Tips for Gauteng Schools to Deal with Violence 

Violence is a serious societal problem, but more especially in public schools. Without addressing this pertinent issue of school violence, it is going to be a futile exercise to try and improve the quality of Gauteng Education, since regardless of how good the teachers or curriculum are, violence makes it difficult for effective teaching and learning to take place.

School violence wears many faces. It includes gang activity, locker thefts, bullying and intimidation, gun use, assault - just about anything that produces a victim. Violence is perpetrated against students, teachers, and staff, and ranges from intentional vendettas to accidental killings of bystanders. Often, discussions of school violence are lumped together with discussions of school discipline generally, as both involve questions of how to maintain order in a school.

We divide school violence-prevention methods into three classes-measures related to school management (that is, related to discipline and punishment), measures related to environmental modification (for instance, video cameras, security guards, and uniforms), and educational and curriculum-based measures (for instance, conflict-resolution and gang-prevention programs). All methods have their advantages and disadvantages.

School Management

The first set of methods we address for dealing with school violence goes under the general term of "school management." These methods include everything related to discipline and punishment administered at the school site-the rules and regulations by which the school is managed, and the consequences of violating these rules.

When the government provides a service, it is also obligated to provide the service fairly. The fact that education is compulsory and that attendance at a particular school is assigned makes the burden on the government all the greater. It is not by accident that public schools have a hard time suspending and expelling students. The

alternative-government-run schools that punish left and right and expel students frivolously-would be even worse. This may also be one of many reasons why public schools generally have a worse record of violence than private schools.

1. Discipline and Punishment

Discipline is somewhat unpopular in the academic literature; according to critics, punishment (even the non-physical kind) can damage relationships, create resentment, compel rather than encourage obedience, and may promote school absenteeism, dropping out, school vandalism, and anxiety. Some anti-discipline educational analysts, are reluctant to endorse imposing teacher values on students, and would limit teachers to the role of bringing out students' natural curiosity which, it is claimed, would make disciplinary problems moot. Much educational literature downplays student-initiated violence, or avoids it altogether, and in any event generally does not bring up the possibility of disapprovingly confronting the student during an act of misbehavior.

A number of disciplinary methods are subject to legal limits. These include suspension and expulsion. Public embarrassment has been successfully challenged in court. So has grade reduction, once used routinely as retaliation for disciplinary infractions; some courts have treated grades as a constitutionally protected "property interest." Dress codes and locker searches have been challenged as well. School officials are also potentially liable for civil damages. Administrators are now increasingly wary of disciplining students. Punishment is often challenged for constitutional reasons, to avoid government abuse, and also because a major mission of schools is said to be social adjustment.

2. Order and authority

While discipline is unpopular in academic circles, some educators see discipline was a kindness on the part of teachers, a necessary part of growing up, as necessary to personal growth. We suspect that even most critics of discipline still, at heart, believe in discipline. It follows that if schools truly want to promote orderly conduct, one way to do so may be to instill in students the moral value of orderly conduct and obedience to one's superiors, in particular teachers and administrators.

Disorder occurs when many students do not recognize the legitimacy of school rules and violate them often, and when many students defy the authority of the enforcers of these rules, that is, teachers and staff. Disorder can take the form of students arriving late, students wandering the halls, or even graffiti and litter. All of these invite students to test the limits further; in fact, testing the rules becomes part of the fun.

B. Some Disciplinary Methods

(1). Behavior and discipline codes One way of setting norms of behavior

is to adopt a written policy clearly prohibiting certain activities, like bringing weapons or harassing other students. "Zero-tolerance" laws, also prohibit a range of activities, from drugs to beepers. Teachers unions, should endorse developing such codes of student conduct.

2. Suspension and expulsion

Suspension or expulsion is a common way of addressing behaviors that fall under the many "zero-tolerance" laws in different states. Unfortunately, data are scant on the effectiveness of increasing suspensions (or expulsions, which can be thought of as simply very long-term suspensions).

Intuition suggests, however, that at least in the school itself, removing a disruptive student from a school will have the salutary effect of removing a source of disruption to other students. In-school suspensions may be more effective than out-of-school suspensions, because students who do not care about school may see out-of-school suspensions as week-long holidays. But how much does suspension change the behavior of such students? "Suspension does not work. Students don't care whether they are suspended or not.

"3. Criminal penalties

Much school violence-such as theft, assault, possession of guns and drugs at school, setting fires-is also criminal in the "real world." Many schools have avoided the use of the police, preferring to rely on their own, internal, disciplinary procedures. But schools are now more likely to treat whatever is a crime outside school as a crime in school, and less likely to decide that "no one was really hurt." They are making greater use of law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

Schools are working together with court officials, probation officers, and other professionals, where court officials give administrators information on convicted criminals returning to school, and probation officers are invited to monitor their charges at school.