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Toxic Schools: Their Effects on Students and How to Implement Positive Change



EssayChat / Dec 30, 2016

Schools can be a place of violence, fear, and anxiety for children and teens of any age. From the issues of bullying, drugs, peer-pressure, fights, and death, children have much to worry over in today's school system. A toxic school can be of any size and in any location not just in inner cities. The right blend of disrespect, anger, and lack of discipline can turn an ordinary school into an unhealthy and dysfunctional environment very quickly. Toxic schools can change. Interventions can be implemented to set rules and give swift punishment to those who break them. Toxic school systems do not have to exist. Administration, Principals, and School Boards turn a blind eye to students when they should be taking an extremely active role in giving students a safe atmosphere in which to learn. In this paper the many harmful effects a toxic school has on students will be examined. Solutions will be given as a proposal of change.

Toxic StudentAlice Honig says a toxic school is "an environment that discourages learning and actively creates fears, encourages dropouts, and promotes deviant behaviors of cliques and gangs." This is the antithesis of a school's purpose. The mere fact that there are such toxic school systems means that those children and teens are receiving a lesser education than all other students in non-toxic school settings, which is unfair. "Children count on and need predictability in the persons they encounter daily" and when classmates act out or are volatile it produces fear, depression, shame, emotionally" (Honig). This becomes worst-case scenario when the children cannot depend upon teachers or principals to protect them, believe them, or help them when they ask.

After the harrowing events at Columbine the principal stated he had "no idea" that the two perpetrators were undergoing incessant emotional torture by their classmates. Other issues that those in authority figures at schools miss are violent bullying in bathrooms, between classes, on the playground, on buses, and in the locker rooms. Some teachers, principals, and even police use the excuse that this is normal childhood behavior and do nothing. This is what causes children to keep everything to themselves and eventually some have a breakdown and tragedy results. "Weak school leadership and disorganization, low emphasis on academics, lack of support for students, and unclear rules and norms correlate with higher rates of student misconduct, and student and teacher victimization" (Limbos & Casteel). The evidence of toxic schools shows that the burden of change lies with the administration and authority of the schools. Implementation of clear rules and regulations, punishments and rewards would make any school turn around .

The first step in making change for a toxic school is for the teachers and principal to be present with the student body. Before school, walking the halls, during lunch, and during after school bus and parental pickup the teachers and principal should be seen among the students. If there is not enough staff to go around the local police department can cooperate to send an officer or two to walk halls at random times. "As the percentage of certified teachers and student to staff ratios increased: school crime decreased." One important factor regarding teachers is to find appropriate teachers to be proactive towards ending school toxicity. Those teachers that display aggressive techniques or have repeatedly been reported for condescending talk toward students are not helpful to the cause. The teachers model behavior for students. Those teachers displaying negatively oriented behaviors should be cut from the team . "Values are the foundation of school organization cultures because they have a profound influence on whether school administrators and teachers emphasize individual autonomy over teamwork, entrenched tradition over innovation, or fierce competition over constructive collaboration." Teachers and principals must strictly enforce an environment in which they are respected by students based on mutual trust, understanding, and positivity, and caring. "Students and teachers set the rationale for following preconceived notions of compliance or noncompliant behavior by the structure of the circumstances in the classroom." A blend of new and experienced teachers with a new vision and a principal with a plan can make a perfect start.

The next step is to end the immediate threats of violence, drugs, and crime within the school. The correct solution could be random weekly locker searches, metal detectors, and armed police on duty during school hours for safety if needed. The student body needs to be notified that a zero tolerance policy on bullying, violence, drugs, and other misconduct will be swiftly handled and appropriated to the proper authorities. This needs to be posted on all entryways and around the school and letters need to be sent to parents. At-risk students need to be identified and compassionately given the opportunity to speak and be heard and counseled for their needs. Those students in the at-risk category can range from having "families with a criminal history of abuse, drug abuse, or to the student himself having a criminal record, using drugs, a known mental disorder or neurological disorder, or a student who belongs to a gang."

If teachers, parents, and principals work together to create a zero tolerance policy on all forms of bullying, teasing, violence, and crime in the school with actions to back up their policies, the misconduct will decrease. At the same time implementing new strategies to promote enthusiasm, positive values, and appropriate models of behavior and taking an active role in the lives of students, the student body will respond favorably. Change may take a while, but it will prove effective in creating a safe haven for students to take their first steps into their bright future.

References

Boulter, L. Family-school connection and school violence prevention. University Educational Review.

Honig, A. S. High schools can be "toxic". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72(3), 456-459.

Kelly, S. Producing success: The culture of personal advancement in an american high school. Contemporary Sociology, 40(1), 25-27.

Rhodes, V., Stevens, D., & Hemmings, A. Creating positive culture in a new urban high school. The High School Journal, 94(3), 82-94.

Stevick, E. D., Levinson, B. A., & U. From noncompliance to columbine: Capturing student perspectives to understand noncompliance and violence in public schools. The Urban Review, 35(4), 323-349.


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