by Aurelio Huertas, Jr.
Staff Writer
More than 2,000 students are physically attacked on school grounds each hour, according to a National Education Association. Confrontations that once resulted in scratches and bruises are now ending in gunshots, stab wounds, and even death. An increasing number of children, experts say, encounter high-risk, violent situations every day and choose to protect themselves with weapons close at hand: knives, guns, brass knuckles, and other harmful objects such as razor blades and bottles.
Learning to avoid violent situations and to deal with anger in constructive, nonviolent ways is the foundation of Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents, a conflict resolution curriculum that is being used in more than 5,000 schools in 48 states and 7 countries. By recognizing the risks of violence, examining the factors associated with violence, and discussing and acting out violent scenarios presented in the curriculum, students learn to use analytical thinking strategies to prevent and avoid hostile confrontations and violent behaviors. "The curriculum has definitely made a positive impact in our school children," says Dr. Carl L. Lawson, Sr., principal of Price Elementary on Chicago's South Side. "I don't see those [violent] kinds of behaviors in our young kids anymore."
For many young people, fighting seems to be the only way to save face and free their anger, according to Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D., assistant dean for government and community programs for the Harvard School of Public Health and developer of the violence prevention curriculum. When students are confronted with violent, hostile situations, they think that their only choice is to fight and do not consider other options. Prothrow- Stith's curriculum does not teach students to be passive or ignore their anger, nor does it indicate that they should never fight. Instead, it presents fighting as one of many choices, and encourages students to examine the risks and rewards associated with other options.
According to Prothrow-Stith, many people think that violence cannot be avoided. They accept it as an inevitable part of life. However, she refutes this assumption by treating violence as a controllable disease.
"The fact that violence could have a prevention program to it was a new concept for many people," says Aldophus Kindle, executive director of Chicago's Anti-Drug Coalition, who has taught Prothrow-Stith's violence prevention curriculum at several schools in Chicago. Kindle says people think of violence as an "irrational, uncontrollable" and "unavoidable" response. Prothrow- Stith's curriculum teaches students that violent behaviors can be understood, predicted, and controlled if youth recognize the conditions that lead to violence. This knowledge, Kindle believes, should enable students to make better decisions and avoid violent situations. Through activities such as role playing and acting out hypothetical situations, students learn that fighting is not the only way to resolve disputes. In session 7, for example, students devise and act out roles in a hypothetical fight, which is videotaped. This exercise teaches students that fights do not just happen -- certain steps precede them. Students are asked to recognize the role of peer pressure in fight situations and the increasing level of emotion present during the escalation of a fight. In session 8, students analyze the videotape of the fight exercise and discuss ways in which the violent situation might have been prevented. Students also identify violence prevention methods that might be effective in school.
In yet another session, students learn the different types of violence by creating a "web chart," a word- association exercise. The word VIOLENCE is written on the chalkboard and students are asked to explain the thoughts and feelings that the word evokes. All students' suggestions and comments are recorded on the board to show how the ideas, associations, and images are related to the central concept of violence.
Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents was developed for tenth grade health education classes, but feedback from younger students suggests that the curriculum could be adapted for use in earlier grades and incorporated into school health, sociology, psychology, and other classes.
The curriculum uses a 10-session, 16-module format and includes a videotape, a teacher's guidebook, and several handouts for students. It encompasses a wide range of subjects, including sessions such as Exploring Risk Factors; Anger Is Normal; There Are Healthy and Unhealthy Ways to Express Anger; What Happened Before, During, and After a Fight?; and Preventing Violence. Teachers can serve as facilitators and guide class discussions with no additional training. As discussions progress and a climate of safety and security develops in the classroom, students can begin to feel more comfortable sharing experiences, feelings, and opinions.
To order Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents, contact Millie LeBlanc, EDC Publishing Center, Education Development Center, 55 Chapel Street, Suite 24, Newton, MA 02160, or call 617-969-7100 (outside Massachusetts, call toll-free 800-225-4276) and ask for the Customer Service Department.
Copyright © 1995:
Midwest Regional Center for
Drug-Free Schools & Communities
North Central
Regional Educational Laboratory
Contact: info@ncrel.org
Posted on March 27, 1995
URL: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/sa/3-1conf.htm