NCJ Number
111904
Date Published
1986
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Designed to encourage dialog between school principals and their community resources, this video uses five true stories to show that violence, crime, and drug abuse can affect schools with good reputations in good neighborhoods.
Abstract
In the first scenario, a teenage girl tells how she and a friend have been terrorized by a gang of older girls and are too afraid to concentrate in class. Similar fears are expressed in another account by a teenager who finds another girl bleeding from a stab wound in the restroom, reports the crime, and never hears anything more about the incident. Another scenario shows a teacher deciding to leave the profession, in part due to a parent's abusiveness and refusal to believe his son's school problems were due to drug abuse. One girl explains how her desire to be accepted in a new school led to serious drug abuse, crime, and finally placement in a juvenile correctional institution. In the final vignette, a mother of a ninth grade boy who is continually beaten in school recalls how her older son was similarly victimized before finally committing suicide. An underlying theme in all accounts is the failure of school administrators and parents to recognize that a problem existed and take action. Suggestions for using the tape with parent, student, and community groups are provided.