All school violence begins with bullying. Serious school violence starts with seemingly innocent bullying or put-downs that eventually escalates into violence involving guns or knives. The lack of respect for another person s human rights, the most common factor in all criminal behaviors, begins with school bullying. Schools are a breeding ground for this criminal behavior and pose a serious threat to the public safety if not addressed when it first appears. It is possible to identify bullying behavior as early as pre-school or kindergarten.
Schools can tell who the bullies are by the sixth week of the school year.
School violence is on the increase . In virtually every school shooting, bullying has been a factor. As in the Littleton shootings, most of the students who committed these violent crimes were victims of bullying who finally decided to get revenge against the bullies. The role of bullying in the Columbine massacre. We must learn the lessons of the Columbine massacre if we are to prevent it from happening again.