Whether you want to believe it or not, school violence is a thing. We’re not talking about bullying (either in person or cyber-bullying, though those are clearly huge issues for school aged children as well, but we’re talking about more serious school violence. Columbine. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook. While those names are sadly well known to many people, there are many, many more instances of school violence that just aren’t as widely reported as these. According to Wikipedia, there were 51 school shootings between 2000-2009, 97 between 2010 and 2014, with 31 in 2014 alone. And that is just accounting for school shootings and only in the United States – that doesn’t include other types of violence (stabbing and physical fighting for example). 

So what’s a teacher to do? (This piece from CBS on teachers and firearms training is really interesting, too). Involving everyone is the first step – teachers, administrators, students, parents, the community. The handy infographic below looks at how to include students in preventing school violence. Keep reading to learn more!

Involving Students in Preventing School Violence

• Students need a safe and anonymous way to be a part of the solution
• 1,000,000 students are injured or threatened with a weapon each year at school
• Nearly 90,000 students end up in the ER each year due to school violence
• 18% of high school students report having carried a weapon of some kind to school at least once in the past 30 days
• In 4 out of 5 school shootings, at least one person had knowledge of the plan prior to the attack
• 83% of middle school students say they would report violence if they could do it anonymously
• One hotline has received over 40,o00 calls since its inception

How can you encourage your students to help prevent violence in school? Weigh in by leaving a comment below, mentioning @Edudemic on Twitter or leaving your thoughts on our Facebook page.