Posted on August 24, 2011, in Books, Ideas to try, Perspectives and tagged building trust, bullying, compassion, empathy, essential understandings, harassment, new school year, respect, statistics, violence continuum. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
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SCHOOL CLIMATE 
Very sobering and thought-provoking statistics. But you have done so much more than just raise awareness of this societal problem! In your latest book,The Violence Continuum: Creating a Safe School Climate, you provide excellent guidance for every educator who cares about creating a safe, productive educational environment for their students.
Wow, 90% of the LGBT students experienced harassment? Very sad.
And this is happening in a period in history when we have made strides in safeguarding the civil rights of people who were once openly discriminated against. It is a social phenomenon that as groups of people gain rights there is a corresponding backlash that holds on tightly to the past. In the meantime young people are being traumatized – on our watch. Not acceptable.
Thank you for your comments. I do hope I can raise awareness and spark action. It is such a basic issue of human relationships. When we bring it to that level we know what to do. The statistics are hopeful in some ways and also point out where to concentrate our efforts. With less than 2% of child and young adult homicides and suicides happening at school, it makes more sense to concentrate our efforts on the more insidious attitudes and behaviors that damage children emotionally and make it harder for them to learn. And when less than one third of 6-12th graders have confidence in their ability to make thoughtful decisions, we know we need to provide them with more opportunities to practice and hone these skills. And maybe most encouraging of all is that the vast majority of teachers feel they should intervene when they witness bullying. As we form a deeper understanding of bullying and relational aggression, scapegoating and harassment we can address all aspects of emotional and physical violence. I am optimistic.