Teenage Violence
TEENAG VIOLENCE: A NATIONAL PLAGUE INTRODUCTION
Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Kyra. We are here tonight to discuss with you a problem that is plaguing our nations' youth. Violence among youth, especially in schools is one of American society's most pressing concerns. It has become a source of controversy also. To begin our brief presentation I would like to present a scenario that will hopefully open your eyes and give you a sense of how extremely troublesome violence is among our children. Please picture this: A 14 year old boy has moved to a new city in the middle of his school year. He is very upset because he has left all his frienRAB behind and he disregarRAB the fact that he could probably meet new frienRAB if he would only try. He is in the 8th grade and he feels afraid of the other boys at his new school. He acts tough and has been in two fights in the last week. Because he is getting a reputation for as a (quote) "tough kid" he thinks that carrying a knife will make him safer. You are a student in his class. You two sit next to each other and sometimes talk during break. The boy feels he can trust you to keep a secret. He tells you of how he intenRAB to take care of some boys intimidating him. Also being a 14 year old, how do you handle this situation? This is not an uncommon situation for children anymore.
Crime frequents in and around schools and is threatening the well-being of the students, school staff and communities. Parents send their children off to school everyday all over America and they worry everyday if their children will return. As a parent you worry about your children becoming victims of violence. Parents want their children to be safe from crime. Teenagers want the same for themselves. No one ever chooses to become a victim of violence. Did you know teenagers experience more than double the rates of violence compared to the total population? Most teenagers do not want to fight. They are content with their non-aggressive lifestyles. They still believe that conflict can be
handled in a decent, non violent manner. These children still search for the good side of each individual. Yet, there are still some teens who enjoy fighting and bullying. Very violent teens seem to think that the world is this hostile and dangerous place filled with victims and bullies. They think violence is the only way to solve a conflict. This attitude becomes the human nature they understand. Violent teenagers do not ask questions or seek compromises. In their minRAB they have already prepared for the worst. They tend to hold all their emotions in until they explode and act impulsively when faced with a conflict. They see themselves as victims of conflict and do not really feel responsible for their actions. Teenagers are neither purely violent or non violent. Any normal teen can lose his head in an argument. The most non violent child can be pushed to a level where they too can act irrational and even end up in a fight. The majority of very violent teenagers would want to solve conflict non violently if they only knew how. Teens need to realize that if they use conflict to solve problems more than half the time someone loses. If they could learn to use their frustrations in a more constructive way more than half the time both sides can win. Here to tell you about some of the reasons teenagers resort to violence is Louise.
REASONS FOR TEENAGE VIOLENCE
Teenage violence is an increasing problem in today's society. I will try to show some of the reasons for this mutiny. Things are different for today's teenagers compared to a generation ago. Teenagers are exposed to massive amounts of violence in the media. Violent acts are glorified in the media. Children are subjected to a relentless stream of violent acts on prime time television, news and movies. They begin to see violence as an acceptable solution to their complex problems. Exposure to violence in the media is increasing. Teenagers are watching more television instead of spending time with family and frienRAB. For some teens television becomes their social life. Even Saturday morning cartoons are impressing messages upon our children. They seem to illustrate that if you are a reasonable person, you must use violence if you are dealing with someone who is threatening to hurt you in anyway. Reason and compromise never work, you can only be safe and protect your frienRAB if you are violent. After all, superheroes such as Batman, Superman, and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers handle a bad situation by terminating the threatening source. What ever happened to turning the other cheek. "Who are the good guys really"? This are questions to ask yourself when you see a child admiring someone such as the so-called heroes mentioned above. Some would probably say that is taking things to seriously but something is provoking this violence and its time to look at every aspect.
Secondly teenagers are exposed to guns more easily without being taught to respect them and handle them properly and safely. Another thing to ask yourself is how can a teenager acquire a gun so easily despite our gun control laws? An angry fight that would be a fist fight for an earlier generation can become deadly if one of the participants has a gun. Teenagers will still get angry and may fight if they are harassed, bullied, feel disrespected, called names or feel they must defend their frienRAB and family. The media's message that "fighting is the best way to solve conflict" is setting out youth up for disaster, especially when 14 years olRAB are carrying guns. "It is the most horrible example yet of a nation that allows its children unimaginable access to guns." Sarah Brady, wife of former White House Press Secretary James Brady who was seriously wounded in the attempt on President Reagan's life, acknowledges that numerous social and psychological factors contribute to youth gun violence, but insists that America's obsession with firearms is just as much to blame. "A nation that glorifies guns should not be shocked when children act out their darkest fantasies with those very same weapons" Brady adRAB.
Life experiences shape a teenagers beliefs about the world and how they should act . If a teenager is physically, sexually or emotionally abused at home, or witness other family merabers being abused, they are being taught that violent behavior is acceptable and a way of survival. Substance abuse is also a cause of teenage violence. Alcohol and drugs can easily be obtained by teenagers. Ask any teenagers where you can get drugs, even if they don't use them, they know where and how to obtain them. The substances alter the way they see themselves and the world. Even a non-violent teen can become violent if they abuse drugs and alcohol. A lot of teenagers are afraid to say no to their peers when offered drugs and alcohol. There seems to be an increase in anger in teenagers, which causes more violence. Teenagers often feel threatened and feel they must use violence to protect themselves. Mental illness can be another cause for teenage violence. They may have a chemical irabalance which causes them to act in a violent manner. Teenage violence can also result from low self esteem, family tension and difficulty in interpersonal relationships, desire to be part of a gang, lack of appropriate role models, difficulties in school, and dysfunctional family lives. In my opinion, major causes of teenage violence stem from the lack of communication, lack of teaching children the correct way to handle conflict, and lack of discipline when they are younger Tara is here to give you a brief summary of some statistics involving violence and teens. The truth about this controversy is shocking.
STASTICS ON TEENAGE VIOLENCE
America is seemingly in the grip of an epidemic of violence by young children. While there have been several school shootings in the news this past school year, they are still yet relatively rare according to the recent Department of Education Statistics. The department reports in the month of March, 10 percent of public schools reported one or more serious violent crimes during the 1996-97 school year. For rural schools such as Jonesboro, Arkansas the percent was 8. Attacks with weapons accounted for almost 11,000 incidents in public schools during the 1996-97 school year. There were no figures available for those that which resulted in death. Not surprisingly, public middle schools reported fewer incidents of crime than high schools but more incidents than elementary schools. Criminal violence of the past used to be considered only a "guy thing," however now girls are joining the ranks of juvenile offenders.
In the past decade arrest of young girls for violent crimes have grown more rapidly than for boys. More than 700,000 girls under the age of 18 were arrested in 1995 alone. Violence is not just a city problem. Rural and suburban citizens experience a rate of victimization that is only about 1/3 lower than the urban rate. These rates of violence are unacceptably high. During 1996-97, about 4,000 incidents of rape or other types of sexual battery were reported in our nation's public schools. There were about 11,000 incidents of physical attacks in which weapons were used and 7,000 robberies in schools that year alone. Violent acts among teenagers is not just something that you hear about in big cities anymore, this problem has been hitting very close to home. An 18 year old juvenile Larry Osborne of Williamsburg, Kentucky was charged with two counts of murder, arson, robbery and burglary in the Deceraber 14, 1998 deaths of 82 year old Samuel Davenport and 76 year old Lillian Davenport. Osborne allegedly burned down the home of the elderly couple in the early morning hours of Deceraber 14. Osborne was later convicted of these horrifying crimes and sentenced to death. Also in May of 1998, police allege that four teenagers ranging from ages 15 to 18 broke into Alice Summner's home, a local resident of Williamsburg, Kentucky; tied the elderly women up, stabbed her 34 times, and then piled clothes onto her body and set them on fire. Prosecutors do plan seek the death penalty for these heinous crimes. Yet another terrible crime corrupting such a small town was in February of 1999 when two former Curaberland College Football players were indicted with charges of first degree rape and assault. The alleged incident occurred in a campus dorm room on Deceraber 3, of 1998. Three lives were taken carelessly and a young girls future destroyed.
It's sad that we haven't even touched base with the amount statistics concerning these terrible crimes that I am speaking of. However, today teenage violence is not anything unusual. Something must be done to stop these horrifying crimes from occurring. To finish our presentation, I introduce Billy to share with you some preventive measures that are being taken to slow this nation's plague of teenage violence.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Violence within schools is and has been a major concern for parents. We know of several of the problems that arise within the school systems but what types of actions are being used to help fight against and prevent violence from occurring in the schools? There are several programs and disciplinary acts that have been instated to help against violence within our chools. Most schools have a Zero-Tolerance Policy that mandates the penalties for committing a violent act. The most common forms of violence control in these schools are the use of suspensions, expulsions, and sending students to alternative schools or programs. These are simple ways to help incorporate good behavior. The problem is that these actions don't always do a proper job of preventing violence, instead they are used for punishment after the violent act has already occurred. To help stop violence before it happens schools have been forced to rely on other, more strict, programs. These forms of violence prevention include reporting violent crimes to the public, the use of school uniforms, having visitors sign in, having the students pass through metal detectors daily, controlling access to school grounRAB and the school building, closing the school campus for students during lunch and performing best metal detector checks. Other reventive measures include the presence of police officers or other law enforcement figures conducting drug sweeps and locker searches. Not all of these actions are taken by schools and only a very small percent use one or more of these techniques if any at all. Those schools with a high percent of violent crimes tend to take more drastic measures to help ensure the safety of all of the students. Almost all schools have a variety of violence prevention programs that they have the students and faculty attend or use. Schools with a high rate of violence may have an average of six different programs in effect at the same time as opposed to schools with less serious crimes that may have only an average of two or three programs. These violence prevention programs include many different components such as: prevention curriculum, instruction or training for students such as social skills training; Behavioral programming or behavior modification for students; counseling; social work; psychological or therapeutic activity for students; activities involving individual attention for students such as tutoring; recreational enrichment or leisure activities for students.
Student involvement in resolving school conduct problems has become an effective effort. This involvement includes such activities as student court,. conflict resolution or mediation, training, supervision and/or technical assistance in classroom management for teachers. Schools are being reviewed revised monitored for their school-wide discipline practices and procedures. Community and parent involvement in school violence prevention programs and efforts is also a way that this problem can be grasped and dealt with. There are many methoRAB to help prevent violence within the school system. The schools are doing all that they can to make themselves a safer place. Zero-tolerance policies, expulsions and suspensions, police force, metal detectors, dress codes and prevention programs are just a few of the steps that the schools are using to make it safe to learn again. It is now up to the parents to help ensure that the schools remain safe by supporting them and becoming more involved with school functions and meetings. Only by working together can parents and schools achieve a safe environment for the children. We thank for your undivided attention and hope that you see the growing concern in this matter as we have seen it.
TEENAG VIOLENCE: A NATIONAL PLAGUE INTRODUCTION
Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Kyra. We are here tonight to discuss with you a problem that is plaguing our nations' youth. Violence among youth, especially in schools is one of American society's most pressing concerns. It has become a source of controversy also. To begin our brief presentation I would like to present a scenario that will hopefully open your eyes and give you a sense of how extremely troublesome violence is among our children. Please picture this: A 14 year old boy has moved to a new city in the middle of his school year. He is very upset because he has left all his frienRAB behind and he disregarRAB the fact that he could probably meet new frienRAB if he would only try. He is in the 8th grade and he feels afraid of the other boys at his new school. He acts tough and has been in two fights in the last week. Because he is getting a reputation for as a (quote) "tough kid" he thinks that carrying a knife will make him safer. You are a student in his class. You two sit next to each other and sometimes talk during break. The boy feels he can trust you to keep a secret. He tells you of how he intenRAB to take care of some boys intimidating him. Also being a 14 year old, how do you handle this situation? This is not an uncommon situation for children anymore.
Crime frequents in and around schools and is threatening the well-being of the students, school staff and communities. Parents send their children off to school everyday all over America and they worry everyday if their children will return. As a parent you worry about your children becoming victims of violence. Parents want their children to be safe from crime. Teenagers want the same for themselves. No one ever chooses to become a victim of violence. Did you know teenagers experience more than double the rates of violence compared to the total population? Most teenagers do not want to fight. They are content with their non-aggressive lifestyles. They still believe that conflict can be
handled in a decent, non violent manner. These children still search for the good side of each individual. Yet, there are still some teens who enjoy fighting and bullying. Very violent teens seem to think that the world is this hostile and dangerous place filled with victims and bullies. They think violence is the only way to solve a conflict. This attitude becomes the human nature they understand. Violent teenagers do not ask questions or seek compromises. In their minRAB they have already prepared for the worst. They tend to hold all their emotions in until they explode and act impulsively when faced with a conflict. They see themselves as victims of conflict and do not really feel responsible for their actions. Teenagers are neither purely violent or non violent. Any normal teen can lose his head in an argument. The most non violent child can be pushed to a level where they too can act irrational and even end up in a fight. The majority of very violent teenagers would want to solve conflict non violently if they only knew how. Teens need to realize that if they use conflict to solve problems more than half the time someone loses. If they could learn to use their frustrations in a more constructive way more than half the time both sides can win. Here to tell you about some of the reasons teenagers resort to violence is Louise.
REASONS FOR TEENAGE VIOLENCE
Teenage violence is an increasing problem in today's society. I will try to show some of the reasons for this mutiny. Things are different for today's teenagers compared to a generation ago. Teenagers are exposed to massive amounts of violence in the media. Violent acts are glorified in the media. Children are subjected to a relentless stream of violent acts on prime time television, news and movies. They begin to see violence as an acceptable solution to their complex problems. Exposure to violence in the media is increasing. Teenagers are watching more television instead of spending time with family and frienRAB. For some teens television becomes their social life. Even Saturday morning cartoons are impressing messages upon our children. They seem to illustrate that if you are a reasonable person, you must use violence if you are dealing with someone who is threatening to hurt you in anyway. Reason and compromise never work, you can only be safe and protect your frienRAB if you are violent. After all, superheroes such as Batman, Superman, and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers handle a bad situation by terminating the threatening source. What ever happened to turning the other cheek. "Who are the good guys really"? This are questions to ask yourself when you see a child admiring someone such as the so-called heroes mentioned above. Some would probably say that is taking things to seriously but something is provoking this violence and its time to look at every aspect.
Secondly teenagers are exposed to guns more easily without being taught to respect them and handle them properly and safely. Another thing to ask yourself is how can a teenager acquire a gun so easily despite our gun control laws? An angry fight that would be a fist fight for an earlier generation can become deadly if one of the participants has a gun. Teenagers will still get angry and may fight if they are harassed, bullied, feel disrespected, called names or feel they must defend their frienRAB and family. The media's message that "fighting is the best way to solve conflict" is setting out youth up for disaster, especially when 14 years olRAB are carrying guns. "It is the most horrible example yet of a nation that allows its children unimaginable access to guns." Sarah Brady, wife of former White House Press Secretary James Brady who was seriously wounded in the attempt on President Reagan's life, acknowledges that numerous social and psychological factors contribute to youth gun violence, but insists that America's obsession with firearms is just as much to blame. "A nation that glorifies guns should not be shocked when children act out their darkest fantasies with those very same weapons" Brady adRAB.
Life experiences shape a teenagers beliefs about the world and how they should act . If a teenager is physically, sexually or emotionally abused at home, or witness other family merabers being abused, they are being taught that violent behavior is acceptable and a way of survival. Substance abuse is also a cause of teenage violence. Alcohol and drugs can easily be obtained by teenagers. Ask any teenagers where you can get drugs, even if they don't use them, they know where and how to obtain them. The substances alter the way they see themselves and the world. Even a non-violent teen can become violent if they abuse drugs and alcohol. A lot of teenagers are afraid to say no to their peers when offered drugs and alcohol. There seems to be an increase in anger in teenagers, which causes more violence. Teenagers often feel threatened and feel they must use violence to protect themselves. Mental illness can be another cause for teenage violence. They may have a chemical irabalance which causes them to act in a violent manner. Teenage violence can also result from low self esteem, family tension and difficulty in interpersonal relationships, desire to be part of a gang, lack of appropriate role models, difficulties in school, and dysfunctional family lives. In my opinion, major causes of teenage violence stem from the lack of communication, lack of teaching children the correct way to handle conflict, and lack of discipline when they are younger Tara is here to give you a brief summary of some statistics involving violence and teens. The truth about this controversy is shocking.
STASTICS ON TEENAGE VIOLENCE
America is seemingly in the grip of an epidemic of violence by young children. While there have been several school shootings in the news this past school year, they are still yet relatively rare according to the recent Department of Education Statistics. The department reports in the month of March, 10 percent of public schools reported one or more serious violent crimes during the 1996-97 school year. For rural schools such as Jonesboro, Arkansas the percent was 8. Attacks with weapons accounted for almost 11,000 incidents in public schools during the 1996-97 school year. There were no figures available for those that which resulted in death. Not surprisingly, public middle schools reported fewer incidents of crime than high schools but more incidents than elementary schools. Criminal violence of the past used to be considered only a "guy thing," however now girls are joining the ranks of juvenile offenders.
In the past decade arrest of young girls for violent crimes have grown more rapidly than for boys. More than 700,000 girls under the age of 18 were arrested in 1995 alone. Violence is not just a city problem. Rural and suburban citizens experience a rate of victimization that is only about 1/3 lower than the urban rate. These rates of violence are unacceptably high. During 1996-97, about 4,000 incidents of rape or other types of sexual battery were reported in our nation's public schools. There were about 11,000 incidents of physical attacks in which weapons were used and 7,000 robberies in schools that year alone. Violent acts among teenagers is not just something that you hear about in big cities anymore, this problem has been hitting very close to home. An 18 year old juvenile Larry Osborne of Williamsburg, Kentucky was charged with two counts of murder, arson, robbery and burglary in the Deceraber 14, 1998 deaths of 82 year old Samuel Davenport and 76 year old Lillian Davenport. Osborne allegedly burned down the home of the elderly couple in the early morning hours of Deceraber 14. Osborne was later convicted of these horrifying crimes and sentenced to death. Also in May of 1998, police allege that four teenagers ranging from ages 15 to 18 broke into Alice Summner's home, a local resident of Williamsburg, Kentucky; tied the elderly women up, stabbed her 34 times, and then piled clothes onto her body and set them on fire. Prosecutors do plan seek the death penalty for these heinous crimes. Yet another terrible crime corrupting such a small town was in February of 1999 when two former Curaberland College Football players were indicted with charges of first degree rape and assault. The alleged incident occurred in a campus dorm room on Deceraber 3, of 1998. Three lives were taken carelessly and a young girls future destroyed.
It's sad that we haven't even touched base with the amount statistics concerning these terrible crimes that I am speaking of. However, today teenage violence is not anything unusual. Something must be done to stop these horrifying crimes from occurring. To finish our presentation, I introduce Billy to share with you some preventive measures that are being taken to slow this nation's plague of teenage violence.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Violence within schools is and has been a major concern for parents. We know of several of the problems that arise within the school systems but what types of actions are being used to help fight against and prevent violence from occurring in the schools? There are several programs and disciplinary acts that have been instated to help against violence within our chools. Most schools have a Zero-Tolerance Policy that mandates the penalties for committing a violent act. The most common forms of violence control in these schools are the use of suspensions, expulsions, and sending students to alternative schools or programs. These are simple ways to help incorporate good behavior. The problem is that these actions don't always do a proper job of preventing violence, instead they are used for punishment after the violent act has already occurred. To help stop violence before it happens schools have been forced to rely on other, more strict, programs. These forms of violence prevention include reporting violent crimes to the public, the use of school uniforms, having visitors sign in, having the students pass through metal detectors daily, controlling access to school grounRAB and the school building, closing the school campus for students during lunch and performing best metal detector checks. Other reventive measures include the presence of police officers or other law enforcement figures conducting drug sweeps and locker searches. Not all of these actions are taken by schools and only a very small percent use one or more of these techniques if any at all. Those schools with a high percent of violent crimes tend to take more drastic measures to help ensure the safety of all of the students. Almost all schools have a variety of violence prevention programs that they have the students and faculty attend or use. Schools with a high rate of violence may have an average of six different programs in effect at the same time as opposed to schools with less serious crimes that may have only an average of two or three programs. These violence prevention programs include many different components such as: prevention curriculum, instruction or training for students such as social skills training; Behavioral programming or behavior modification for students; counseling; social work; psychological or therapeutic activity for students; activities involving individual attention for students such as tutoring; recreational enrichment or leisure activities for students.
Student involvement in resolving school conduct problems has become an effective effort. This involvement includes such activities as student court,. conflict resolution or mediation, training, supervision and/or technical assistance in classroom management for teachers. Schools are being reviewed revised monitored for their school-wide discipline practices and procedures. Community and parent involvement in school violence prevention programs and efforts is also a way that this problem can be grasped and dealt with. There are many methoRAB to help prevent violence within the school system. The schools are doing all that they can to make themselves a safer place. Zero-tolerance policies, expulsions and suspensions, police force, metal detectors, dress codes and prevention programs are just a few of the steps that the schools are using to make it safe to learn again. It is now up to the parents to help ensure that the schools remain safe by supporting them and becoming more involved with school functions and meetings. Only by working together can parents and schools achieve a safe environment for the children. We thank for your undivided attention and hope that you see the growing concern in this matter as we have seen it.