Violence Begets...

Assault on Learning | Mar. 27, 2011

4541 violent incidents in a school year. It works our to 25 per day. In perspective, there are 268 schools in the district. Nevertheless, 9 out of 10 schools reported a violent incident last year and given the reported pressure teachers feel from admin to under-report incidences, the numbers are in reality much higher. And, ONLY 46 schools account for the majority of the violence. As is obvious, the distribution of violence is not equal, leaving some schools a haven for assault. Philly is the most violent city right now in the US, kids learn at home, in their community, violence begets violence.

The article is a bit sensational, and makes only token mention of the schools' successes. A couple years ago, the Philly school district made national headlines after racial tension and violence between black and Asian students reached a critical point, with a couple severe violent incidences in particular. This series in an attempt to look at how things are a year later, better or worse. The paper doesn't really quote any teachers who say the problem isn't that bad. My question is whether those teachers are silent because they don't exist, or because the paper chose not to print them.