On School Violence

By Elizabeth Berger, M.D., author of Raising Kids with Character

Headlines reporting school violence strike fear into parents and all of our citizens—as well they should. It cannot reassure us to hear that the dramatic assaults which reach national media significance represent the tip of the iceberg, signaling much more pervasive and commonplace problems in our nation’s schools. To respond appropriately to school violence demands that we analyze not only the bizarre and infamous incidents which draw our attention on the news, but also the everyday threats to our children’s safety that give rise to them.

Like most social problems (divorce, drug abuse, crime), school violence has several aspects and a comprehensive approach to solving it will require action on many fronts at once. Perhaps most immediately urgent is the easy availability of guns in our communities. Americans have much higher rates of homicide and suicide BY FIREARMS than other industrialized nations—but the same rates by other means. If we wish to slash these terrible statistics, the most effective means would be to rid ourselves of guns. 

Schools themselves, meanwhile, may gain some traction on the pervasive problem of weapons in the schoolyard through metal detectors, police presence, the installation of alarms, and other measures to “secure” an insecure population. These stop-gap measures may help somewhat. The emotional health of our students is another important and neglected opportunity for intervention, through programs which identify and respond to youngsters presenting academic failure, drug and alcohol use, gang participation, bullying, and other personal crises. To accomplish this, the active involvement of families, youth development agencies, local police, health care providers, religious organizations, and other community structures will be the key to constructive change. 

It is not the make-believe violence in children’s fantasy and amusements (comic books, videos, and television) that inspires violence in schools but the real violence that saturates our actual lives. This is the “bad influence” which we must address. We will see our young people protected from harm only when we truly dedicate ourselves to providing nonviolent solutions to eternal human conflicts which are currently reflected in domestic battery, community assaults, and warfare. This is a more daunting challenge than scanning the lyrics to popular songs and denouncing their author, to be sure, but far closer to the heart of our mission as adults if our genuine aim is to provide a safe and wholesome world for the next generation.

Dr. Elizabeth Berger is a child psychiatrist with thirty years' experience treating children and addressing the needs of families as a policy-advocate.