School violence is one of the most serious problems nowadays but are mostly visible during high school. From elementary to Cegep, I have noticed that more violence occur during high school years.When boys become men, they tend to grow the need of power and dominance. They develop aggressiveness. “It says that masculinity is characterized by willingness to take physical risks and become violent if necessary.” (Kilmartin 6) Although I have experienced seeing more fights between girls than boys, but the guys tend to get more violent. I have also noticed that not many adults have been involved with these fights. School boards tend to ignore these type of situations because they mostly care about the schools reputation. CBC stepped in this topic in order to get answers and know more on why they don’t do much about school violence.
The team at Marketplace was investigating about students harming other students, physically and emotionally. They also found out that kids don’t always tell authorities or adults what is happening to them, because they’re afraid that nothing will happen and won’t get any help.School boards tend to ignore this issue so they decided to go directly to students by doing an online survey on school violence. About 4,000 young people did a survey about their school years from elementary to high school or CEGEP.Half the respondents were between the ages of 14 and 17 while the rest were 18 to 21, young adults whose experience it in their school.(CBC)
Another survey showed that 41% of boys say they were physically assaulted at high school; 26% of girls say they experienced unwanted sexual contact at school.(CBC)When it happens in schools and isn’t addressed, students learn that sexual misconduct is acceptable, even normal. School boards are still hiding this secret while they’re not doing much, it is hard to see much progress in ensuring the students safety in schools. This just shows how much they care about their reputation instead of the kids’ safety,health and environment. The sad part is that some parents aren’t aware of what is happening in their kids’ schools. The information collected needs to be put out there in order to end school violations and assaults to protect these students.
In this generation, social media plays a huge role in teenagers everyday lives. It has also resulted in cyberbullying which will most likely lead into physical violence. Parents should be aware of what happens in their electronic devices. Parents should also be a role model to their kids, especially their sons. To help them grow into a respectful man, tell them that it’s okay to be emotional and sensitive. The way they are treated at home is what leads them to act a certain way at school and towards people. Men should be able show what true “Masculinity” is and not what society makes them see. In my opinion, school boards should offer guidance counselors that will be able to guide these students in situations like this.
In conclusion, school violence should be decreasing anda not the opposite. For many years, it has been affecting these students and will most likely traumatize them for the rest of their lives.Masculinity plays a big role in this type of situations for the boys. They should grow to learn that it’s okay to be soft or to have characteristics that “men” aren’t supposed to have. Our society needs to teach these kids that it’s okay to be one’s true self and not what society expects from them. It shouldn’t be stereotypicalized, our generation should become better for the next generations in order for them to not go through this negativity.
Resources:
Kimmel, Michael. “Masculinity.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 1-5. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 June 2014. 1-5. Print.
Why CBC Started Looking into Violence in Schools, CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/school-violence-editors-note-1.5331402.
Bennett W. ,Paul. “Student Violence,Bullying and Sexual Assault.” October 30,2019.https://www.edcan.ca/articles/student-violence-bullying-and-sexual-assault/
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 