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The Answer To School Violence |
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Today I received a high honor. It happened as my three-year-old
daughter and I were listening to classical music in the car. Ever since
we took her to see the Nutcracker she has referred to any type of
classical music as "ballerina music", so the music reminded her of her
upcoming dance recital. She reminded me that she was going to dance on
the stage in a "pretty ballerina dress", and then surprised me by
asking, "Daddy, will you dance on the stage with me?"
In addition to being touched and honored, I was reminded of a tape lent
to me by one of the elders of my church, Jeff Loveland. On the tape
Josh McDowell was speaking at a one-year memorial service for the
victims of the Columbine shooting. He gave some fascinating statistics
about the relationships of children and their parents that every
American should hear.
McDowell commissioned a definitive study of the last 17 school
shootings. On the surface, the results were the same as dozens of other
similar studies; there seems to be no "profile" of a teenage killer.
They come from poor, middle class and rich homes. Some are nerds and
geeks; some are the most popular kids in school. They come from a
variety of races and religions. Some make good grades; some don't. Some
have been bullied, others are the bullies. McDowell went below the
surface, and discovered a common thread that other studies missed or
ignored. He found that in every case, the families of the murderers
were superficially normal, but were in fact dysfunctional when it came
to the relationship of the children with their parents. In particular,
the fathers were either absent or minimally involved in parenting.
After making this discovery, McDowell commissioned another study that
involved 2,000 children ages 12 to 17, and 1,000 parents. The study
revealed that children raised in a SINGLE PARENT home were 30% MORE
LIKELY than the national average to be involved in drugs, alcohol, and
violence. I can almost hear some of you saying, "That's no surprise.
I've always felt that divorce was the major cause of youth violence.
I'm glad WE have two parents raising our children."
Read on.
Adolescents raised in TWO PARENT families in which the father had a
poor to fair relationship with his children were 68% MORE LIKELY than
the national average to have problems with drugs, alcohol, and
violence! That floored me. Two parents in the home are no defense
against the problems we're discussing, unless the father is close to
his children. If he is not, his children are at more than twice the
risk of children raised in single parent homes.
The final statistic shows us the answer to school violence, as well as
a host of other problems affecting our youth. Teenagers raised in two
parent families in which the father had a good to excellent
relationship with his children were 96% LESS LIKELY than the national
average to become involved with drugs, alcohol, and violence.
These statistics show us that many of the things that we have assumed
would protect our children will not do so. You can raise your children
in a two parent family in a "good" neighborhood, send them to a "good"
school, and even take them to church. But if there is a lack of
emotional attachment, if there is no loving bond between the children
and their parents, particularly the father, children of every
background are at risk. In essence, this study shows that if the boys
who killed their fellow students in Colorado had enjoyed a loving
relationship with their fathers, Columbine would never have happened.
THIS ARTICLE DESCRIBES THE LONG-TERM ANSWER TO SCHOOL VIOLENCE. What
can we do in the short term? Our schools are full of students who have
been raised without the love and guidance of a father. What can we do
right now to make schools safer for our children?
ABC had a segment on Good Morning America this week in which a dozen
high school students from different parts of the country were asked
about school violence. The author of "Jack and Jill, Why They Kill",
James Shaw, was also interviewed. He said, "It's time we got serious
about finding a cure, not simply tending to the symptoms." He described
two girls ages 12 & 13, who decided to murder another girl. They
were caught with a box full of knives and razor blades when another
student informed on them. He told about a 15-year-old boy who almost
succeeded in blowing up his school. Gun restrictions wouldn't have
stopped these kids. If they can't find a gun, they'll use poison or
explosives. Shaw feels the problem is that kids don't value human life.
This is the result of taking God out of the schools.
The students who were interviewed said they didn't feel safe in school.
They complained that in some of their schools as many as 90%of the
students engaged in some form of violence or drug use on campus. Most
felt that school administrators did little other than suspend
violators, who were soon back in school committing the same offenses.
Teachers are also afraid. All across the country teachers have been
assaulted, raped and murdered by students. I have interviewed high
school teachers who illegally carry guns to school because they are
afraid of their own students. They can't enforce discipline because the
school boards and courts are so liberal.
What is the answer? There isn't one answer. For the children, a
good starting place might be an anger management course. Parents
or teachers who see signs of unusual anger in teens would do well to
visit <a
href="http://www.angermgmt.org">http://www.angermgmt.org</a> .
The New Hope Anger Management program has been featured on CBS Sunday
Morning, NBC Extra, Time Magazine, and several radio broadcasts such as
Health Journal and National Public Radio. They provide materials and
courses to help people of all ages deal with anger.
A good starting place for the schools would be to adopt strict
disciplinary policies, and for the school boards to appeal decisions of
liberal judges who try to weaken them. Children need a structured
environment, and most will respond to fairly administered discipline.
For those who don't, society has provided an alternative structured
environment that used to be called reform school. No one wants to
remove kids from school, but if the alternative is an environment where
children aren't able to learn because they are constantly afraid, then
"one should suffer for the good of many." Especially if the "one" is a
child who brings knives and guns to school and threatens others?
Tom is the Editor and Publisher for Conservative Truth.
The Conservative Truth is published weekly. Each issue is read by
approximately 50,000 people worldwide.
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