William J. Bennett has devoted most of his professional life to improving America's schools and studying what works in education. He is the former U.S. Secretary of Education. Dr. Bennett has also served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

He says, "It's obvious that the breakdown of the traditional two-parent family is having a dramatic impact on this country, especially when it comes to our children and education. It's having a dramatically negative impact, in my view. The plight of the traditional family has been much discussed in the media, in books, and in scholarly circles....The problem is well known to virtually everyone. And the educational research is clear: Take one parent permanently out of the home, and the health of the child is likely to suffer. The boy or girl is more likely to suffer educationally, physically, economically, and psychologically. This doesn't mean that a single parent cannot do a good job of raising children. Many do, but even they will admit that it is very difficult to do alone.

interview with William Bennett

Victims of violence in America today

are most likely to be between the ages of 12 and 24.  According to MTV: Music Television research, violence is the number one concern overall among its viewers.  And, in a recent American Psychological Association (APA)/Penn, Schoen + Berland poll, 40 percent of youth say they have been oncerned about a potentially violent classmate.

Did you know that...

Author Kathy Noll author of Taking the Bully by the Horns says,  "6.5 million boys and 3.5 million girls are involved in fights every year in America? Plus, 4.5 million kids are threatened with bodily harm each year. The American Justice Department says this month 1 out of every 4 kids will experience severe abuse from another youth. In a Midwestern study, 76.8% of the children surveyed said they had been BULLIED. And 14% of those who were bullied said they experienced severe (bad) reactions to the abuse. It's time to do something about it!

Violence comes in many forms

Today, more than ever parents are more likely to humiliate their children, watching parents and other children  as they play sports, whether it is soccer, baseball, basketball or ice hockey. These parents are often times threatening and violent to referees and coaches when they feel that the game isn't going "right for them".
The role of parents in sports

APA and MTV have teamed up

To help youth proactively address the problem of violence, APA and MTV have teamed up to provide youth with information about identifying the warning signs of violent behavior and how to get help if they recognize these signs in themselves or their peers.  APA and MTV have also co-produced a “Warning Signs” Web site and guide that will further help young people recognize when a classmate or friend might be a potential danger to themselves or others.  The guide can be obtained by calling the APA at (800) 268-0078 or “Warning Signs” project

Comments

Violence in My Backyard
From: Nancy Glissmann
...We are in the Boulder Valley School District here in Colorado, which is a fantastic school district. The school they attend is an excellent one and there is an incredible amount of parent involvement, not only in the classroom but in fundraising activities. The bottom line is that the teachers are ALL overburdened.

What I would like to say here is that we are all extremely devastated by what has happened at Columbine High School in Littleton. I know so many people who have been touched by this either through a friend who is a SWAT team member, a teacher who is a friend of their's, or other ways. I, myself, do not know anyone but I can certainly put myself in those parent's place who no longer have a daughter or son and my heart absolutely aches for them. I beg of you all to please consider that your involvement in changing this nationwide problem is as important as anyone else's. It can happen on a bus, a train, a plane, a shopping mall, or any public place. This problem belongs to all of us.

From: Linda Gallo
Deer Valley USD
City News Writer/Photographer
I would like to thank you for all of the positive information about violence in our schools.  As an educator for some 30+ years at both religious and secular levels, and as a substitute teacher for the past 6+ years in the Deer Valley School District, Phoenix, AZ, I have sadly witnessed a slow deterioration of respect for life in our public schools.  There is an appalling lack of moral training and an even greater lack of positive role models for our youth. Teaching has become a hazardous occupation.  I have already been involved in a lock down while on a kindergarten assignment, narrowly missed another assignment covered by a local PE teacher wherein a student attacked him with a knife (for which the student received a 3 day suspension from school), had a paperback novel thrown at me when I turned to put a tape in the VCR - in a high school class, had 2 high school boys walk out of my class to pursue a fight with another in the hall outside, had a gang of 6th graders chase my son on his way home from school, had one 4th grader complain that she was being abused by her stepfather, had a 7th grader complain that he wanted to commit suicide because the other students called him "fat," and a multitude of other similarly harrowing experiences - just as a substitute teacher.  Needless to say, substitute teachers are few and far between here.

I've often resorted to my training in morality, ethics, philosophy, psychology and meditation practices which was learned and used in catechetical classes.  Sadly too many children no longer attend religious education classes at their local church and do not have benefit of these valuable educational tools for personal growth.  They see themselves as victims not victors.  There is no one to tell them how wonder-full they are and so they believe what their peers tell them - the "blind leading the blind."  What they see and hear in the media appear to be the worst society has to offer by way of role models.  There is so little offered them that contains a positive message about being a "fully actualized" human being.  They are beset and besieged by wars - on foreign soils and on their own campuses.  Man's inhumanity to man begins with the individual yet so many individuals find it necessary to be part of a gang  in order to be accepted.  The "security" they seek comes from the inside;  youth is seeking its answers and solutions from the outside (because that is the way of  a sensationalized media).  Society has been duped into believing that if people wear certain clothing, or listen to particular music, or hang with a special 'in' crowd, they are "acceptable" human beings.  They have been given the idea that personal growth is a biological phenomenon - not a spiritual adventure.  Maturity is regarded as an accumulation of years, not the ability to be responsible for one's actions or to foresee the consequences of those actions before taking them.  Where are society's role models of such maturity?

The first law of morality is "do the best you can in any situation and neither man nor God will ask more of you."  What those two young men did in Littleton was not the best they could do - it was the worst choice they could have made.  My 14 year old turned to me and asked quite innocently, "What do people expect kids to do when they see their country bombing innocent people in Bosnia?"  I was hard pressed to answer for indeed I had to ask myself, "is this the BEST we can do" to rid the world of violence, hatred, intemperance and a disrespect for life?   What signals are we sending our children?  What moral values do we express when we ban guns and use bombs?  Are we dealing with "situation ethics?"  Do the "ends justify the means?" These are the moral questions that no one seems wont to address but they are the underpinning of our moral fabric as a nation - albeit as human beings.  We are predicting our own extinction when we have so little consideration for our progeny that we as much as tell them "do what I say but don't do as I do."  Actions are speaking louder than words and our youth are re-acting adversely and violently.

It is time the adults stop passing the buck to the children; it is time for us to set the examples that our children need.  Our future is in their hands - but let's not put it there before they are ready  and willing to accept it.

From: Barry Sherwood
Linda Gallo's comments on morality hit the nail on the head with reference to violence in school and America.

I have been a peace officer for 20 years and have seen the decline in morals and the general respect for life. It worries me that all too often people want to blame others for their own problems instead of placing responsibility where it belongs.  The public school administrators do not like to admit they have a problem with morals in the schools. They duck and dodge any controversial issue and refuse to face it. These tactics eventually end in the type of tragedy we have seen in Colorado. They hold the future in their hands but fail to teach the basic moral values.

I agree that the teaching of morals should start in the home but the school has to reinforce these values. It has to address all issues when students show disrespect for authority or the feelings of their fellow students.

I for one refuse to send my kids to public school due to these issues and instead opt for home schooling. It allows me to spend more quality time with my children and I am directly involved in their development and moral training.

The Entire World is our Classroom
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Meet the Author
James D. Sutton, EdD, CSP
author of "If My Kid’s So Nice…
Why Is He Driving Me Crazy?"
hosted by Joe Spataro
with a FREE excerpt Chap7: The "Quick Fix"
He speaks to us about a variant on ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) called the "The Good Kid Disorder." As an educator, he has taught everything from grade school to graduate school. His interest in working with emotionally troubled youngsters motivated him to earn a doctorate in psychology. Today, Dr. Sutton addresses the needs of young people as a consulting psychologist, an author, and an accomplished speaker. Find out more.