Health Updates
NEA Spotlights School Safety
Jonathan was scared and worried. He had heard of the tragic,
fatal shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. He had
also heard about the shootings in Paducah, Kentucky; Pearl,
Mississippi; and Santee, California, over the past few years.
Jonathan had every reason to feel the way he did. There were
hundreds of thousands of schools in the United States where
no such incidents had occurred. Still, he couldn't help but
wonder: Could it happen here?
The Safe Schools Network
Like Jonathan, people across the nation are concerned about
just how safe our schools are. In response, the National Education
Association (NEA) and the Learning First Alliance have established
the NEA Safe Schools Network.
The program publishes and distributes resources and publications
on school safety to schools nationwide. It also produces and
broadcasts a number of programs on developing strategies and
plans for creating and maintaining a safe environment for
students and school staff. The basic assumption of all of
these programs is that students learn best and reach their
full potential in a safe, orderly environment.
The NEA Network believes not only schools are responsible
for keeping children and teens safe. The experts feel that
families and communities ought to share the responsibility.
The network's goals are thus:
- To get more people—students, parents, school staff—talking
about school safety.
- To help build strong, supportive communities.
- To motivate people to take an active part in creating
safe schools and neighborhoods.
Getting the Message Out
School safety is not the only issue at stake. Other factors
contribute to establishing a safe school environment. These
include child abuse and neglect, television violence, gangs,
bullying, hate and bias on campus, improving parent-child
communication, and dealing with drug and alcohol use among
students.
The NEA program has already created and broadcast a number
of programs focusing on one or more of these topics. One show
teaches anger management. Students learn how their feelings
and actions affect themselves and their classmates.
Another program helps students analyze messages they see
and hear in the media. They learn to understand the possible
negative impact of these messages on their thoughts and actions.
Breaking the Silence
Many teens once believed in a "code of silence"
that discouraged them from telling an adult about another
teen's violent or potentially violent behavior. Teens are
learning that it's okay to break the silence.
Friends do tell. If you see another teen committing a violent
act, if you think a teen may become violent, or if you are
the target of violence, tell a close friend. Then tell an
adult. It could be the principal, a teacher, a guidance counselor,
a parent, or another adult you trust. Make an anonymous call.
Take responsibility for the type of environment you help create
in your school. By telling an adult, you are actually helping
a troubled teen get assistance.
Violence Is on the Decline
Remember, despite the reports of school shootings in the
media, school violence has actually dropped over the past
10 years. Experts say schools are still safer than the streets,
the mall, even the home.
Just the Facts
- Who does the NEA feel should is responsible for keeping
children and teens safe?
- Name two solutions proposed by the NEA program to make
schools safer.
Beyond the Facts
- What steps has your school taken to improve safety on
campus? What other steps do you think could be taken?
- What other problems related to teens have a "code
of silence" surrounding them? Why is such a code always
a bad idea?
Applying the Facts
Each time another school shooting or act of violence occurs
on school grounds, many students ask the same question Jonathan
did at the beginning of this article: Could it happen here?
Armed with information from the article, write a 30-second
public service announcement explaining to students in your
school what they can do to help make the answer to that question
"no." If possible, read your PSA over the school's
public address system.
