Schools Can Only Ensure Student Safety so Much

Madison Parola, Staff Reporter

Students’ safety at school has always been a major priority aside from learning, but to what extent should adults be held responsible for students feeling safe at school?

Teachers can be held accountable for some safety incidents, but some situations are not the teachers’ faults.

In high school, students have their own state of individuality, and many find themselves keeping their emotions to themselves in school. Teachers are hired to teach the students, and it’s hard for a teacher to understand what a student is going through if the student never lets the teacher know how he or she is feeling.

Yes, some students are in a situation where they feel personally attacked by others at school, making school feel like an unsafe environment, but then these victims need to seek help, especially if students are being cyberbullied.

As seen on dosomething.org, nearly 43 percent of students are cyberbullied in their lifetime, and 81 percent of people agree that young people use online sources as an easier way to bully others.

Because more bullying is being taken to the Internet, adults and teachers don’t see what goes on through conversations on a phone. Generally speaking, many adults are not updated on the apps and websites students use. As a result, it’s understandable that adults would not know if students were being cyberbullied.

However, MHS does try to enforce school safety by having certain policies in place.  This is a fair step for adults to take in case of an unfortunate problem that could occur.

But, these policies cannot stop the unsafe feelings for some students until those students seek an adult for help. Once the student has initiated, that’s when the adult should step in and reassure the student’s safety.

It may be common for students to go to their teachers.

“I know that a lot of students develop a [relationship] with a teacher because they see them every day, and they don’t see [counselors] every day,” said Counselor Aracely Lawrence.
But the counselors are an option, especially if students feel more comfortable with their counselor than with a teacher.

If you’re a student who is not feeling safe, there are many reasons you should go and talk to the counselors.

“Students should come to us since all students have a team that is ready to help out. Every student has a counselor, a social worker and a dean as part of their team,” said Lawrence.

She added, “We want to let them know that we’re on their side, and we want to help them out with anything that they are having a hard time with.”

Another situation in which an adult is responsible for ensuring a student’s safety is if the adult notices a change in the emotion or mood of their students. If the adult brushes the problem off, then that is when there is a problem with an adult not doing enough.

Additionally, adults should step in if the bullying is happening right in front of them.
As a whole, schools also plan for large emergencies that would threaten the student’s life. These range from school shootings, fires, natural disasters, such as earthquakes, and the possibility of bomb threats or bus incidents. Schools are required to do drills for these events even though they will never be exactly like the real situation.

In the real situation, the possibilities of what could happen become numerous, and the adults in these situations cannot be held responsible for the panic that will arise.

When these situations happen around the world, the media spreads the fear like wildfire, and then students realize that it’s a possibility that anything could happen at school and that can cause a feeling of insecurity.

To help ease those feelings, all the school can be required to do is show that there is a plan in place if something were to ever happen.

In the end, adults cannot be held to too high expectations for the students’ feelings if they don’t even know about the issues in the first place. There can be situations where adults are held accountable for securing safety in school, but there are always going to be flaws in the system. Schools already do a great job creating rules and policies to ensure a safe environment, but they can’t really stop someone inside the school making others feel unsafe unless they are told about the situation.

And nor is it the fault of the victims if they feel unsafe.  Those who should be blamed are those who threaten the safety, but one way victims can fight back is to seek help.  See the accompanying chart for resources you can use if you are feeling unsafe in your school environment.

If you are being bullied and you need a helping hand, here are some resources you can use:

  • School counselor: Student counselors offer a representative structure for students and can help figure out what you can do to resolve a problem.
  • Teachers and parents: It’s good to have an adult who’s there to listen and give you advice.
  • School Resource Officer: Report abuse to the school’s police representative, as she can help stop abuse. She will take your issues seriously and resolve harmful situations.
  • The school board: The school board may be a great option to go to if there’s a safety procedure that needs fixing or needs to be implemented.
  • School website: On the left-hand side of the homepage is a tab labeled “Report Bullying.” Students can fill out a form with information about an incident that gets submitted to the deans.
  • http://www.stopbullying.gov/get-help-now/ This website provides a step-by-step advice plan to help you resolve the problems.