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The students at Robert H. Jamison noticed that many
of their peers were being distracted at school by issues that no middle
school student should have to face – weapons, drugs, and violence. The
Youth For Justice team at Robert H. Jamison School decided to find a
solution to allow students in their Cleveland community to live without
fear of violence. After having an insightful discussion among
themselves, the team members identified three main issues: increasing
gang behavior and mob beatings, children having access to weapons, and
the fact that students’ biggest challenge has become their safety, not
schoolwork.
To begin their project, the students first created
surveys and questionnaires relating to violence within their school.
The students’ responses to the reasons for violence at Robert H. Jamison
included the ease of access to a gun, being under the influence of drugs
or alcohol, and revenge against students who hurt them. They also
discovered that more than two-thirds of the students interviewed
reported that they have witnessed or been directly affected by their
peers’ violent acts. Forty percent of students interviewed felt weapons
are students’ way of seeking help or trying to impress their peers. One
student said, “The violence filters from the surrounding communities and
affects the way students act.” Through the surveys, the students
learned that weapons and drugs lead to most violence. With this is
mind, the students created a formula to share their message with other
students: Weapons + Drugs = Violence.
The YFJ team reviewed the current school, district,
and government policies relating to how drugs and weapons influence the
increase of violence. The team determined it needed to do things to
increase awareness of violence prevention techniques. The team members
worked with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the local
police department, and other community programs on community-based
mediation programs to address violent behaviors on an individual level.
The team brought in speakers to address issues such as anger management,
effective communication, conflict resolution, safety, stress management,
violence, and bullying.
The Youth for Justice team created a video for
their peers to show how to make better, safer decisions and resolve
conflicts without violence using goal setting, role-playing, and
leadership skills. With the help of the school counselor and other
school administrators, lessons were produced to help spread this message
to other students |
