Philadelphia High School Deemed Violent
Written by Deborah J Thomas
Filed under: High School, News, People Involved, School Grade Level, School Safety Issues, Security, Vandalizim, Violence
What do you think is worse, outsiders condemning a school to be violent or insiders admitting to violence within the school? To be honest with you, I am not quite sure if one is worse than the other. However, when people within the school admit themselves that violence is a problem within the school premises, then I suppose that there is a serious issue on hand, indeed.
This seems to be the case at the Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. For this particular case, the teachers were the ones who took steps to highlight the problem of violence in their school. A group of teachers penned a letter aiming to point out the situation in the school. They expressed their “deep concern for the safety of their student population.”
What triggered this action? What is the situation at Thomas Edison High School that the teachers were prompted to take action? In their letter, they outlined the various incidences of violence in the school. These violent incidents range from acts of vandalisms, break ins, to the beating of the student. According to the concerned teachers, the incident wherein a 16 year old student brought a loaded hand gun to school (this happened on the 7th of May) was the straw that broke the camel’s back so to speak.
Personally, I think that this action is long due. I am not talking about Thomas Edison High School in particular, but schools that experience violence in general. All too often, we hear about teachers and school staff dealing with violence in their environment as if nothing could be done about it. They get so used to the culture of violence in school that they do not really make an effort to try to get rid of it anymore – they simply deal with it as a part of life.
I know, it is not as simple as merely writing a letter and denouncing violence. Yet this is certainly a step – a step in the proper direction. Acknowledging that there is a problem will give way to solving that problem.
I just hope that whoever the letter was addressed to, these Philadelphia teachers will get an answer and a concrete plan of action to deal with their concerns. I suppose that the solution will lie in the hands of not only the school and its staff but the government and the parents of the school children as well.
Don't miss another post -- subscribe by email or RSS today!