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As Community Members, What Can We Do To Help Prevent School Violence?
The best thing each of us can do to strengthen the lives of our community's children (even those of us who don't have kids of our own or whose kids are no longer of school age) is to make sure we find ways--both big and small--to offer real and tangible evidence that we care. Some suggestions for how you can contribute to building a caring environment for the kids in your community include:
- Get involved in your local school by joining a school-sponsored program, e.g., a regularly-scheduled commitment to read to a class, be a tutor, or help referee sports games; volunteering at special events; working with the PTA and/or school board; supporting the school's efforts to build relationships in your community.
- Become a mentor for a young person. Mentoring has proven to be one of the most effective ways to help a young person define and work towards goals, as well as to take responsibility and pride in their actions. As a mentor, you will commit to meeting with your protege; on a regular basis. Key to the relationship is letting your protege know that you believe in them, that you're there to guide and support their efforts, and that they can trust in the sincerity of your involvement in their life. You might consider contacting a local or even nationwide mentorship program for guidelines.
- Share a special skill or talent. If you're an athlete, or just love sports, contact your local public recreation department and volunteer to be a coach, referee, or umpire. If you're a dancer, teach classes to kids. If you're a computer aficionado, volunteer your skills at a local school or create an after-school or Saturday program. If you've got a flair for reading aloud, volunteer to read to kids at your local library. If you're experienced at carpentry, offer to help the kids in your neighborhood with woodworking projects. If you're good at photography, create a photojournalist program and volunteer it to kids at their school or in your studio. In other words, share from your life-experience and from your heart.
- Hire or create an internship for a young person where you work. Statistically, most violence and other negative actions taken by kids occur between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.--the hours in which parents are still at work and kids are frequently unsupervised and left to their own devices. Employing a young person is beneficial in so many ways, including teaching them responsibility, providing constructive stability to their daily routine, as well as cultivating "real life" leadership skills that will serve them well into the future. Being a part of a professional work environment will also increase their self-esteem and put them in regular contact with adults who can serve as positive role models.
Kids who sense they're part of a community that genuinely cares about them are all that more inclined to feel comfortable discussing troubling feelings, such as alienation or loneliness. Nothing beats having someone--a teacher, parent, coach, neighbor, store clerk, someone in their daily world--saying "Hey, how are you doing?" and then making it understood that they really care about hearing whatever the kid's answer might be.
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