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Did you know...
... schools have begun to issue ultimatums to parents of hard-to handle-kids, saying they will not allow students to attend conventional classes unless they are medicated. In the most extreme cases, parents unwilling to give their kids drugs are being reported by their schools to local offices of Child Protective Services, the implication being that by withholding drugs, the parents are guilty of neglect. L.H.D.
...in 2000, 6 million children were "identified" as ADHD
...a strong gang presence in a community can impact a school climate-In the US there are 25,000 street gangs with 652,000 members (1997 DOJ)
...children who have trouble being accepted by their peers are 2 to 8 times more likely to drop out
...most secondary pupils, at least, will tell you that in their school there are one or two teachers who regularly use, intimidation, sarcasm, belittling or harassment towards pupils and that most teachers, on occasion, will resort to these kinds of behaviors (Rogers 1994)
...1n 1998-99 nearly 14% of students in Connecticut were suspended or expelled at least once
...in 1993-94 nearly half million young people in US schools were subjected to corporal punishment and in 1986-87 between 10 and 20 thousand needed medical treatment as a result
...as of 1998, the average public school building in the US was 42 years old-20% are troubled with poor indoor air quality ( even more have inadequate ventilation systems) and many are still using fluorescent instead of full spectrum lighting
...in 1999 23 million children rode buses to schools-the majority of complaints by parents focused on kids being mistreated by other kids
...a 1997 study indicated that high school students hear an average of 26 anti-gay comments every day: 97% of them hearing derogatory remarks from their peers, while 53% hear homophobic comments made by school staff
...while inclusion and protection may be compulsory from a legal standpoint, attitudes can be far more intractable
...boys in school are far more likely than girls to be punished, suspended, retained or put
on medication
...emotional safety is a key factor in school success
...Overall, teacher licensure candidates had an average combined SAT score of1029, significantly lower than the combined score of 1085 averaged by all college graduates. (The Worm InThe Apple by Peter Brimelow) Your child can have a voice on teacher performance www.ratemyteacher.com
...as of early 2000, 9 states did not require background checks for teachers, and 25 states did not mandate screening for employees like bus drivers and janitors (those that do checks often do not go beyond the borders of their own state) offenders are often allowed by school administrators to quietly move on- a practice commonly known as "passing the trash"
Jessica Lunsford, age 9, was killed by a sex offender with a long criminal history hired to work at her elementry school in Florida.
** Site Listing News About Teachers, Coaches, & Bus Drivers Accused
4Parents
**Criminal records can be searched at the state level and beyond. ten states provide background checks through their own websites. (Colorado, florida, Illinois, Indiana, oregon, south Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin)
Wider Criminal Search Resources:
www.rapsheet.com
www.choicetrust.com
Private Investigator
...about a quarter of the largest school districts use metal detectors, but have little effect in reducing the number of violent incidents in school
...traditional law enforcement methods applied to schools carry major negative side effects, including a significant financial burden, a reduction of time for classrom instruction and a decline in student teacher morale
(Jane Bluestein Ph.D. Author;Creating Emotionally Safe Schools)
27,000 (31%) public schools in the US are failing in math & reading (2004)
"When a student embarrases, ridicules or scorns another student, it is harassment, bullying, or teasing. When a teacher does it, it is sound pedagogical practice." J.R.E.
Lethal Violence/Hazing In Schools
Alfred University 2001 Report
•Teen-agers say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings.
- 87 percent said shootings are motivated by a desire to "get back at those who have hurt them."
- 86 percent said "other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them" causes teen-agers to turn to lethal violence in the schools.
•Students recognize that being a victim of abuse at home or witnessing others being abused at home may cause violence in school.
- 61 percent said students shoot others because they have been victims of physical abuse at home.
- 54 percent said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence at school.
•Students have access to guns.
- 61 percent of the respondents said they know students who could bring a gun to school if they wanted to.
- 24 percent of students say they could "easily get a gun if I wanted to."
•The potential for violence in our nation's high schools is widespread.
- 37 percent of respondents said there are "kids at my school who I think might shoot someone."
- 20 percent of respondents have heard rumors that another student plans to shoot someone, and 20 percent have also overheard another student actually talking about shooting someone at school.
- 8 percent of respondents said they have thought about shooting someone at school.
- 10 percent of the students said they have thought about how to shoot someone at school.
•More than 10 percent of our nation's teen-agers may be inclined toward violence, and more than 2.5 percent of them could be considered dangerous, meaning they have both the propensity toward violence and the means to accomplish it.
•Students say their schools are not safe.
- more than a quarter of the respondents said there schools are only "somewhat" safe, or not at all safe.
- 75 percent of the respondents were concerned about a shooting taking place in their schools.
- students consider rural schools to be most dangerous, suburban schools the safest.
•Only half the students would tell an adult if they overheard someone at school talking about shooting someone.
- If students do tell anyone, they are most likely to tell a teacher, least likely to confide in a coach.
•Better relationships between teachers and students are one way to stop lethal violence in the schools.
- 23 percent said teachers should care more about their students
- 12 percent said teachers should intervene to stop bullying, and take a more active role in their students' lives
- 12 percent said teachers should listen more and pay more attention to their students.
•Overall, 13 percent of the students told us there is nothing that can be done to stop school shootings.
-The 12 percent of the students who are inclined toward violence were twice as likely to say that nothing can be done to stop shootings.
- Students who are considered the most dangerous (2.6 percent of the sample) are even more likely (two in five) to say there is nothing that can be done to stop the violence.
Joining groups is a basic human need. Forming a sense of identity and belonging is a major developmental task for teen-agers. Children of high school age, however, are just learning to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. They need healthy adult supervision, role modeling, and guidance, without which initiation may easily go awry. When groups employ humiliation and danger to initiate new members into their groups, it becomes hazing. We found that 91 percent of high school students belong to at least one group. Nearly all of them (98%) experienced positive activities as part of joining these groups, and half of them experienced only positive activities. However, we also found:
Hazing is prevalent among American high school students.
· 48 percent of students who belong to groups reported being subjected to hazing activities.
· 43 percent reported being subjected to humiliating activities.
· 30 percent reported performing potentially illegal acts as part of their initiation.
All high school students who join groups are at risk of being hazed.
· Both female and male students report high levels of hazing, although male students are at highest risk, especially for dangerous hazing.
· The lower a student's grade point average the greater their risk of being hazed.
· Almost every type of high school group had significantly high levels of hazing.
· Even groups usually considered safe haze new members. For example, 24 percent of students involved in church groups were subjected to hazing activities.
Hazing hurts children, emotionally and physically
· 71 percent of the students subjected to hazing reported negative consequences, such as getting into fights, being injured, fighting with parents, doing poorly in school, hurting other people, having difficulty eating, sleeping, or concentrating, or feeling angry, confused, embarrassed or guilty.
Hazing starts young, and continues through high school and college.
· 25 percent of those who reported being hazed were first hazed before the age of 13.
· Dangerous hazing activities are as prevalent among high school students (22%) as among college athletes (21%).
· Substance abuse in hazing is prevalent in high school (23%) and increases in college (51%).
Adults must share the responsibility when hazing occurs.
· Students were most likely to be hazed if they knew an adult who was hazed.
· 36 percent of the students said that they would not report hazing primarily because "There's no one to tell," or "Adults won't handle it right." (27%)
Students do not distinguish between "fun" and hazing.
· Only 14 percent said they were hazed, yet 48 percent said they participated in activities that are defined as hazing, and 29 percent said they did things that are potentially illegal in order to join a group.
· Most said they participated in humiliating, dangerous or potentially illegal activities as a part of joining a group because those activities are "fun and exciting."
"New York State's Safe Schools Law, which is at the heart of our organizations' call for a state investigation into the actions of the Bellmore-Merrick school district relative to the incidents of violence which resulted in the nationally reported crimes against several children participating in the Mepham High School summer football camp in August 2003".www.bellmore-merrickparents.org
Thank you Bellmore-Merrick Parents for the link to AGPCAB INC
College Hazing
www.hazinghlaw.com
Living What We Learn
Students who belong to social fraternities and sororities are more likely to encounter "problem behaviors," including being assaulted or humiliated, engaging in a serious argument or quarrel, or experiencing unwanted sexual advances. (2003 Penn State Survey)
Three national voluntary associations represent social fraternities and sororities in the United States: the National Interfraternity Conference (NIC), the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). The National Interfraternity Conference represents more than 60 social fraternities for men. The NIC was founded in 1909 in order that different fraternities could work together on common issues. The organization now has some 5500 chapters on 800 college campuses. According to the NIC, about 400,000 undergraduate students and four million alumni belong to social fraternities. Most national fraternities belong to the NIC.
The National Panhellenic Conference is an equivalent organization representing social sororities. The NPC recognizes 26 sororities, with 2912 chapters on 614 campuses. According to the NPC, about 216,000 undergraduate women and over three million alumnae belong to NPC sororities. Both the NIC and the NPC have headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council is the coordinating council for African American Greek-letter organizations. It consists of 4 fraternities and 4 sororities, with more than 2000 undergraduate chapters and over 2300 alumni chapters. About one million undergraduates and alumni belong to the NPHC. The NPHC has its headquarters in Bloomington, Indiana.
About 70 to 90 chapters per year are suspended by national fraternity organizations because of hazing violations. Individual colleges and universities may also suspend or disband fraternity chapters in the aftermath of hazing incidents.
Studies have shown that members of fraternities and sororities drink substantially more alcohol than nonmembers. They also experience more of the problems associated with alcohol abuse, including serious illness, violence, and sexual assault. Fraternities have had an ongoing problem with sexual harassment—and sometimes rape—of women, partially associated with heavy drinking. A 1994 study by Harvard University called fraternities and sororities “functional saloons.” The study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, reported that 86 percent of men and 80 percent of women who live in fraternities and sororities are binge drinkers, consuming four or more drinks in a row at least once every two weeks.
Fraternities pay a high financial price for these problems, spending nearly a third of their annual budgets on legal liability and insurance costs. One out of every four insurance claims filed by fraternities was the result of a death, paralysis, or other serious injury linked to hazing, sexual assault, or other behavior associated with heavy drinking.
Shocking Hazing Pictures: Education & Cultural Norms
http://frathazing.smugmug.com/
(If you see this message postedon http://frathazing.smugmug.com/ with blocked pics: "Smug Mug has a monthly limit, and last month this site went 50% over the limit. Once past the limit, the pictures are not viewable." Just click on the picture of interest and then add to the shopping cart...keep adding as many as you want to see...you'll be able to view them in the cart without having to purchase. Once in the cart choose "no crop" option to get the lines out of the picture for better viewing. Not sure how many the cart holds, but you can always empty it and add new)
Did you know that approximately 1,400 college students die a year in the US as a result of hazing related binge drinking?
Did you know that approximately 1,100 college students commit suicide each year and thousands more make the attempt?
Did you know that every 10 days a murder occurs on a college campus?
Summary of campus crime and security statistics-criminal offenses:
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/crime/criminaloffenses/index.html
Two Californa State University students, Kristen High and Kenitha Saafir were blindfolded, bound at the wrists and led by Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority "sisters" into fierce riptides after running through sets of rigorous calisthenics on the sand at Dockweiler State Beach. The girls had pledged (a new member who has accepted a bid but has not yet been initiated) to their death.
(Pledged- Author Alexandra Robbins)
Cornell University Posts Anonymous On-line Hazing Form
CT Hazing Law
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