Increased violence alarms psychologist
Lori Cameron, a psychologist who works with the Milwaukee Public Schools violence prevention program, is so alarmed about increased violence that she has begun anti-violence lessons in kindergarten.
One of her pacifiers is "Woven Word," a program that has social themes containing conflict. Students learn how to resolve different problems through the characters in the book.
    
"Anger is how people express themselves and is a part of nature," Cameron said.
 
"When people have conflict, they tend to get angry," she added. "Conflict comes when people don't get their needs met and anger is something to use to get their needs met. If people don't have ways of expressing that anger without hurting themselves and others, then that can lead to violence.
 
That's the reason for books like "Woven Word." If someone has the communication skills that can bring people together even though we disagree we can come together and have a solution, Cameron said.
 
A lack of communication can be harmful to the individual and others, said Cameron.
 
"When people get angry it's a survival skill. You begin to make decisions from the lower base of your brain, the animal part, which doesn't reason very well," said Cameron.
 
"Anger becomes a problem when people don't calm down before making that decision, so you're pretty much operating like a hurt or scared animal," according to Cameron.
 
If people don't have good communication skills they resort to arguing, taking drugs, or using a gun, she added.
 
To prevent violence in school Cameron suggested that a school have clear cut procedures.
 
The students need to know when to be in the halls and at what time they do what they need to do.
 
She also said that schools should make sure a lot of supervision is present during those times. Violence happens during chaos and supervision and procedures reduce chaos.
 
Cameron also said that schools need a variety of alternatives to dealing with violence. She said suspending them is not good because the students are not learning.
 
Cameron would also channel aggressive behavior. She said Ropes and Challenge is a good program to avoid teen violence because it builds on trust, forcing participants  to cooperate in a group, meet challenges and reward one another's accomplishments.
 
"The skills learned can be used to create a safe environment. If you are on a team and feel connected to that team, you're not going to be violent to the group on that team. But if you have no way of feeling part of a team it's very different," said Cameron.
 
Milwaukee doesn't have a lot of constructive outlets for teens, she said, noting that a lot of basketball hoops are taken down by people who say they attract groups of youth who can turn violent.
 
"I think teens need safe constructive places to hang out and if they don't, they will start to entertain themselves, and sometimes that gets them in trouble," said Cameron.
 
"When someone does something violent it affects so many different people," she said. "It affects the victim, and the victim's family. It affects who did the violent act. It affects the family of the person who did the violence. You have one impact of violence that impacted a circle of people and that whole circle of people is now hurting."
 
This, she added, "can cause violence."
 
"People need to work to teach young people to get along with one another and I don't think we have been doing that. I don't think it's happening in the home or in school so the children are being taught to deal with stress and how to deal with anger."
 
Cameron also believes that it's going to be hard to get cell phones out of the schools because not everyone enforces that rule. She said if you can't enforce a rule then you shouldn't have it. Yet she admitted that people feel safer with the cell phone.
 
If allowed in schools cell phones should be kept in lockers and not accessible to students because they are here to learn, she said.
 
"It's a very difficult situation because some people want you to have a cell and on one side they're not acceptable," according to Cameron.
 
Cameron's other concerns:
  1.  "The children are more seriously mentally ill and I'm beginning to wonder if their needs can be met in a recognized school setting."
  2.  The down side of putting children in holding schools is that they are not around positive role models.
  3.  Teachers can't handle extremely difficult students because experienced teachers leave and less experienced teachers replace them.
  4.  More students should speak for anti-violence because teens sway other teens more then adults affect teenagers.
 
"Some teens are getting together in large groups and putting a lot of negative energy on doing something harmful, but if you put all that negative energy and turn it to positive energy, you can promote peace and unity with one another instead of putting each other down," said Cameron. | UV