Who could be behind the red, faded mask of this ninja? What human being could be so cruel as to put another through such unimaginable pain? Simple, this human being, this psychopathic ninja is none other than little nine-year-old Johnny from across the street. Making things even easier, Johnny is doing all this harm from the comfort of his bedroom, controller in hand, playing his favorite Nintendo game, Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
With such gruesome events such as these happening almost constantly in an ever-increasing number of homes across America, one has to wonder, how is this going to affect our children? We have PlayStations, GameBoys, Nintendo 64s, Sega Dreamcasts, PCs, and more. All of these mediums offer people of all ages, including children, access to interactive, violent experiences such as the one depicted above. From the media’s favorite example Doom to lesser known, much more violent games such as Acclaim’s first-person shooting game Turok 3, video game violence is more prevalent than ever. The biggest concern when it comes to video games of this nature is if having them available to y…
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The Quest to End Violence in Schools
There seems to be a growing rate of juvenile violence in the world
today, most of which occurs in schools. The magnitude of the nation’s
concern about school violence is reflected in Goal 2010: Educate America
Act. It states by the year 2010, every school in America will be free
of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive
to learning. No child or youth should be fearful on the way to school,
be afraid while there, or have to cope with pressures to make unhealthy
choices” (U. S. Department of Education, 1997). When teachers and
students worry more about their safety than about education, they aren’t
focusing on teaching or learning. Schools where violence occur causes
students not to focus on academics, meeting standards, or even staying
in school.
“School violence is not a new occurrence. It dates back to the 1950s
where it wasn’t a problem of discipline, but of delinquency. There was
an increase in the serious and less serious antisocial behavior on the
part of our youth” (Williams, 1979). The major difference from the
1950s and now is the use of weapons.
Violence doesn’t just occur in one type of school. “Public, private,
and nonsectarian have all experienced an increase in school violence.
Nine per cent of public, seven per cent of private, and six per cent of
nonsectarian school students reported being victims of violent acts or
property crimes in 1989″ (U. S. Department of Justice, 1991). No
geographical location seems to be excluded. “In a National School
Boards Association (NSBA) survey of 1,216 administrators, 54% of
suburban and 64% of urban officials reported more violent acts in their
school in 1993 than five years before” (National School Board
Association, 1994). All communities across the country appear to be
dealing with the issue of school violence.
“There are generally three types of students, often called the 80-15-5
rule. Eighty per cent of students rarely break the rules or violate
principles. Fifteen per cent break the rules on a somewhat regular
basis by refusing classroom principles and restrictions. These students
can disrupt learning for all the other students, if their expectations
of their behavior aren’t expressed.