum. However, often missing from such debates is a very different stance to the three outlined above-the role of schooling in directly contributing to hatred of other groups, actively encouraging separation, prejudice and discrimination against them and even carrying out violence on the basis of inter-group hatred. This might be termed a 'pro-racist' strategy. (Elliott, 2003) References Burstyn, J. N., Bender, G., Casella, R., Gordon, H. W., Guerra, D. P., Luschen, K. V., et al. (2001). Preventing Violence in Schools: A Challenge to American Democracy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Elliott, G. P. (2003). School Mobbing and Emotional Abuse: See It, Stop It, Prevent It, with Dignity and Respect. New York: Brunner-Routledge. Harber, C. (2004). Schooling as Violence: How Schools Harm Pupils and Societies. New York: RoutledgeFalmer. Hoffman, A. M. (Ed.). (1996). Schools, Violence, and Society. Westport, CT: Praeger. Jones, T. S. & Compton, R. (Eds.). (2003). Kids Working It out: Strategies and Stories for Making Peace in Our Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. K.Smith, P. & Sharp, S. (Eds.). (1994). School Bullying: Insights and Perspectives. New York: Routledge. Sharp, S. & K.Smith, P. (Eds.). (1994). Tackling Bullying in Your School: A Practical Handbook for Teachers. New York: Routledge. Smith, P. K. (Ed.). (2003). Violence in Schools: The Response in Europe. London: Routledge Falmer. Read More