|
Due
to requests from members who represent the educational
field, this article is reprinted from the Fall/Winter
2000 edition of Trauma Response®
The following article appears as the foreword
to the new fourth edition of A Practical Guide
for Crisis Response in Our Schools. For additional
information about the guide, please see page
25 of this edition of Trauma Response®.
Dr. Mark D. Lerner is President of The American
Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and Publisher
of Trauma Response®. He is an author of
A Practical Guide for Crisis Response in Our
Schools and frequently consults in the areas
of preventing school-based tragedies, reducing
the frequency of disturbing threats in our schools,
and school crisis response. Comments may be
directed to Dr. Lerner at the Academy¹s
administrative offices at 368 Veterans Memorial
Highway, Commack, New York 11725.
Introduction
Not long ago the most severe problems encountered
in our schools were students running in the
halls, making excessive noise, cutting a line,
talking out-of-turn, chewing gum or violating
a dress code.
Today, we are faced with a dramatic increase
in the frequency of assaults and gang activity.
Additionally, we are seeing an increase in the
frequency of substance abuse, self-mutilation,
suicide, abandonment of newborn babies, and
serious injuries and deaths from automobile
accidents. We are also contending with new types
of trauma including hostage-taking, sniper attacks,
murders, terrorist activities, ³hit lists,²
threatening graffiti, bomb scares and real bombs.
In response to this disturbing trend, The American
Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress published
A Practical Guide for Crisis Response in Our
Schools. Since the release of the first edition,
the Academy has been regularly updating and
revising the document in response to the rapidly
changing climate in our nation¹s schools.
As a foreword to the fourth edition of the guide,
I would like to address what may be some of
the causes of the dramatic increase in the frequency
of school-based crises and offer practical strategies
for preventing tragedies in our schools. Secondly,
in response to a recent trend of disturbing
threats in our schools, I would like to share
a strategy for reducing the frequency of such
threats as bomb scares, hit lists and
threatening graffiti.
Causes of School-Based Tragedies
Although statistically rare, the frequency of
dramatic, well-publicized school-based disasters
is increasing. Even more disturbing is that
less-publicized tragedies are impacting upon
members of our school families, every day, at
a significantly faster rate than ever before.
In fact, we no longer question if a school will
be faced with responding to a tragedy, but when.
Many factors contribute to the causes of school
crises and we must not focus on only one. Research
is helping us to understand the relationship
between violent television programs, movies,
music lyrics and violent behavior. Additionally,
investigation concerning the impact of violent
computer and video games is presently underway.
Should we be more concerned with these media
due to their interactive nature?
We hear about the availability of guns and other
weapons and we cannot ignore the data. From
1992 to 1999, 77 percent of all violent deaths
in schools were caused by guns (The Center for
the Study and Prevention of Violence, 1999).
We must develop zero-tolerance policies.
There is a dramatic increase in alcohol and
substance use among our children, peer pressure
and gang involvement. We are learning about
children who are tormented and teased, and then
go on to harm themselves and others. We are
seeing the effects of divorce, ³latchkey
kids,² parents working long hours and an
absence of parental supervision, training and
example-setting. Today, there are relaxed curfews,
a lack of respect for authority and a lack of
family involvement with schools. There is a
changing family structure as well, with a large
number of single parent families, grandparents
and extended family living in the home. There
is also a growing trend of violence related
to race and/or religion. This is particularly
disturbing in light of the fact that diversity
in America is rapidly increasing. The extent
to which these variables are related to the
quantitative and qualitative changes in school-based
crises will become more apparent with time and
with further empirical investigation.
The inevitability of illness, accidents and
loss may be accepted and even anticipated by
schools that often view themselves as microcosms
of our world. But why is there such a dramatic
increase in deliberately-caused tragedies‹those
of intentional human design?
I believe that at the very core of our problem
is a fundamental communication breakdown in
families‹the result, in large part, of an increasingly
technological and mechanized world. We are spending
less time communicating, teaching and modeling
appropriate behavior with our children‹we are
losing the battle to the proliferation of electronic
media.
Today¹s children all too often leave or
avoid the dinner table or family room, opting
for the new era in violent television, video
and computer games, and Internet chat rooms.
Consequently, our children lack interpersonal
communication, coping and problem-solving skills
to meet the challenges of our new world‹one
reason why an increasing number of them act-out
feelings of anger and frustration in dangerous
attention-seeking ways, self-medicate
with alcohol and other substances, and commit
suicide at a higher rate than ever before. Media
today offers our children a regular dose of
violence and I cannot underscore enough the
negative impact this has on our society.
Practical Prevention Strategies
While consulting in the area of school crisis
prevention, I am frequently asked about the
efficacy of installing metal detectors, surveillance
cameras and conducting safety audits. At the
end of last school year, I recall one superintendent
who asked whether book bags should be permitted
in schools. Although there are certainly benefits
gained from taking these steps, I believe that
they fail to address the root of the problem.
We must help our children and adolescents to
develop and enhance their communication and
problem-solving skills. We must teach them how
to actively listen and to empathize when relating
with others. We must help our children to understand
the importance of articulating their feelings
about themselves and for others, and to know
that it is okay to err on the side of caution
when expressing concerns about others. We must
regularly remind them that they can turn to
their parents and/or school support personnel
who will take the time to listen and respond
to them.
Too often our children and adolescents hear
of disturbing ideation or plans prior to a tragedy
and they do not know how to respond. It is not
until the aftermath of a disaster that we see
survivors interviewed and we hear them describe
how the alleged perpetrator had, in some way,
suggested impending doom. In cases of adolescent
suicide, more than 80% of kids who commit suicide
tell someone, in some way, that they are going
to end their life. Our children do not know
what to do or where to turn with critical information.
We must work toward improving communication
in order to prevent violent school-based tragedies.
Yet, we must address our problem through a multimodal
approach. For instance, we can help our children
and adolescents to identify physiological changes
in their bodies which may precede or coincide
with feelings of frustration and anger. We can
help them to understand which behaviors/actions
cause others to become frustrated and angry.
We can teach them to become aware of and to
identify negative self-statements that generate
feelings of frustration and anger. And, we can
help our children to learn to replace self-defeating
statements with positive coping statements.
Behaviorally, we must model and espouse appropriate
moral behavior, set limits and be consistent
with our responses to aberrant behavior. Ultimately,
we must teach our children to show compassion
and sincerity in relating with others.
We must help our children to understand that
conflict is a natural part of interpersonal
relationships. When we handle conflict well
it presents an opportunity to learn, to better
understand ourselves and to generate creative
solutions. When we handle conflict poorly, it
can lead to violence.
We must help our children to make more adaptive,
goal-directed decisions when faced with feelings
of frustration. For example, we can teach them
that it is okay to walk away from altercations
or to take a few moments to ³cool down.²
We can teach our children to express themselves
assertively, to implement relaxation techniques,
and to utilize conflict resolution and peer
mediation skills.
The latter areas of conflict resolution and
peer mediation offer great potential. When we
ask children and adolescents what they believe
may help to reduce the frequency of school-based
tragedies, they indicate that there needs to
be more constructive opportunities for expression
of feelings. On the other hand, we must keep
in mind that conflict resolution techniques
and peer mediation programs presuppose conflict.
It is my conviction that we must reach our children
when they are very young and provide an ongoing
effort to develop their communication and problem-solving
skills.
Finally, we must view all students as being
³at risk.² However, there are ³early
warning signs² to identify students who
should be considered at greater risk for engaging
in violent behavior (see checklist below). Let
us all become hypervigilant, learn to err on
the side of caution, and work toward preventing
violent tragedies in our schools.
Reducing the Frequency of Disturbing Threats
In the aftermath of recent highly publicized
tragedies in our nation¹s schools, we have
experienced a dramatic increase in the frequency
of disturbing threats. Through opportunities
in consulting, I gained a greater appreciation
of the impact of such threats in our schools.
For example, when a bomb threat is made by telephone,
e-mailed or written on a bathroom wall, there
is an enormous impact on the school community.
The potential need to evacuate a school building
under such circumstances presents a host of
complex decisions for school administrators.
Ensuring the safety of the school family and
preventing further disruption of the educational
process is crucial.
Many feelings are generated from observing bomb-sniffing
dogs comb a school. I recall one principal¹s
description of how traumatized he, his students
and staff were after standing outside of the
building for nearly two hours while dogs searched
the building. He indicated that when they reentered
the school everyone was anxious, hypervigilant
and startled by every closing locker.
As I spoke with administrators, I learned of
other disturbing threats such as ³hit lists²
and threatening graffiti. For example, the traumatic
stress endured by fourteen students, teachers
and school administrators specifically named
on a poster that was placed in the entrance
area of one high school was profound. The poster
described how each of them would be harmed.
Furthermore, the fear that was experienced by
another school family after the statement ³Everyone
will die on June 4th² had a far-reaching
impact upon the entire community. After the
building principal informed parents of the threat,
nearly all of the eighteen hundred students
were absent from school‹many roamed the streets
of the community.
Understanding what may have caused or contributed
to the surge of disturbing threats in our nation¹s
schools in the wake of well-publicized tragedies
may help to mitigate against similar behavior
in the future.
The reasons why some students choose to make
bomb threats, develop ³hit lists,²
or write threatening graffiti are complex, and
ultimately sound research will help us to understand
the relationship between these threats and such
variables as domestic violence, sexual abuse,
substance abuse, chronic teasing and tormenting,
etc. Following is my theoretical perspective
based upon many years of clinical experience
in working with children and adolescents as
well as my interpretation of extant literature.
There are a significant number of young people
who are feeling alone and powerless in our rapidly
changing world. When these individuals observe
the tremendous and overwhelming attention following
highly-publicized dramatic events, many of them
identify with the aggressor(s). They may fantasize
about an opportunity to overcome feelings of
aloneness, inadequacy, weakness and powerlessness.
They envision themselves acting-out and perhaps
overcompensate for these dystonic feelings.
Fortunately, relatively few act upon these violent
impulses with significant magnitude. Apparently
there is some impulse control which prevents
them from going to the extent that perpetrators
of violent mass casualty incidents ultimately
manifest. However, in their minds, they see
an opportunity to take action, of a lesser magnitude,
and still draw a great deal of attention.
As I reflect upon disturbing threats experienced
in our schools, I ask myself why some schools
experience many threats, why others experience
few, and why others seem to escape such experiences.
I hypothesize that the climate established by
the school staff and administration is directly
related to the frequency of disturbing threats.
Educators must be careful not to challenge disturbed
young people with statements like, ³Our
school is a safe place and we will not experience
the kinds of events that you heard about yesterday....²
Such statements may serve to create a double
bind‹a challenge for these individuals. They
may incite these students to try to disprove
authority figures, to make themselves feel more
powerful and to help them to compensate for
their feelings of inadequacy and weakness. Furthermore,
educators that ignore the highly-publicized
tragedies occurring in our nation¹s schools
are missing a critical opportunity to help young
people articulate disturbing thoughts and feelings,
and to learn more adaptive coping strategies.
What can we do to decrease the frequency of
disturbing threats? If indeed the ³type²
of individual or individuals who generate threats
are trying to overcompensate for feelings of
aloneness, inadequacy, weakness and powerlessness,
we must work toward helping these young people
to understand that the effect that they are
trying to achieve by making a threat (i.e.,
to overcompensate for these disturbing feelings)
will not result in the attainment of their perceived
goal (e.g., to feel more powerful). Rather,
the result of the threat may likely cause them
to be arrested, feel very alone while incarcerated,
more inadequate, weaker and truly powerless.
If in fact we focus our attention on helping
young people to understand and observe the CONSEQUENCES
of being caught for making disturbing threats,
the frequency of such threats may be dramatically
reduced.
How can we focus our attention on the consequences
of being caught? The responsibility here lies
at a number of levels. For example, legislation
could be enacted that would make reporting bomb
threats a felony in all states. In addition
to prosecuting perpetrators, these students
could face significant school-related consequences
including expulsion. Schools could establish
clearly understood policies whereby all ³lost
time² due to disturbing threats would have
to be made-up. Parents could be held financially
responsible for the municipal costs of responding
to threats. The media could invest more attention
in showing alleged perpetrators being led in
handcuffs to police vans, and less time on pictures
of adolescent killers sitting and smiling among
their peers.
The bottom line is that we can take steps to
help young people to understand the consequences
of disturbing threats by focusing attention
not on the glorification of such acts, but on
the reality of their actions.
Conclusion
It is important to understand what factors may
be causing school-based tragedies. Similarly,
it would be helpful to comprehend the ideation
of people who make disturbing threats. Ultimately,
research will help us to understand the causative
factors and the effects of specific interventions.
However, like many events in a rapidly shifting
zeitgeist, we must take initial thoughtful,
realistic and logical steps to respond to the
problems that we are facing in our schools by
developing effective prevention and response
strategies. May A Practical Guide for Crisis
Response in Our Schools continue to serve as
a national standard for responding to school-based
crises.
Return to
The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic
Stress Homepage |
