A Question of Trust

This week I had to find an article and review it. Here is my review of it:

Article Title- A Question of Trust
Author- Anonymous
Source- Scholastic Administr@tor

This article discussed the views of Ronald D. Stephens, the executive director of the National School Safety Center. That is an independent nonprofit group that focuses on school crime prevention and safe-school planning. He discussed his thoughts on using security cameras in schools. Stephens gave the opinion that security cameras are not the end all solution to solving school violence and vandalism and in fact can cause extra hostility. He gave an example of a school in Minnesota that had cameras, metal detectors, and security guards but none were able to stop a student from killing 7 people in the school with a handgun in 2005. He later did clarify that he thought security cameras were a good solution for solving immediate problems like: Who is tagging the cafeteria walls, or who is breaking into the soda machines. He ended these thoughts by stating that schools should be careful how they use their power to enforce security. He said “If the school does something that does not use common sense or good judgment, they will ultimately have to answer for that in the courts."

I agree with Mr. Stephens for the most part. My work recently installed security cameras all around the campus and I am annoyed thinking that I am being watched all the time. I sometimes feel a bit rebellious and see what I can get away with on camera. And if I feel that way, imagine a middle school full of pre-teens. My solution unfortunatly is much more costly than cameras and therefore TUSD would never go for it. I would hire more monitors. I know a few monitors and one in paticular is more than just hired muscle. He gets to know all the kids, good and bad, and he relates with the and develops a basic relationship. That’s something a camera could never do. I also agree that cameras can be a nessesity to try and catch repeat offences. There are at least 19 other ways listed in our textbook that help reduce violence and vandalism. Some of them listed on pages 118-119 are: Creating alternative schools for repeat offenders; having a zero-tolerance policy for bringing weapons to school; establishing high expectations for the behavior and performance of students and staff; and create classroom enviroments centered on respect and kindness. All of the suggestions in the text book have a common theme. It’s about getting involved with the students and educating them, not monitoring them like prisoners. We as teachers are not sheperds herding around mindless sheep who need electric fences to keep them safe, we are instead trail guides showing the student the way so that one day they can make the trek on their own.