Goodmorning ladies and gentlemen,

Violence, in general, is the use of physical force to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other
definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence “the
intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person,
or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in
injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation."In Jamaica, incidents of
violence in schools are on the rise. A female student was fatally stabbed to death by another
female student at the Kingston Technical High School only a few months back. At the William
Knibb High School in Trelawny, a sixteen-year-old student was tragically killed by another
student. Many questions come to mind about situations like these, including: Why do students
carry weapons to school to harm another student with? Do they consider what may occur if they
were on the other end instead? Is it worth it? Why do kids feel the need to fight one another?
Don’t they think it’s gonna have a lasting impact on the friends and relatives of the victims of
these attacks? This leads to the reason of my topic being"What are the effects of school violence
on students in high school?”. School violence is any violent activity that occurs in the school
setting and disrupts learning.
. I obtained first-hand accounts from three sources in order to fully portray the spirit of this
speech. The first source was" Violence in Schools" by YesYouthJA. The second source was
"Violence in Jamaican Schools Putting Both Teachers & Students at Risk" by CNW. My third
and last source was "Protecting Children from Violence in School" by UNICEF.YesYouthJA ,in
their article,speaks that some observers attribute the several student-on-student violence to the
long period of lockdown, caused by Covid 19, and the concomitant frustration of the opening of
schools. School violence encompasses physical violence, including student-on-student fighting
and corporal punishment; psychological violence, including verbal abuse; sexual violence,
including rape and sexual harassment; many forms of bullying, including cyberbullying; and
carrying weapons in school. Violence in school can have a physical impact and it can cause
psychological distress, permanent physical disability, and long-term physical or mental ill-health.
Some violent acts such as bullying, pushing, and shoving can cause more emotional harm than
physical harm. Gang violence and assault (with or without weapons) can lead to serious injury or
even death. Finally, it claims that domestic violence in society is frequently imitated by kids.
When a youngster witnesses their father abusing his wife, they cannot help but copy him. The
solution cannot be to give a youngster a "guard ring" to shield them from responsibility for their
actions. The second article "Violence in Jamaican Schools Putting Both Teachers & Students at
Risk" by CNW provides us with instances that shows that teachers aren't safe at school. A kid
attacking a teacher who refrained from playing "ketch e fist a lie wid him" in the context of
school violence. In November, a video involving a teacher and a student went viral on social
media. In the video, Marsha Lee Crawford was captured hurling death threats at the student. "Mi
will kill you in yah bwoy," the teacher shouted, among other threats. The teacher’s rant was
widely condemned by many. An investigation into the incident was conducted by the education
ministry and on February 13, the disciplinary board ruled that the teacher would be allowed to
keep her job
, following an apology. One week after the ruling, the same high school was back in the spotlight
after another video, this time involving two students, went viral. In this video, two students were
caught in a vicious brawl in a classroom. A teacher at the school was caught in the middle of the
two students, trying to stop the fight. The teacher ended up fleeing the scene as the two students
hurled chairs and desks around the room. Following the first incident, many educators spoke
publicly about the difficulties that local teachers face in trying to discipline violent, and
oftentimes, criminal students. As seen in the second viral video, schools can often be an unsafe
environment for other students and even teachers when crime and violence is perpetuated by
students. The third and final article "Protecting Children from Violence in School" by UNICEF
reports that every child has the right to attend school in a setting that is both safe and
welcoming.According to UNICEF, inclusive education equips kids with the abilities they need to
successfully navigate social situations. Many children also experience school violence associated
with gang culture, weapons and fighting. Violence in schools can have serious effects on
children's psychological and physical health. Children who grow up around violence have a
greater chance of replicating it for a new generation of victims. For the tens of millions of
children living in conflict-affected areas, school too often becomes the front line. Violence in
schools can also have a negative impact on students' academic performance, attendance, and
dropout rates. The success and prosperity of children, their families, and entire communities are
adversely affected by this.
In a summary of YesYouthJA,the following information was gained. School violence is youth
violence that occurs on school property, on the way to or from school or school-sponsored
events. It includes violence between school students as well as physical attacks by students on
school staff. Some violent acts, such as bullying, can cause more emotional harm than physical
harm. Violence in school can have a physical impact and it can cause psychological distress,
permanent physical disability, and long-term physical or mental ill-health. Physical impacts are
the most obvious and may include mild or serious wounds, bruises, fractures, and deaths by
homicide or suicide.78.5% of the students had witnessed violence in their communities, 60.8% in
their schools, and 44.7% at home. Use of hands or feet 59.8%, nasty words 59.1%, kicks and
punches 54.5%. Knife 18.4%, ice picks 9.3%, machetes 8.9%, guns 6.9%.
How can this problem be remedied?Keriffe Clarke, guest writer of the Jamaica Gleaner declares
that to ensure that teachers are taking into account the affective domain of students, heads of
departments and school administrators will be required to closely monitor the teaching and
learning process and demonstrate a greater level of accountability. These sessions should, of
course, require active monitoring by the school and the parents to ensure that positive progress is
taking place. Parents should also become a part of the sessions which should help them to
understand the issue, provide support, and gain strategies to deal with the issues at
home.Although there are no particular titles or list of achievements given to the author of the
piece, the Gleaner has a reputation of providing factual news and so as a member of the entity
she is also afforded the same thought.
Based on the evidence I've gathered, I've come to the conclusion that school violence takes
many different forms. Violence at school affects students negatively on both a mental and
physical level.. .The sources gave justifiable statements and if such research were to be
conducted again using identical methods I am confident that it will give similar results. With that
said I would recommend the ministry of education conduct a high scale research on this topic
and use the results to make decisions for adjusting the nationwide’s highschools from
continuing to erupt into chaos through the implementation of more education programs on this
topic.