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The problem of violence in schools, which is part of the overall problem of violence in society, has become one of the most pressing educational issues in the United States. In many school districts, concerns about violence have even surpassed academic achievement--traditionally the most persistent theme on the nation's education agenda--as the highest priority for reform and intervention.(1) Public clamorings over the need to do something about violence in schools has brought the issue to a critical juncture; if schools fail to respond decisively to this problem, popular support for public education may be endangered. The escalation of violent incidents and the apparent inadequacy of traditional methods to curtail them has led to a search for new strategies to ensure the safety and security of children and teachers in schools.(2)
Accepting the fact that it may not be realistic to expect that schools can ever be completely immune from the violence that plagues our society, this article seeks to understand why schools may be especially vulnerable to its occurrence. Current efforts aimed at combating violence may, in fact, have the opposite effect, particularly given the weakening of the moral authority schools once enjoyed. Following a brief critique of popular strategies used to curtail school violence, my analysis begins by examining how the early preoccupation with social control influenced the design and operation of schools at the turn of the century. From there I consider the practical and symbolic effects of the ways in which discipline is typically exercised in school, and analyze the race and class dynamics among the population that is most frequently targeted for punishment. Finally, I discuss alternative approaches to addressing the problem of violence and strategies that have been shown to be effective alternative routes to school safety.
The search for solutions to the problem of violence in schools has generated a package of remedies that closely resembles those used to combat the threat of violence and crime in U. S. society.(3) Some of the more popular measures include: the installation of metal detectors at school entrances to prevent students from bringing weapons onto school grounds;(4) the enactment of "zero tolerance" policies that guarantee the automatic removal of students (through either suspension, expulsion, or transfer) who perpetrate acts of violence;(5) and...