NCJ Number
180391
Date Published
2000
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video, which includes both dramatizations and actual conversations by high school students, focuses on what students can do to help prevent violent behavior by other students.
Abstract
In the opening dramatization, two male high school students manifest a "siege" mentality as they discuss how they would respond to an armed assault at their school. One boy is confident that his newly acquired karate skills will enable him to disarm the assailants. The other boy is wearing a protective vest under his shirt. In a subsequent dramatization, the boy with the vest is helped by his father to decide which of his father's handguns would provide the best protection at school. Another dramatization reveals the thoughts of a high school boy that render him a risk for violent behavior: feelings of isolation, alienation, and rejection and oppression by fellow students. The dramatizations are accompanied by real-life comments by students about school violence. The video features comments by a team of students from Columbine High School in Colorado, which recently experienced an armed assault on students and teachers by two students whose writings reflected their alienation from and rage toward the students at their school. The Columbine team is speaking to a group of students at another high school about their experience, providing advice on how to cultivate a school climate that can prevent violence. They suggest making friendly and sensitive overtures to other students, particularly those who appear to be outsiders who have difficulty making friends and being accepted by the popular students and groups.