School Safety

A current issue today in schools is safety. And it's an issue nationwide. Schools everywhere are trying to increase and maintain security in their schools, anywhere from elementary school to high school. Obviously we can all understand that crime and violence are putting students and teachers at risk. What I think many people don't think about is that this has a huge effect on teacher's ability to teach, and children's ability to learn.
I think if I had gone to high school, or middle school where there was a lot of violence, or fear of it, I know I wouldn't have gotten the grades I did. When your in a school you need to be able to be comfortable and know that you're there to learn. If there's violence going on all the time, how can you focus on your school work? I would be much more concerned for my safety than my grades.
From the other side of this too, teachers must be struggling. Being a teacher I'm sure can sometimes be stressful enough; grading paper, keeping the attention of your class, you wouldn't need anything else added onto that like crimes and violence. If I were a teacher in a high crime school, I would not only fear for myself, but my students too. I think I would struggle with my teaching if I was constantly in fear.
Last week at the school I work at, someone pulled the fire alarm. Right when I was pulling into the parking lot to park fire trucks and police cars were rushing down the street. Obviously my first reaction was, oh it must be a drill. But as I got out of my car and walked over to the teachers, I got the feeling it wasn't a drill. There was no smoke or anything coming from the school so I assumed it couldn't be that bad. Many of the teachers looked concerned and worried about what might have happened. As it turned out one of the special needs students in the pre-school had pulled the fire alarm. And although this wasn't anything major, I could see how something as simple as that got many of the teachers all worried.
To keep this school safety issue under control, I feel that it is very important for teachers to pay attention to their students. Any drastic changes in behavior, attitude, signs of abuse, could mean the student is headed for trouble. With awareness I think many things can be kept under control. If people are aware that viloence can occur in school, it can easily be prevented.

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/drugfree/sa200.htm