Responsibillity

Should We Be Responsible:  Where Does the Responsibility Lie?

Our school climate has truly changed over the years.  It was at one time very common for students particularly males to have a confrontation and have a fist fight with another male student.   Though rare as it may seem, the girls would fight each other as well. Now girls  are even becoming more violent than in years past.  There are also instances in which the girls will confront the boys and vice versa.  What is the world coming to?  It makes me think – is it truly what you see, is what you get in some households?  Undoubtedly there are parents who teach their child to be respectful of each other. If there is a problem they often tell their child to tell somebody so that they may help them. If a child sees violence in the household or in the community as a means to solve problems, then it is to that student, what you see is what you get.  Could this possibly be a learned behavior that is fed by the media, home situations or other outside stimuli as the solution to the problem?  My guess again, is that students are learning from the time they are born so it must be what you see is what you get?   

So where does our responsibility lie?  Should we take on this issue? I believe that there are individuals who are a product of their environment but with the tools and resources I think change can occur.  But let me say this, it has to be an investment on all individuals.  Anyone who is forced into a situation is likely to be rebellious until they figure that the goals are attainable and measureable.  The key word is beneficial to the student.

So as educators and principals is it our job to foster this learning?   Well, if our goal is to foster students to be productive citizens in such a diverse society, then why not?  If there are no tools at home then sometimes we must provide the tools in order to promote a safe learning environment conducive to learning in an educational setting.  Once we teach students what we want the school climate to be? How we want it to be?  We offer students the guidelines to make them feel comfortable about a situation; they become active participants in the process. Students, parent, principals as well as other stakeholders have to invest in promoting unity too?

As a result, I think students will begin to understand that it is okay to have differences of opinions and culture differences.  However respecting those differences is a learning experience that could be useful in their educational experience. So to be proactive a program with guideline to address issues that may be causes of bullying or violent situations as well as other conflicts that may arise should be established with input from all stakeholders.