POSITION PAPER NO.3 (NOR FAZELA- 0724448)

“Violence in the school is a result of differences outside school. We as counselors can’t do anything about it”. Discuss.

Conflict is a normal, natural part of everyday life. As we can see, conflict and violence are not synonymous. However, unresolved and lingering conflict frequently leads to violence, interfering with productivity and the quality of life in schools and the community. Extensive data illustrate that instances of violence, including bias related violence and disciplinary problems in schools around the country, are severely interfering with the learning environment of students. Almost 300,000 high school students are attacked physically each month and one in five students in grades 9 through 12 carry a weapon to school (Meek, 1992).

Violence can be described as behavior intended to hurt, injure or kill people, involving e.g. hitting, kicking, or the use of weapons such as knives, guns, or bombs (Federal Chambers Dictionary). Based on definitions above, I can say that the violence will affect to that person who involved in violence and also to other people around them. It means that, this behavior is totally wrong and breaks the rules which are stated in Laws of Malaysia. There is a growing, but we as teacher or counselor have responsibility to handle violence in the schools and prevent its spread throughout the community before they turn violent.

In addition, it is true that violence in the school is a result of differences outside school. It is because students developed from different races, religion, family background, SES, society, friends, and also environment. They may be influenced by outside differences that will lead them to get involve in violent problem. But, as adult that have ability and responsibility to guide and help them to be a normal people, we can do something before it’s become worse. So, it is not true that counselors can’t do anything about violence in the school because of many preventions program that can be manage for them and implement the comprehensive mediation program.

The first argument is counselors can do something about violence in the school because of many preventions program that can be manage for students that involve in violent. For instance, schools have attempted to manage interpersonal conflicts among students, teachers, and administrators by various models of discipline, such as referrals to the principal's office, detention, suspension, and expulsion. The goal of prevention strategies is to stop school violence from occurring. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are at least four levels at which violence-prevention programs that is society in general, the school community, the family, and the individual.

The second argument is counselors can do something about violence in the school such as implementation of comprehensive mediation program. For example, peer mediation programs, where students are trained generally to resolve the problems involving other students, have been shown to be an effective means of resolving that particular problems in school settings. Further, they learn about responsibilities as well as rights, about consequences as well as choices. More importantly, maybe for the first time in their lives, they learn non-violent ways that they can choose to resolve their conflicts. They learn that they can succeed at resolving conflicts peaceably, that they can resolve problems without resorting to violence. They also develop a capacity to empathize with others through that program.

However, some people may claimed that counselor can’t do anything about the issue of the violence because it is involve of different kind of culture, race, environment, family and so on. They said that, through the program being implemented at school is useless because the violence still happen and became serious. But, if all parties “berganding bahu” to prevent, cure and accept the students who involve in violent without put the value (stereotype) on them it will be a successful comprehensive program in the school.

In conclusion, success of prevention and mediation efforts should be involve all parties and studied in terms of broader issues of changing ways of thinking about and responding to conflict as well as specific improvements in school discipline and student behavior. Hence, I believed that counselor can do beneficial program for those who get involved in violent. I believed on them. It is not their fault if their parents do not know how to care, educate, guide or discipline them or, worse, have no time for them. We should try our best to help and guide them. After all, they are our future.