There is definitely a problem with school violence today. The last six

years have shown us that violence in our school society is more common

today than ever before. Whether the violence has to do with guns, knives, or

just a simple fight, school violence is getting a little out of hand. There have

been several school shootings in the last few years, and the number of school

shootings seems to be growing rapidly these days.When the last figures were

taken by the government, educators had found more than 2,000 weapons

stashed by students in lockers, backpacks and pockets in the 1996-97 school

year. These school shootings and the discovery of all these weapons makes

parents wonder if their children really are safe at school anymore. When

parents begin to worry about their children at school, everyone should

realize there is far too much violence at school. School violence is a big

issue, and the problem seems to be getting worse every year.

National statistics show schools are the safest place in children's lives,

but this seems to be a questionable fact nowadays. School violence has been

growing rapidly for the past six years. Every time there is an occurrence of

violence more kids are afraid to go to school. Every child has the right to an

education in a safe and secure environment, and violence in our nation's

schools seems to come as a threat to this right. This is one sign that school

violence is out of hand, and something has to be done. School violence is

probably one of the biggest problems in the nation, this is said with regard to

all the school shootings that have taken place in the past six years. School

violence is an issue that everyone may recognize but not everyone is doing

something to help prevent it.

In the past six years, several school shootings have taken place,

starting the 2nd of February 1996, in Moses Lake, Washington. Barry

Loukaitis opened fire in his algebra class, killing 2 students and a teacher.

There was another shooting in the same month, February 19, 1996. This

shooting took place in Bethel, Alaska, killing the principal and a student.

There were three more shootings in 1997, including a shooting in Pearl,

Mississippi on October 1, where two students were killed and seven were

wounded, by a 16 year old boy. In 1998 there were five school shootings, the

Jonesboro shooting would be one of these five occurrences. Four students

and one teacher were killed in the Jonesboro shooting, and there were ten

others wounded. Also, in 1999 there were three shootings. The biggest of

these shootings was the Columbine shooting, which took place April 20th

1999, where 14 students were killed along with one teacher, that doesn't

include the other twenty-three that were wounded. Its sad to say that these

aren't even all the shootings that occurred, there were seven other shootings

that took place as well. Twelve shootings in six years, this would tell anyone

that there is a major problem with violence in schools today.

The problem with school violence is that no one watches for it, and it

usually involves someone you least suspect. Violence isn't just the

shootings, it includes all the things done at school that no one seems to hear

about. Petty fights, name calling, and excluding people you think don't

belong are just some of these unheard crimes. These little things can lead up

to something big, something no one is expecting, for example a shooting.

One kid can destroy a whole school, with a gun, but something must have

made this person feel hatred toward school, and people. The little things no

one thinks will do harm are things that make a person feel hatred towards

something or someone. Name calling is violence, uncomparable to killing

someone or hurting them physically, but it does hurt them mentally and that

can do more harm then anyone could ever think. There is a problem with

violence in school, and although some people think of the large number of

violent acts committed in schools in the recent past, as a mere coincidence, a

quick solution is immediately required.