Schoolgirl Fight Uploaded To YouTube
I remember this essay test that applicants to our company have to write. It is something about technology being a boon or a bane. One brilliant essay writer wrote that it really is neither per se; that it depends on how humans make use of it. And when I read about this recent example of school violence in Queensland, I couldn’t help but think about that essay.
What happened was that some school girls from Ipswich State High School staged a fight. They were cheered on by more than 50 students, and when a teacher – or teachers, rather - tried to break up the fight, they were attacked on by another girl who was not in school uniform. This video was subsequently uploaded to YouTube, which of course, glamorized the whole thing even more.
Mind you, the fight was not a mere cat fight. It was not pretty by any means. A group of young girls ganged up on one blonde girl, kicking, punching, and scratching her. There were many instances wherein the attackers would punch the victim all at the same time.
So what do the school authorities have to say about this? According to a spokesman of Education Queensland, the incident has been resolved, together with another fight that occurred between some schoolgirls and boys from the same school. That second fight occurred at a shopping center. The spokesman said further that they had no knowledge of the video prior to being contacted by the media. Needless to say, the video has been pulled out of YouTube.
This piece of news is disturbing to say the least. For one, the fact that school children take pains to set up fights AND video tape them AND upload them to the Internet is simply not a good sign. It shows what kind of thinking prevails. These kids think it is cool to have such fights. They think that it is even cooler to film them and share the video.
Obviously, peer pressure has a lot to do with the situation. And again, I believe that one of the main solutions lies in the family. Children have to be taught certain values and principles from the beginning. Without this kind of training, they can be easily swayed by what their peers think is cool and acceptable.
Since these incidents occurred outside of the school, we can’t really hold the school authorities responsible. They do, however, have a responsibility to check on bullying and other similar issues within the premises. Again, the ball is in the parents’ court, don’t you think?
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Posted on June 5th, 2009 by Deborah J Thomas
Filed under: Administrators, Bullying, Fighting, High School, News, Parents, Peer Pressure, People Involved, School Safety Issues, Students, Violence
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