SEATTLE — When a student dies, it's inevitable to wonder if there was something you might have done to avoid wasting him. That's true for each adult who bears responsibility for college kids' safety. And that's true for people who find themselves dedicated to teaching children the interpersonal skills they need to forestall disagreements from turning into tragedies.
“Every time this happens, I feel like I haven't done enough or we're going too slow,” says Roger Kluck, the director of the Alternative to Violence project. Kluck's program offers a workshop where students do activities and games to construct their confidence, socialize and think together about how one can solve problems and understand the underlying causes of violence.
Much remains to be unknown in regards to the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of a student at Garfield High School in Seattle on June 6. But there are indications that Amarr Murphy-Paine wanted to forestall violence when he committed the murder.
At lunchtime that day, Murphy-Paine tried to interrupt up “an altercation” between two boys. Murphy-Paine was then shot and fell to the bottom. The 17-year-old was taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery and later died.
In the wake of Murphy-Paine's death, the Garfield community is on the lookout for ways to forestall future violence, including school safety measures and increased community support. Schools, including those in Seattle, also proceed to speculate in violence prevention efforts.
Kluck and other experts said prevention could make an enormous difference for college kids as they learn to cope with the strong emotions that may result in violence. Ideally, the teachings should begin early in a student's education, not as a stopgap measure when students are already in highschool or after a tragedy has occurred.
“They are grieving and shocked, and a proactive approach is out of the question for them,” Kluck said of scholars and teachers immediately after the death of a student by gun violence.
The nearby Highline School District, 15 miles south of Seattle, invested $72,000 this fall in one among Kluck's multi-day anti-violence workshops.
“It's an investment in campus safety,” Catherine Carbone Rogers, a district spokeswoman, told the Seattle Times in September. “Other school districts have tried things like metal detectors and more security personnel and external factors. The philosophy here is to really address safety from the inside out.”
Citing graduation planning and up to date events in Garfield, a Seattle Public Schools spokesperson was unavailable to say exactly what violence programs are offered on the district's schools. But Seattle students receive classes geared toward conflict resolution skills and social-emotional regulation. The district offers its own programs, and several other area nonprofits have contracted with individual schools.
And town has allocated as much as $10 million for youth mental health and safety for the upcoming school yr, in accordance with an announcement from the mayor's office Friday, with an initial $2.4 million for use to offer students with increased access to telehealth therapy services starting this summer.
Social-emotional learning programs that teach self-regulation, problem-solving and communication skills are critical starting in preschool and throughout elementary school, says Tia Kim, a developmental psychologist and vice chairman of the Committee for Children, a Seattle-based nonprofit that works in greater than 45,000 K-12 schools across the country. Research shows that these skills promote emotional safety, which in turn helps reduce violence.
By the highschool years, these programs have to be taught in a different way to students, says Kim, whose organization works with some Seattle schools. (Garfield High School will not be served.) When children are younger, they will learn these skills directly, but as they become older, educators must incorporate these skills into lessons, assemblies or games, Kim says.
For example, math teachers learn how one can help their students develop a growth mindset in regards to the material they’re learning, while also teaching them how one can calm themselves and regulate their emotions once they change into frustrated by an issue and how one can feel encouraged to ask for help once they need it.
Educators must also work to construct good relationships with students and foster a positive school climate so students remain engaged in class and avoid problem behavior, Kim said. Participation in sports, recreational activities and academic activities also helps keep children secure.
“Good academic performance is usually a really good protective factor against youth violence,” Kim said.
However, there isn’t any one factor that at all times protects children from violence. Experts recommend specializing in teaching children the talents they should resolve conflicts on their very own, equivalent to self-regulation, energetic listening, clear communication, non-blaming and empathy.
“These are skills that help people deal with things throughout their lives,” says Dave Martine, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center of King County, a nonprofit that gives low-cost mediation and conflict resolution services to varsities and businesses.
Martine lobbied the state legislature to fund peer mediation programs at every school in King County. That hasn't happened. But the state has made some efforts to enhance students' emotional health. In 2019, the state legislature required a state-funded skilled development day for educators to give attention to social-emotional learning every two years starting in 2021.
The Office of State Public Instruction has provided webinars and online modules for teachers that include trauma-informed practices that provide opportunities for productively engaging with students combating the results of domestic violence, negligent guardians, and substance use at home and of their communities. State education officials have also offered several webinars and meetings, in addition to coaching, on how one can offer courses in social-emotional learning, create a positive school climate, and improve teacher and student well-being, amongst other topics.
Currently, it’s difficult to succeed in the Seattle Public Schools staff most involved in conflict resolution in schools.
The district has a reparations program designed to assist students and staff resolve disagreements by listening to the opposite person's side of the story, admitting once they have hurt someone, and making amends. The district program also offers conflict resolution training for employees. It also partners with various community organizations to run programs equivalent to healing circles.
Lian Caspi, the recovery program director, was unavailable for comment on this system last week. She had an out-of-office message on her email saying she was traveling to help Garfield students and could be slow to get back to them.
It's hard to know what to do for a community after a tragedy like a shooting because every situation is different and each violent situation is different, said Martine, who runs the Dispute Resolution Center. Organizing circles where people can consult with one another in a secure place and share their views without the specter of rebuttal is a method that may also help, Martine said.
Developmental psychologist Kim also believes that it’s crucial to let people speak about what happened to them and the way they felt about it.
“Being capable of do that helps [students] “They need to work through it and feel validated in their feelings,” Kim said. Routine and a way of normalcy are also crucial, Kim said. “Consistency really helps kids feel safe and secure and really grounded. They know what to expect.”
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