Fear of school violence?

According to statistics from the People's Representative Electronic Newspaper, from the 2017-2018 school year to the 2021-2022 school year, there were 2,624 cases of "school violence" nationwide with 7,209 subjects involved.

However, the number of casesschool violencecertainly not stop on the statistics board of the authorities because not every case is filmed and then spread… It is impossible to imagine a living space where every morning when driving out on the street, taking the children to school, one is always worried about their safety. This in the long run risks becoming a psychological trauma, not only for the victims, but for the whole community.

It is undeniable that violence occurs too often and is related to schools at different levels, not only among students but also among teachers, although it may not be much. It is really shameful that those who stand on the podium every day to nurture the qualities of the younger generation are the authors of violent acts, even including those who work in management and leadership. Note that I am talking about the behavior between colleagues here. Whether teachers accidentally hit students with a stick or scold them a few times is a story that should be discussed on another occasion, from a different perspective.

One thing that everyone probably realizes is that we are living in a period where violence has become common. Every day when we open the newspaper or social networking sites, we read information about fights and killings, even though the cause is sometimes just a minor collision while participating in traffic, or even just an accidental glance.

When swinging a knife to take someone's life has become easy in a large part of society, and there are people who calmly film and distribute these clips, it is also the time when people become more and more cruel, aggressive and insensitive. At the national and ethnic level, political instability is becoming more and more common and erupts into bloody wars, from territorial and resource disputes to geopolitical influence struggles. From this perspective, school violence is first and foremost the presence of a negative effect on life in general.

Thus, violence that occurs in an educational environment is essentially the result of bringing violent psychology and actions into school. The four words “school violence” separated and confined in the educational environment often give the feeling of “punishing the industry”. People with intelligence and conscience certainly do not want violence. In life, no one wants to have a bad reputation and consequences. Clarity and generosity in perception and evaluation are always the key to finding positive solutions. I would like to add that many cases of students fighting outside the school are also considered school violence. Suppose they take off their uniforms and throw away their school bags, who knows where they are. Just because they wear uniforms does not mean they can calmly consider it “school”!

The question is, why does violence occur more frequently in secondary schools, especially middle and high schools, and especially during this period? There are at least four points to note.

First, age psychology. Reality cannot be changed and is certainly a very important cause leading to violent behavior. The period from middle school to high school is the period when children are gradually forming and perfecting their personalities with rich and complex psychological changes, including what educational psychology calls "building self-image". The urge to assert personality and bravery will give rise to deviant behaviors, including violent behavior, if they are not monitored, advised, shared and oriented by knowledgeable and responsible people. I personally agree with the emphasis on the importance of school psychological counseling activities of the 2018 General Education Program.

Family education is ranked as the second reason, because the family is the first cradle of children in life, and that space, including members and culture, education, morality, lifestyle... will be the living environment of children at least until the age of 18, except for special cases where children study far from home. If from a young age, children have received a good family education, then most of them will naturally know how to behave in the way of educated teenagers. The danger is that it seems that the education of our children is becoming careless.

Third, the sanctions are not strong enough to deter students who violate the rules. Suspending a few classes does not mean much loss in the end, and in fact, being suspended from school for a few classes, or even a few weeks… can be a joy for individual students.

And fourth, it is partly a consequence of the phenomenon of information technology and social networks being used in an unhealthy way. Because, the dissemination of violent images and content, in the end, if not controlled, intentionally or unintentionally, is also a way to promote violent actions./.