The Role of Schools in Addressing Violence: Zero Tolerance
by Matilda Cuomo
and Deborah Lans

As we have increasingly come to know, violence begets violence. As we consider how to address violence in our schools, we need to focus more broadly on all the ways our society tolerates and teaches others to tolerate violence. We need to teach our children that violence—whatever its form—will no longer be tolerated.

Children first learn violent behaviors by witnessing domestic violence. Nearly one million incidents of domestic violence are reported in this country each year. No one knows how many incidents go unreported, but experts believe there may be as many as four million annually. While most domestic violence is spousal abuse, the effects of domestic violence are felt profoundly by all members of the family.

For children, the effects of witnessing domestic violence are undeniable: of children who witness their fathers abusing their mothers, 40 percent suffer anxiety, 48 percent suffer depression, 53 percent act out with their parents, and 60 percent act out with their siblings. If boys see domestic violence, they are 700 times more likely to behave violently; if they are themselves abused, they are 1,000 times more likely to behave violently.

Schools have many roles to play in preventing violence. First, like social workers, teachers are trained to be alert to signs of abuse. When the child is the victim, teachers are required to report it. But teachers should also be alert to the possibility that a child is living in an abusive home, and should contact social services to ameliorate the situation.

Second, the media violence that surrounds children, whether on television or in movies and video games, must not be welcome in the classroom. The things children read and see, and more importantly, the ways they are treated by their teachers and are taught to treat one another, must model tolerance and nonviolent conflict resolution.

Mentoring USA has a supplemental program that addresses violence: BRAVE (Bias Related Anti-Violence Education). Opening at six sites in New York City, BRAVE starts with the premise that violence occurs in an atmosphere of anger and disrespect, and that when we are taught to respect others and ourselves, tolerance will supplant violence. The program offers children both mentors and the opportunity to learn about people from various ethnic and racial backgrounds who have succeeded in spite of difficult beginnings. The children have access to special libraries where they and their mentors can explore their heritage and unique history, and learn how to apply the lessons of the biographies they have read to the problems of their own lives and communities. The program has also developed an activity guide for mentors and teachers to use.

Programs like BRAVE that foster respect for others and teach children ways to avoid violence should become a staple in our schools and after-school programs. As we teach respect for others, modeling respectful behaviors and problem solving, we help to reach the root causes of violence.

Mentoring USA’s one-to-one model enables children to bond with a mentor and thus express themselves more openly. Children need to be heard and supported, and connections provided by mentors alleviate the oppressive isolation suffered by so many children, and replace it with hope, thereby reducing the risk that these children will turn to violence.#

Matilda Cuomo is Founder and Chairperson of Mentoring USA. Deborah Lans is the
Executive Director.

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