Look at school violence from a different angle

THE EDITOR, Madam:

In an article in the The Gleaner Dr Horace Chang, minister of national security, highlighted the state of affairs in our schools regarding violence and scamming. He emphasised the urgent need to prioritise social intervention strategies alongside police support.

No doubt, challenges facing our schools are multifaceted, and the solutions are neither simple nor straightforward. With school out for the summer holidays, the school leaders and the Ministry of Education should re-evaluate their school structures beyond anti-violence plans and school-wide positive behavioural interventions and support mantras. The schools should scrutinise their hidden and null curricula, where a culture of bullying may be implicit and entrenched. No principal or school leader may want to admit that their school might be systemically complicit in these acts, but we must take a different approach and reassess our strategies.

The school environment, for many children, represents a universe where they are exposed to, and even taught, violence. As a parent and educator, I am deeply troubled. As my child transitions into high school, I cannot help but be concerned about what she might encounter in this atmosphere. Too many students are witnessing and experiencing violence in an environment where they should be focused on learning and enjoying their education. A UNICEF report outlined that nine in 10 students have seen a child being bullied at school, and many students fear going to school because of bullying and school violence.

Viewing school violence, especially bullying, as a generational problem rather than one of the individual child reveals its connection to the manifestations of power within school organisations. The important questions that need to be asked are (1) What underlying systemic elements make bullying prevalent in schools? (2) Could schools have systemic structures that inadvertently promote or tolerate bullying and other violence?

We must recognise that certain long-standing practices, such as drawing on age or physical strength and engaging in ‘ragging’ or ‘grubbing’, contribute to a systemic issue. Some students learn to utilise bullying as a means to influence others and navigate school both socially and academically. Research shows that being bullied is not a harmless rite of passage, but casts a shadow over people’s lives even into adulthood.

We can train teachers on anti-bullying strategies and implement protocols, but the problem must also be addressed systemically. For instance, if a school implicitly values dominance, competition, and conformity over empathy, students may internalise these values and express them through bullying. By examining the organisational structure and psychosocial climate of schools, we can gain insights on how to better promote equity in school experiences of all learners, especially those at risk – our new students who are seen as been ‘grubs’.

We need to take another look at school violence from a different angle.

SHELLON SAMUELS-WHITE