Forum
Crime and Violence Has
Chilling Affect in Schools
Columnist George Will relates the story
of a Chicago mother who purchased a hand
gun and some ammunition after she overheard
men in the small family restaurant she owns
saying, "This is an easy place to stick up." Her
son took the gun from her purse and put it in
his school gym bag because a classmate who
had stolen his candy threatened to shoot him if
The fear and anxiety generated by the
prevalence of crime and violence have a telling
effect on every facet of life but especially within
schools. This is because fear and anxiety are
absolutely counterproductive to the true mission
of education. School should be one place, in
addition to. the family, where -a child's self
esteem can be developed from within, from a
he didn t give
him more
candy. Her son
is 6 years old.
A New
York Times
story about a
teacher shot on
the way to class
C
\ ^ J"
came under this heading: "Stuck in the Shoul
der in the Year's First Shooting Inside a
School." The implication is that there is more
_ to come..
Both of these incidents provide a glimpse
into a sad but realistic commentary on what is
happening in many of our nation's schools.
First, they aptly demonstrate how the fight
against crime is ultimately a fight for freedom.
The fear of crime and of being victimized has
greatly compromised the freedom of our
young people and teachers to go to school
without major concerns for their personal
safety.
Second, these stories, and so many others
l^ke them, Show a clear trend toward normaliz
ing deviant behaviors that at one time would
have been considered intolerable by any stan
dards. New York Sen. Pat Moynihan notes
that in 1929. Chicago's St. Valentine's Day
Massacre shocked the nation. Four gangsters
machine-gunned seven gangsters. Yet today,
such carnage would be part of a "normal"
weekend in many cities. As crime levels rise
while being increasingly tolerated, the message
conveyed is that there is little expectation of
improvement. As just one example, crime pre
vention gets redefined as crime resistance. And
the innocent resort to things like displaying signs
on their car windows that read, "No Stereo," in
hopes that a thief will bypass their vehicle for
one with more promise.
GUEST COLUMNIST
| By RON BARKER
genuine sense of achievement and worth gained
from learning and being cared for. Likewise, it
should be a place where teachers are free to teach
- and contribute to a child s optimal development.
However, this purpose is undermined when
a child s fear leads to self-alienation instead of
participation in the learning process. It is under
mined when a child concludes that self-worth
depend^-on tnumphing over others. And learning
is thwarted when a teacher's fear diminishes his
ability to teach as more time gets consumed with
disciplinary concerns. As within any social insti
tution. paranoia also precludes trust and damages
morale within the entire school environment. The
result is that all participants in the system can
stay locked in a survival mode, while draining
away much needed energy and attention that are
required for learning and teaching.
Young people need stroking and affirming,
but they also need confronting and challenging.
A genuine and lasting sense of self-worth must
be connected with sound values and strong char
acter. This truth must be modeled by both par
ents and teachers inside and outside our schools.
Otherw ise, we are implying that all one needs to
do at school or anywhere else is just come and be
present with no accountability, no discipline, and
with no challenge to go out and apply oneself to
living responsibly even day in the real world.
( The writer is the Forsyth County Sheriff
and former teacher in Forsyth County schools.)
Violence in Our Schools Stems
From Changes in Community
One of the major contributing factors in
the increase in school violence is the popula
tion shift and the damage it has caused in our
communities. Many of the evils imposed dur
the Jim Crow era-aetualty- backfired by
having positive effects on the African Ameri
can community. In our communities before
integration, all African- Americans lived
together. We were gerry manded to a certain
section of town. This meant that our neighbor
hoods included persons from varied socio-eco
nomic backgrounds. The poor lived down the
street from the affluent and college graduates
lived next to the self-taught.
If you look closely at this condition, you
can see how that which was intended to
demean us was used by us to our advantages. In
the community there were positive role models
there were human resources and th^-r was a
sense of community. If there was not a positive
role model in our home, one could surely be
found next door, down the street or around the
corner.
Great teachers made the difference; they knew
what we could do because they knew what
obstacles they had already overcome. These
teachers had high standards, expected great
things and motivated their students to reach
new heights. Violence was not a problem
because expectations teachers had for students
led to positive results.
A third factor could be the chance vn the
job market. Even in a cruel, unjust and demor
alizing society there was a possibility for
meaningful stable employment. One could
often hope for and obtain a job that could pro
vide for the financial needs of his or her fam
ily. A job at R.J. Reynolds. Western Electric or
Mclean Trucking meant that you could get
married, support your family, educate your
children, and even take a vacation. Black men
and women could work and plan for a better
day for their children. There was hope.
However, the current ratio of black to
white teachers and administrators in schools
Our commu
nities were a
source of strength.
Today's neighbor
hoods are popu
lated by persons
with similar socio
economic back
grounls and educational levels. The strength
of th<* community and sense of community are
absent now. Neighborhoods populated with
only low-income residents are not fertile
breeding grounds for hope and upward mobil
ity.
School staffing can also directly influence
the level of violence in our schools. Many
African-American youngsters can complete
elementary school without ever having been
taught by a person from their race. This person
could have filled the void of mentor, and their
absence is certainly detrimental. In my genera
tion. professional options were limited, and
many multi-talented African-Americans chose
education from this short list. These person put
their many skills and abilities into their chosen
profession and. their students flourished even
in under-funded and inadequate facilities. A
person who today might be a lawyer or judge
would have been a history or social studies
teacher in my generation.
GUEST COLUMN
By PEYTON HAIRSTON SR.
*
could cause a black child to attend the public
schools for 13 years (K-12) and not have a
black teacher. There is even a greater chance
that he/she will not find one who will make an
impact on their lives.
The availability of guns, the drug trade, the
lack of jobs and meaningful work, the low
expectation of children at school and racism all
play a great part in this problem. Let us not be
fooled into thinking that the probJem of vio
lence is not an outgrowth of the problems
listed in this article. Although black students
are not responsible for all the problems of vio
lence in schools, a large portion which they are
responsible for has its roots in the problem
listed.
We can be sure that we will not solve the
problem in school until it is addressed in our
communities.
(The writer is principal at Union Cross
Elementary School.)
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HJE'REAIL
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ABOUT IT.
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