Every school in Santa
Barbara County has a school safety plan to help insure the protection of all
young people.
In addition, new programs
are being used to help in the area of prevention: peace education, conflict
resolution, anger management, and peer mediation.
But clearly there are no guarantees
and these programs can never erase all the concerns of educators, parents, and
community members as they continue to monitor the safety of all of our
students.
Fortunately, there are some basic
steps that can help parents provide effective support to school and community
programs.
First, the philosophy of a
nonviolent lifestyle begins in the home, where children learn to model everyday
behavior. For this reason, discipline at home should never be physically
severe.
Local schools can provide
information about effective alternative methods of child discipline, such as
“time out” periods or suspension of privileges. These help children see that
consequences for doing something wrong do not have to involve physical
sanctions.
Be sure to talk things out with
children if there are disagreements.
When there is a difference of
opinion in the family, provide a good example by settling those differences
with words. Don’t yell, interrupt, or threaten.
If your children see that
disagreements can be settled by calmly talking things through, by being
persuasive, and by being respectful, they will be far more likely to settle
their own differences with peers in this manner.
These are not cure-alls for
violence, but they help create a strong foundation for the values we hope all
will follow.
