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DANGEROUS SCHOOLS: ABUSE BY EDUCATORS, CLIMATE OF ALIENATION CAN LEAD TO VIOLENCE BY STUDENTS, TEMPLE AUTHORS SAY
Physical and emotional maltreatment by teachers and administrators and the increasing use of police-like disciplinary tactics contribute to the climate of alienation in America's schools and often can lead students to commit violent acts.
That's the message of Dangerous Schools: What We Can Do About the Physical and Emotional Abuse of Our Children (Jossey-Bass Publishers), a new book by Temple University school psychologist Irwin Hyman, a national expert on corporal punishment and discipline, and co-author Pamela A. Snook, a psychiatric nurse and doctoral student in school psychology at Temple.
In examining the widespread--but often overlooked--issue of educator-induced violence, Hyman and Snook show that school-age children are more likely to suffer physical and/or emotional abuse by their teachers and administrators than they are to be killed or wounded in violent acts by their peers.
But the "toxic" climates in most schools, created by teachers and administrators, have a dramatic effect on students, leading some to commit extreme acts of violence, while having a lasting impact on the physical and mental well-being of others, and undermining the constitutional rights of all, the authors say.
"Schools that permit or promote alienation in any way create an atmosphere in which violence is more likely. From the shootings in Littleton, CO to those in Conyers, GA, all of the students who have committed violent crimes in schools have one thing in common: They are alienated from others," says Hyman, adding that alienation can even occur in schools considered to have positive climates because school officials are unaware of or "unwilling to be proactive about alienated individuals and sub-groups within the school culture."
Those climates begin at the top, with those teachers and administrators who subject children to both physical and emotional abuse, says Snook.
"Educator violence against students, including verbal and physical attacks and the undermining of students' constitutional rights, erodes school safety," says Snook.
President of the American Academy of School Psychology, Hyman says schools are relying on police to deal with incidents, such as fights, that used to be handled by administrators. Doing so, and invoking police "safety" procedures such as metal detectors and strip searches, takes the onus off administrators and has a negative effect on schools, he maintains.
"School safety is beginning to rival corrections as a major growth industry in America," says Hyman, director of the National Center for the Study of Corporal Punishment and Alternatives at Temple. "An overdependence on police intervention can decrease the willingness of school authorities to develop alternative preventive procedures to deal with school disruption. Unnecessarily harsh and punitive disciplinary practices against students create a climate that contributes to school violence."
Rather than relying on police procedures, Dangerous Schools takes the stance that districts need to commit to hiring more mental health professionals who can help identify and assist at-risk kids, while developing school climates that are positive and inclusive and promote friendly, relaxed discussions and objective problem-solving.
To that end, Hyman and Snook have developed the "My Worst School Experience Scale" (MWSES), a "mental health audit" system which helps administrators identify at-risk students and gauge school climates. Additionally, the scale can be used to help identify Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in students who have been subjected to school violence.
"The scale provides a measure to identify alienating climates in schools and to diagnose individual students who have been traumatized by educators, bullied by peers and alienated from the system in general," says Hyman, who discussed the scale at the recent American Psychological Association convention in Boston.
In addition to detailing the issue of educator-induced violence, Dangerous Schools also documents legal cases that have been brought against school districts, alleging abuse from corporal punishment and strip searches to sexual harassment, verbal abuse and punitive isolation. The book provides parents and policymakers with information on how to recognize and prevent abuse and how to take legal steps when abuse occurs.
"The information for parents makes the book even more valuable," says Snook. "We give parents who face these issues some guidance and some support. But we're also honest. We let parents know that they will not have an easy time battling abuse charges against a school district."
A resident of Holland, PA, Hyman is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Case Against Spanking (Jossey-Bass, 1996). He earned his doctorate from Rutgers University.
A psychiatric nurse and clinical specialist who has worked with many abused children, Snook lives in King of Prussia, PA. She earned both her bachelor's degree in nursing and her master's degree in psychiatric nursing, with a concentration on family therapy, from the University of Pennsylvania.
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