School violence

School violence

Students need adults to listen when they describe real-life problems

April 5, 2001

State officials have been talking to high school students about bullying, and in particular how such behavior may be related to school violence. What they have heard is disturbing.

Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar met with a dozen students Tuesday. He had brought them together to get their take on proposed legislation intended to address school bullying. Salazar is supporting Senate Bill 80, a measure by state Sen. Penfield Tate, D-Denver, that would require school districts to include a policy on bullying in their conduct and behavior codes.

Another legislate measure, House Bill 1292, seeks to promote the teaching of responsibility, honesty and respect. It would encourage school districts to put into place more character-education programs.

It should come as little surprise, however, that the students had their own ideas — and their own experiences of the problem.

They acknowledged that the problem exists, but said existing programs do little to help. Moreover, they expressed no confidence that new legislation would help.

One student told Salazar that in her experience bullying was rampant and, she said, "Nothing has changed. Just look at the recent school shootings in California."

Tate, who has talked to other students across the state, said he has heard similar comments.

The students, however, were not impressed by his legislative responses.

"People act on their own. It’s not up to you to put decisions in their heads. I think it would be a waste of money," said one student from Denver. And, more than half thought that teaching character is a job for parents.

Their idea was to teach students to fight back.

Given the firepower now available in schools, however, it is doubtful that many parents would second that proposal. More than half the students who met with Salazar said they knew someone who took a gun to school.

What is worse, only one out of the group said he would tell school authorities if he saw a gun. The rest said they would quietly leave school. Their fear was that reporting that another student had a gun would lead to further harassment.

Tate said student input is critical to the success of any new program, and in that he is undoubtedly correct. The rest of his analysis is less certain.

"What young people are telling us," he said, "is we want your help, we want your assistance, but doggone it, listen to us." And that might be exactly what they are trying to say.

But from what Salazar’s group said, the message they want to get across might be closer to "Get a clue."

We have always known that our children’s world will be different than our own. Perhaps what we need to learn is that it already is.