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The fact of the matter is that violence is all around, especially in our schools. One reason for this is because a lot of changes occur in school. For example, the transition from grade school to high school, puberty, or a switch to different friends, can put a lot of stress on students because it leaves them outside of their comfort zones. Man s propensity for violence is not a racial or species attribute It is culturally conditioned by history and the ways of life Violence is most common in highly competitive societies, particularly during periods of rapid change that upset social order (Bender and Leone, pg. 44). This is an understandable concept because life is a highly competitive game. It s no surprise that violence occurs in America s schools. After all, how couldn t someone expect something to happen while a student is in adolescence going through changes in school and by stepping out of there comfort zones?

Sometimes one may be able to spot troublemakers or bullies or be able to tell by student s actions if that student poses a violent threat to the school. Moreover, some people even feel that software may be able to help make schools safe. For example, is it possible for one to believe that there is software that could have spotted Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, the two students that attacked Columbine High School, before they had a chance to attack? Actually, there is software called Mosaic-2000, which is supposed to be capable of performing this function (Steinberg, pg. 118). Though evaluators haven t tested it, it is an idea that could help deter violence. More than likely, this software would never work. One-problem professionals feel would happen is that the software would mislabel innocent students as dangerous (Steinberg, pg. 118). It is known that it is impossible to predict a violent act before it happens. Until this software has been scientifically tested, it should not be used because it would give the schools the right to reprimand a student just because the machine says the student falls under the qualification of dangerous (Steinberg, pg. 118). It s foolish to believe that software would have been able to predict the Columbine tragedy or any other violent act for that matter.

One other way that experts feel is a way to prevent violence in our schools is by helping those with drug abuse problems. It has been proven that those who use drugs tend to be more violent. Dr. Steinberg feels that if we could do a better job of identifying and treating adults with serious mental health and substance abuse problems, we would see a decline in antisocial behavior among young people (Rothstein, 17). Though studies have shown that violence is increasing in schools, apparently drug use is not increasing, contrary to the fact that drug use has doubled among teenagers since 1991 (Falco, pg. 91). Instead of using machines to try to make predictions on dangerous students, getting help for those with substance abuse problems is a more concrete way of trying to make a difference in the struggle against violence in America s schools. Research has shown us that the reduction of violence is due to the prevention of drug use. With the way things are now in this country, I feel that this is probably the most effective way to prevent violence in our nation s schools.

Even though crime is all around in our schools, apparently juvenile crime is said to be decreasing, it s just that the media covers so much of it, it makes it sound like it s on the rise. Polls show that Americans believe that juveniles are responsible for 43% of homicides, but actually they are only responsible for about 9%. Nearly two thirds of Americans think juvenile crime is on the increase, but in reality, there has been a 58% decrease in juvenile homicides since 1994 Ironically though, a poll in the Washington Post reports that for two thirds of the parents, school violence is the thing that worries them the most these days (Shiraldi, pg. 14). On the other hand, and on the other side of the country, California Superintendent of Public Institution, Delaine Eastin, feels that the schools in California continuously offer sanctuary for the majority of students (Kim, pg. 98). The safety in our schools fluctuates throughout the country. There is no denying that crime and violence is all around in our schools. When it all comes down to it, which would be the safest place to send one s child, to an urban or a suburban school?

Maybe an urban school is safer. I mean they have metal detectors and security all over the school. One thing is that raising a child in an urban area can be risky. The most important outcome for inner city youth is ducking the bullet (McLaghlin and Langman, PG 4). This deadly bullet can be described as a metaphor for a situation where a girl gets pregnant at the age of sixteen, or a young man gets locked up at the age of eighteen. This is a hard bullet to dodge growing up as an inner city youth. If this risk is too much for one, then maybe the suburbs are an ideal place to raise and send a child to school. After all, students don t have to walk through metal detectors when they step in the front doors of school. Before making that decision, maybe one s mind would change if one heard about the outbreak of white supremacists called the Devil Dogs in the suburbs of Arizona.

Mostly comprised of athletes, this group of teenagers engage in anabolic steroids, have guns hidden under false floors of cars, and have fight club parties in empty swimming pools. The devil dogs committed numerous amounts of violent crimes and murders. The majority of the time, they got away with the crimes. They got away with it because the majority of the town was white and the devil dogs are in good with the teachers and coaches of their school. Every time they were arrested, their teachers and coaches wrote letters to the

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