Violence - An Impediment to Learning

VIOLENCE AS AN IMPEDIMENT TO EDUCATION

 

The Justice Department (1991) corroborated the NSBA (1994) study stating that 82 percent of the school officials surveyed believe school violence has increased in the past five years, especially student-on-student violence.

Violence or the threat of violence has a direct impact on the quality of education provided and on the way teachers and students work together in the classroom. Students are very perceptive. They may not articulate their perceptions, but most students know whether or not they are receiving a good education, an education that will prepare them to compete in the job market, college, or anywhere else. When students perceive that their education is inadequate or inferior, when the expectations for them are less than for others in the class, they often develop a sense of helplessness and frustration (Futrell, 1994). This sense of frustration often turns to anger and violence when they don't know how to handle the obstacles to an effective education. For example, academic failure in school contributes to delinquency, antisocial behavior, and criminal activity-all of which can lead to violence. According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation Network report, The Challenge of Youth Violence (Sausjord & Friedman, 1994), "Youth who lack basic skills and a strong sense of self-worth are more likely to be drawn into violence."

Students frequently act out their hostility by being disruptive. This in turn creates an atmosphere in the classroom and the school that militates against constructive teaching and learning. For example, teachers are less apt to teach at their full potential, class assignments are less creative and challenging, and the ethos in the school is less motivating if tension constantly permeates the environment. In addition, teachers, like students, are less eager to go to school every day. Thus, students in these schools are much more likely to be taught by a "revolving door" of substitutes (Kozol, 1991; Wise, 1993).