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Incidents of children using violence in schools are on the rise
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Experts report that the number of incidents in the United States in which schoolchildren use violence against their classmates is steadily increasing.
As the survey results show, adults are divided in their opinions regarding when children's pranks go beyond the limits of what is permissible.
Researchers at Michigan State University conducted a survey to find out what they think constitutes bullying and when school administrators should intervene in a situation that has gotten out of control.
The vast majority of adults (95%) say schools should take action if one student is afraid of another and feels their health is at risk.
Eighty-one percent of respondents said the school should intervene when someone insults or humiliates another student, and 76% called for intervention if someone spreads any kind of unflattering rumors.
The only thing where respondents completely agreed was that retaliatory intimidation and humiliation should not become part of the educational process. A child who has allowed himself to behave like this should be talked to and not left to chance.
Bullying and taunting are not uncommon at school. Usually, children start making fun of those children who do not dress or behave as is accepted in their environment. Good grades are often the reason for such an attitude.
The problem of relationships within the school community surfaced once again in 1999, when a tragedy occurred that shocked the entire community.
On April 20, 1999, a mass murder occurred at Columbine High School (Jefferson County, Colorado, USA). High school students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris shot school staff and their classmates. As a result, thirty-seven people were shot, thirteen of whom did not survive. After the shooting, the schoolchildren committed suicide.
The tragedy caused shock and, of course, heated discussions about why and what prompted the two boys to take up arms and turn them against their own comrades.
The conversations centered on issues of school group conflicts and the influence of video games and films on their consciousness.
The “Top 10” rating of the most serious problems with children’s health included bullying, which was assessed as a serious threat to the life and health of children. According to the national analytical studies of Risky Behavior Among Youth in 2011, 20% of schoolchildren reported that they were victims of bullying.
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