Exploring School Violence and Dignity: Opinion Editorial, UNCC100

This essay, written for the UNCC100 course, addresses the rising issue of school violence in Australia, highlighting the concerns of parents and school authorities. It explores the various factors contributing to this issue, including media influence, access to weapons, cyber abuse, and family environment. The essay emphasizes the detrimental effects of school violence on students' physical and psychological well-being, as well as its impact on the school environment and students' academic performance. It discusses how school violence damages the dignity of both victims and assailants, violating the principles of the common good. The essay concludes by stressing the need for effective rules and regulations to mitigate school violence, advocating for a collaborative approach between teachers and parents, and encouraging extracurricular activities to reduce tension and promote positive behavioral traits among students. The essay references several sources to support its arguments.

Opinion Editorial
Increasing Violence in school

Opinion Editorial
Increasing Violence in school
Principle of dignity of the human person
Violence at Australian School is the most common phenomenon and it is evident that the
incidences of violation at schools are growing day by day. In this context, these incidences of
school violence have grown the concern of both the parents and the school authorities. It is
observed that currently, the children are becoming unrest and disturbed. They are experiencing
violence in the various media sources that encourage them to apply violence to their friends.
There are many critical reasons like easy access to the weapons, incidences of cyber abuse,
family environment, school’s impact, community influence, personal alienation, which are the
influential factors to raise the incidences of school violation.
Principle of the common good
The incidents of school violations have a severe effect on the students. The school students are
mainly children and the incidences of violence affect them both physically and psychologically.
The effects range from small injury to severe depression and even often contemplating suicide.
Besides this, the violence at school has huge impacts on the school environment and the
reputation of respective schools damage relentlessly. The school violation also impacts on the
learning and development of the students. The students who experience school violence undergo
severe fear while they are at school and thus it is difficult for them to provide adequate
concentration on education. Hence, the academic careers of the students are hampered
significantly. Furthermore, school violence also provides a bad impact on the future of students.
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Hence, the school authorities have to develop effective rules and regulations to control the
incidences related to school violence (Ascd, 2018).
Account of the issue
The incidences of school violence severely harm the dignity of the human person and both the
victim and the assailant are affected. The violence within the schools damages the dignity of the
victimized students as they have to face severe consequences during the incidences of school
violence. They use to feel insulted when they undergo school violence. Hence, it damages their
sense of pride as a human being. The human dignity is mainly the quality of being noble,
honorable and worthy. The conscious sense of human being makes the human feel that he/she
also deserves honor and respect from the other human being. The dignity of the victim students
thus spoil and they feel insecure and low because of the incidents of school violence. It often
grows inferiority complex among the victimized students.
Student’ s professional practice, now and in the future
The assailant students are also influenced by school violence incidences. It also damages their
dignity as they injure the life of other students. The other student does not respect the assailant
student and often they are marginalized by the other students. It also impacts on the psyche of the
students who indulge in school violence (Ccsww, 2019).
The incidence of school violence also breaches the principles of the common good, which
emphasize the good and wellbeing of the whole society. Here the violence at schools hampers
the philosophical concept of the common good (Democraciaparticipativa, 2018).
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Monitoring school violence is very essential as it could lead to significant vulnerability. Bullying
and violence were said to be the major issues in educational institutions. These issues have a
significant impact on the student in terms of both psychological and physical. The educational
activities of students are hampered to a great extent. Absenteeism would be another outcome of
this issue. This issue needs to be properly managed and monitored by the staff members of the
institution. A few important steps need to be taken by the management and principle of school to
mitigate this issue (Rankin, 2012). There should be a collaborative approach toward this issue by
both teacher and parent. The parent should encourage extra-curricular activities which would
minimize the level of tension and fear from the mind of the student. The things that the child
likes or have interest should be encouraged by the teacher and parent.
Violence in schools also includes a significant level of bullying. Bullying could be minimized by
encouraging specific types of behavioral traits among the students of the school. If the teacher or
other staff member found out that the student is not behaving as per those behavioral or moral
traits then they can take disciplinary actions. Therefore specific rules and regulations need to be
defined by the school authority (Krason, 2018).
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References
Ascd. (2018). Increasing Violence: A Concern for Schools. Retrieved 5 October 2019,
from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/195198/chapters/Increasing-Violence@-A-
Concern-for-Schools.aspx
Ccsww. (2019). Catholic Social Teaching - Catholic Community Services and Catholic Housing
Services of Western Washington. Retrieved 5 October 2019,
from https://ccsww.org/about-us/catholic-social-teaching/
Democraciaparticipativa. (2018). The Principle of Common Good in the Catholic Church's
Social Doctrine. Retrieved 5 October 2019,
from https://democraciaparticipativa.net/documentos-data-a-referenda/documents-in-
english/christian-social-thoght/14519-the-principle-of-common-good-in-the-catholic-
church-s-social-doctrine.html
Krason, S. (2018). Conservatism, Economics, Social Welfare, and Catholic Social
Teaching. Catholic Social Science Review, 23, 375-379. doi: 10.5840/cssr20182337
Rankin, J. (2012). Marketing Education in Light of Catholic Social Teaching. Catholic Social
Science Review, 17, 123-133. doi: 10.5840/cssr20121710
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