Educate, Medicate, Or Litigate?

Book excerpt: This book explores factors that contribute to antisocial behavior among students and reviews the literature on preventing and responding to antisocial behavior. Chapter 1, "A Culture of Violence," links the widespread perception that school violence is increasing to a broader culture of violence. Schools are increasingly turning to medication and litigation to respond to antisocial behaviors. Chapter 2, "Myths and Realities: Schools, Violence, and Antisocial Behavior," examines prominent myths about school violence, including the views that schools are violent and unsafe, violence is increasing, only punitive solutions work, and security measures alone can effectively control violence. Chapter 3, "Social Behavior: Psychological, Philosophical, and Practical Bases," traces the origins of student behavior to socialization at home and school. Chapter 4, "Problem Areas: Where Social Behavior Becomes Anti-Social Behavior," explores the origins of antisocial behavior by examining the impact of the mass media, various socioeconomic causes, how schools can function as oppressive environments, and the ideological clash between legalism and socialization in addressing school violence. Chapter 5, "Reframing Views on Antisocial Behavior: Best School Practices," summarizes the role of schools in socialization. The chapter advances several promising school-level practices, including physical, programmatic, and personnel responses, and briefly reviews the most promising community-level responses, including community-school linkages, increasing funding, and ridding schools of weapons. (Contains over 200 references.) (TEJ)