Caring teachers and other adults intervene in fights and other instances of bullying at school. They don't just walk by or watch. From Columbine, we learn that in failing to stop bullying we run the risk of extreme violence and retaliation. While the typical adolescent talks a lot about breaking away from families and adult supervision, when given a chance in private, many students report that schools need to be more closely monitored and supervised by adults in order to be safe places. Adolescents need and are requesting greater supervision than we have previously considered.
Students say surveillance cameras help to identify the perpetrators after the fact.
They report that metal detectors encourage some students to bring weapons to school to see if they can get away with it. Neither are adequate school safety strategies and neither address the underlying causes and contributors to violence on campus. We need to listen to kids for answers to violence reduction and improving school safety. They are the ones in the environment all day. They are the ones experiencing the problems.