March 19, 2007 Hello! At some point, everyone has to deal with conflict.
"con-flict ...
1. A state of open, often prolonged fighting; a battle or
war.
2. A state of disharmony between incompatible or
antithetical persons, ideas, or interests; a clash." Not everyone will fight a war, but there will always be something or someone with which we don't agree. This is a part of life, and even a part of school. The problem is not in the conflict, it is in what people do when there is a conflict. "vi-o-lence ...
When conflicts turn violent, that is when the skills for dealing with conflict have not been effective (or may not exist). What is considered an acceptable way to deal with a conflict for one person, may be considered violent and objectionable to someone else.
"What are the differences between conflict and violence? If
two students are yelling at one another, is that violence?
If they are yelling and shoving, is it violence? If they
are making threats toward each other, is that violence? The
answers are not always clear. Each person, each family,
each school, and each community may have a unique
definition of conflict and violence. Conflict is a natural
part of relating to others. Conflict is also a great
teacher. When handled well, it can increase our
understanding of ourselves and lay the foundation for
creative solutions. However, conflict too often leads to
violence. ... When does conflict become violent? Chuck
Hibbert [a school district security coordinator] states it
succinctly, 'If you have conflict between two individuals
that results in physical altercation, that is violence.'" While many people would consider a "physical altercation" violent, not everyone agrees that there needs to be such an altercation for there to be violence.
"Others see nonphysical acts such as threats, name-calling,
harassment, or stalking as violence. Most agree that if one
student aims a gun at another student, that student is
being violent. Others assert that verbal abuse is violence.
Heidi Durig teaches German at an all-girl school. She
reports that physical violence is practically non-existent.
Instead, she suggests that 'psychological violence' such as
'... back-stabbing, name calling, rumor mongoring,
tattling, and even stealing other girls' "boyfriends" is
more prevalent.'" While "psychological violence" can be just as damaging as physical violence (with the wounds often taking longer to heal), it is often harder to detect. The scars can be easier to hide, and the line between acceptable and unacceptable can be even fuzzier. With these gray areas so difficult to navigate, it is often the escalation in physical violence that people choose to notice and deal with.
"Hair-pulling and eye-gouging used to be the norm if and
when a disagreement between girls escalated into anything
more than name-calling. But no more. Nowadays, girls are
just as likely as boys to throw a right hook or land a
sucker punch. ... 'They [girls] seem to have taken over
areas previously dominated by boys,' said [Shannon Otteson,
a juvenile delinquent defense attorney]. 'I first noticed
it when they began using foul language that used to be
reserved for guys when talking to other guys, then they
began to use hand gestures. Their violence then graduated
from "girl fighting" - pulling hair, scratching, etc. - to
actual punching, hitting, kicking and then to the use of
weapons. They appear to have little or no remorse, and a
kind of "they deserved it" attitude.' ... 'Now, this is my
opinion, but it seems that when there's a girl fight, it's
much more violent than guys,' said [Dr. Nick Migliorino,
principal]. 'They dig in and don't let go. When guys fight
and someone in authority shows up, the fight ends.' Not
true with girls, he said." Schools should be a safe place. It is far more difficult for students to focus on learning when they fear they may be physically or psychologically abused in the halls, at lunch, or even in the classroom. This fear can lead to more than distraction. It can lead to frustration and anger.
"an-ger ... a strong feeling of displeasure and
belligerence aroused by a wrong; wrath; ire." With that anger, the cycle can continue, or a new one can begin. The bullied can become the bully, or the student who cannot control their anger can lash out and end up hurting themselves or someone else. This does not need to be the case.
"When handled in a positive way, anger can help people
stand up for themselves and fight injustices. On the other
hand, anger can lead to violence and injury when not
addressed positively. ... Laws, social norms, and just
plain common sense tell us not to lash out physically or
verbally every time something irritates us. Otherwise, we
could hurt ourselves and others." While anger CAN be handled in a positive way that leads to good things happening, this is not always what actually happens. At a very young age, people begin to learn self-control. As children grow older -- and get bigger and stronger -- the hope is that they will have learned how to deal with the intense emotions in a healthy, non-destructive way. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
"A second-grader in Indiana pulls off his shoe and wields
it as a weapon, striking his teacher. A kindergartner in
Philadelphia punches a pregnant teacher in the stomach. An
8-year-old in Maryland threatens to burn down his suburban
elementary school, plotting where he'll pour the gasoline.
Elementary school principals and safety experts say they're
seeing more violence and aggression than ever among their
youngest students, pointing to what they see as an alarming
rise in assaults and threats to classmates and teachers.
... Chuck Hibbert, coordinator of security for the Wayne
Township, Ind., schools, where the second-grader wielded
his shoe last month, says more primary school students are
'kicking and biting and scratching and hitting' both their
classmates and teachers, in many cases bringing police to
the schoolhouse door. 'If someone had asked me this 10
years ago: "Chuck, how many primary school students have
you responded to?" I would have said, "None." Now it's an
all-too-frequent occurrence,' he says." What happens when children who have not learned how to cope with their anger grow up to be teens and adults? What happens when those who bullied and/ or abused try to find something in their world that they can control? Far too often, the cycle of violence continues. "Teen dating violence, like adult domestic violence, is a pattern of coercive, manipulative behavior that one partner exerts over the other for the purpose of establishing and maintaining power and control. This behavior may take various forms: emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, limiting independence, isolation, threats, intimidation, harassment, minimization, denial and blame. ...
There will always be conflict in life. There will always be conflict in school. This conflict does not have to cross the line to violence, but in order to keep it from doing so there need to be some changes made.
Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. Due to increasing amounts of SPAM sent to this account, please include "QOW" in the subject line when sending me email. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
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