The news reports cover the most horrific crimes committed in schools - shootings, etc.
What about what happens every day?
Here are some statistics about SC schools from the years 1996 - 1998. The following data comes from this source: http://www.scdps.org/ojp/school_violence_findings.html Feel free to read everything in detail if you have a strong stomach. Or meds. Or both.
Please keep in mind that SC is not a large state, either. To find out statistics for your state, try Googling "statistics+violence+school+your state"
Violence:
A total of 11, 548 violent offenses were reported in SC for grades K-12 for the years 1996-1998. (My question is, "How many were not reported?")
Of these reported offenses, the breakdown is as follows:
Aggravated Assault
1,303
Forcible Fondling
337
Forcible Sodomy
36
Intimidation
2,023
Murder
2
Rape
84
Robbery
160
Simple Assault
7,585
Sexual Assault w Object
18
Total
11,548
I don't know about you, but these statistics really scare the heck out of me. These are just the ones that were reported. What about the incidents that were not reported because the victim was too afraid come forward and talk to the police?
My kids did not go to a horrible school. They really didn't. But they did see fistfights and assualts on teachers on a regular basis (not to mention kids hurting each other). A pregnant teacher was kicked in the stomach. Another teacher was so shaken because of injuries she received while trying to break up a fight between students that she left and went home.
This is wrong. Throwing money at the problem won't change things. Putting a program into place at school when the child's home life is the cause of the behavior won't help the situation.
So what can be done? I'd love to hear some of your ideas. (I'll write about mine on my next post).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Another great entry...although I wonder if bomb threats should be in that list. We had six...yes...SIX bomb threats made by teenagers to three different schools this past spring and one was to the elementary school my boys would have been going to had we chosen public school. Scary...very scary! And we live in a fairly small town of approximately 17,000 people. What's wrong with people these days? Several of the children from that elementary school are now homeschooled as they are too terrified to go back!
Equinespirit -
Thank you for the compliment! :D
I will be posting more stats as I find them. These are only the stats for violent incidents - not ones that are threatened.
I know our local schools have had several bomb threats - many of them, in fact. It is truly a sad, sad commentary on schools today - and society as a whole.
There is nothing funny about a bomb threat. There are enough evil people in the world to take every bomb threat seriously.
Think about it -
The fear and stress caused to the staff, kids, parents, extended families.
The fear for the whole communtiy.
Waste of resources - police, ambulances, bomb squads, bomb-sniffing dogs, etc., etc., etc. And I am sure many parents miss several days of work for several days afterwards in lieu of sending their kids back to the school.
Truth be known - I would imagine that some parents leave their jobs in order to stay home with the kids and homeschool.
It is such a sad state of affairs.....
Post a Comment