America Can Save Its Schools from Violence Essay -- Argumentative Pers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The late 1990s brought some frightening headlines to the public consciousness. Deadly shootings were happening in our public schools (Columbine, Littleton). Unfortunately like all other events that appear for the first time, we went from being shocked and dismayed, to a feeling of numbness as they continued and continued. To understand why this is happening in American culture, we need to look at the last two decades of social evolution. We had a distortion of the classic family, an abundance of role conflict, and a move towards sensationalism in our media. We are constantly being bombarded by images of violence on the television and lyrics about acts or threats of violence on the radio. All members of society need to take an active part in a revolution of our priorities. The violence in our school systems will decrease when parents, teachers, peers, and role models start paying more attention to our students.    Breakdown of Traditional Family    Many correlations can be made between acts of violence and the breakdown of the traditional family. In a 1995 study conducted by the Council of Families in America, "50% of first marriages end in divorce"(A1). As result families have been forced to mutate. This often results in a household consisting of one parent (mom or dad) and the child/children. Typically the parent, who has custody, has a job to provide for the family. Oftentimes this leaves the child/children home alone or with some sort of caretaker (daycare, babysitter, nanny). This situation could lead to a wide array of problems. The child may not receive the attention they need from their parent that is proven to aid in the development of proper morals and values. Doctor John Gottman of the Marital an... ...ools can be curbed.    Works Cited Alexander, Kelly. "Is spanking Ever Okay?" Parent. May 2001 Vl. 76 #5: 94. Council of Families in America. "Low Marriage, High Divorce Rates Hits Kids Hard." Reuters. 4 Apr. 1995 <http://www.vix.com/pub/men/nofather/articles/usa-marriages.html: A1. Dominick, Joseph R. "Social Effects of Mass Communication." The Dynamics of Mass Communication. 6th Ed. 1999: child 1; B. Gottman, John. Marital and Family Research Institute. Pamphlet. Feb. 2001: A2. Kagan, Donald; Steven Ozment; Frank M. Turner. "The Age of Napoleon and the Triumph of Romanticism." The Western Heritage. 2001 Vl. C 7th Edition: 690. Kornblum, William. "Education and Communications Media" Sociology: In A Changing World. 2000 5th Edition: Hamburg 1992. Pearlman, Robert. "Cruelty of Culture." Time 27 Dec. 1999 Vl. 54 I. 25: 40.