"Medicine" to treat school violence

A few days ago, a video clip recording the image of a female student of Hai Duong Vocational College being beaten posted on social media once again made many people worried about current school violence. Two students were fighting but their friends and those present at the time did not stop them, and even joined in cheering for the above action.

This is not the first time a video clip of violence among students has appeared on social media. Previously, in March, in Nam Sach, there were two consecutive fights between students from the District Vocational Education - Continuing Education Center and Phan Boi Chau High School. One student was seriously injured and had to be taken to the emergency room.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, in a school year, nearly 1,600 cases of students fighting inside and outside of school occurred nationwide (an average of about 5 cases/day). Most of the cases of students fighting and scuffling stem from small conflicts in class, in life, gossiping about each other on social networks... Notably, recently, the number of violent cases occurring among female students has increased. Images of them being pulled by the hair, having their clothes torn... are terrifying.

After each case was discovered, the students received punishments, but that was just the tip of the iceberg because in reality, many cases of violence still silently took place in schools without being discovered. I know that there are students who have to endure boycott, badmouthing, and isolation from their friends. In some places, students even form groups to badmouth each other on social networks. Many students have to endure both academic pressure and trauma from being bullied online, leading to depression.

School is a place that provides children with knowledge to enter life, a place that gives wings to their dreams, and can be a place where parents entrust their children for safety and friendliness. However, if we do not pay attention to school violence (SV) and it occurs frequently, schools can be a place that hides unpredictable pain, silently affecting children's psychology.

It is easy to see that after each school violence incident, the simple solution is dialogue between the school and the family. In mild cases, the person who caused the incident will apologize to the other party, in severe cases, the school will expel the student. However, this is only a temporary solution, not solving the root of the problem.

In Japan or Sweden, schools often organize school psychology courses for teachers. Most schools here have their own email addresses so that students can confide their feelings, sensitive and difficult to talk about matters. When detecting bullying, schools in Japan also have a good way to handle it, which is self-isolation or emotional experience. Self-isolation means letting students who have committed violent acts sit in a quiet room, write down their actions on paper, and evaluate how those actions hurt their friends... They experience their emotions by "changing roles". Friend A said something insulting to friend B, now let friend B change roles and reenact those words to friend A, so that friend A can better understand the mental trauma that friend B has suffered. In addition, some schools have established a specialized force to handle bullying, so that when an incident occurs, they will get involved and have an appropriate way to handle it.

It is time to find a specific medicine to treat ADHD. That medicine must be “prepared” with the love and care of the family, the school and the whole society. The school and the family need to become a trusted place for children to express and share their thoughts, feelings and frustrations. When students are ready to share, we will have an effective solution to help them overcome the crisis, stay away from deviant behaviors, and thereby move towards better thoughts and actions.

BAO ANH