Responding to urban violence: what teachers tell us they can and must do in their classrooms.

Children in all areas are exposed both directly and indirectly to violence. Proportionally, children in urban settings have more frequent exposure to violence. According to the Children's Defense Fund (2007), a child or teen is killed by gunfire every three hours--nearly eight a day (www.childrensdefense.org). Simply feeling safe in the neighborhood is not guaranteed for many children. The Washington Post (2007) reported on the results of an October 2007 Associated Press poll about Halloween trick-or-treating, focusing on "how people view the safety of their neighborhoods. Lower-income people and minorities are more likely to worry that it might not be safe to send their children out on Halloween night." This month's column addresses what teachers in urban schools have told us about what they do to support the children in their classrooms whose lives bring them into frequent contact with violence.

We can understand children's experiences with violence through an ecological systems framework. Urie Bronfenbrenner, developmental psychologist, theorist, and pioneer in the Head Start program, describes children's development in "nested systems" (1979). We can step back and look through this lens at children, and what they experience in their daily lives; at the teachers and classrooms, where children may have an opportunity to be safe and begin to make sense of their world; and at the community, where children experience violence and also caring, comfort, and hope. Let us hear from the teachers.

Teachers Responding to Children's Needs: What They Tell Us About What They Do

Teacher conversations reveal they are confronting violence in two ways: 1) through school-wide or system-wide curriculum and 2) through their responses to the perceived needs of children in their classrooms.

Teachers consistently say that what they provide beyond curriculum activities and lesson plans is the most important factor in helping children who are experiencing violence and other types of risk factors. In the teachers' words, common themes in these efforts are being there, listening, understanding, modeling, creating a safe space at school, and helping children find their own strengths, interests, and talents.

"Listening is key. Letting them know you are there for them in all ways. Find things that he/she is interested in, find their talents and focus on them." "Allowing them to talk about it and express their feelings. Emphasize that they are not alone; there may be others experiencing the same thing." "Model ways to release stress and problem-solve while providing chances for them to practice social skills through play." "Let them know that you are there for them, available to help, that they are safe with you and that you care for them."

What Teachers Also Say About Their Own Needs

The stresses that children experience in urban settings are often felt by teachers. At the end of a day of being a listener, model, and supporter, teachers find that they need some of this same reassurance. What teachers need is emotional support from co-workers, reminders of their own strengths, peer mentors for the rough spots, a safe place to vent, and time for self-reflection. Teachers also suggest: "Take a mental shower when you go home. Give children a clean slate each day and appreciate each day with them."

Taking Back the Playground

What follows is the story of one teacher's experience in an urban school. Her story is valuable to us in our efforts to address factors that lead to violence in urban and other settings. It is also particularly appropriate for springtime. There are environmental connections to Earth Day and implications for children who would like to enjoy playing outdoors again after a long winter. The teacher, the families, the children and, ultimately, the community joined the effort.

Kate's Story: "After watching a video about environmental racism, I became interested in the environment in the neighborhood where I teach. We had an incident at the school where a child in the pre-K class picked up a hypodermic needle and accidentally pricked his finger with it. Then, another incident occurred when needles and other drug paraphernalia were found on the playground. I organized a meeting with some teachers and parents to discuss what we could do about this issue. We started a community clean-up initiative and met once a week to clean up the playgrounds and the field outside the school. At the meeting, parents voiced concerns about lighting and safety at night, so we made a list of important phone numbers in our mayor's office and school system headquarters and we had parents calling every day. We also had students get involved by making signs and banners to keep our playgrounds safe. We had a march around the community, handing out flyers for our clean-up days. A local business provided supplies. The initiative caught the attention of the local media and, on one of the clean-up days, the local television station came to film the event for the evening news. We have taken back the playground!"

Violence Prevention Curriculum Curricula established for character education, violence prevention, anti-bullying, and conflict resolution can help, according to teachers. "Our prevention program gives children the tools to find a non-violent response to a conflict. I feel this is very necessary for what is going on all over the world today." Through these programs, teachers can help children to learn and use tools to resolve the inevitable conflicts they experience without resorting to violence (Nelson, Palonsky, & McCarthy, 2007). Teachers do voice concerns about spending time for these activities when faced with mandated content curriculum and preparation for high-stakes assessments. "Do classroom teachers have enough time to implement these ideas along with the 'must do' curriculum they already have?" Nel Noddings asked an important question about rethinking what the conditions in our schools should be in order for students to arrive at the goals of violence prevention and character education curricula (Nelson et al., 2007).

Finally, these narratives of teachers taking on the role of activist in their community schools are signs of hope. Together. we can make a difference in the lives of children and communities facing violence on a daily basis.

Special thanks to our contributing author, Katherine Thompson, for sharing her Take Back the Playground experience.

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Children's Defense Fund. (2007). America's cradle to prison pipeline. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from www.childrensdefense.org.

Fram, A. (October 28, 2007). Minorities less likely to trick or treat. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from www.washingtonpost.com.

Nelson, J. L., Palonsky, S. B., & McCarthy, M. R. (2007). Critical issues in education: Dialogues and dialectics (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill

Violence Prevention and Anti-Gang Websites for Teachers, Families and Children

ERIC Digest. Preventing Violence by Elementary School Children--www.ericdigests.org/2000-3/children.htm

Bullying: Information for Parents and Teachers--A 22-page excerpt from an edition of A.S.A.P.: A School-based Anti-Violence Program. Written by the Center for Children and Families in the Justice System (Ontario, Canada). www.lfcc.on.ca/bully.htm

Children Join Anti-Violence Efforts (Children's Hospital Boston)--www.childrenshospital.org/chnews09-01-06/childrens joins

MeGruff, the Crime-Fighting Dog (About Gangs for Children)--www.mcgruff.org/Advice/gangs

Violence Prevention Resources on the Web, including Youth Violence--www.pavnet.org/viores.htm

--Edyth Wheeler, [e-mail] Aline Stomfay-Stitz, [e-mail]