The "Catalyst Cleveland" in its June/July edition of 2004*, although entirely devoted to school violence, omitted to mention that Social and Violence Prevention Skills are tools that are available to affect children's unruly, violent, and delinquent behavior in a positive manner when properly taught. Evaluation tests have proven that children who use these tools appropriately will achieve most frequently greater success in settling conflicts peacefully than those who depend on violent reactions. In fact, the proper employment of these skills will enable people of all ages to resolve violent and difficult situations peacefully throughout their entire life.
The two figures below, which are taken from an article** in the same publication, demonstrate the eminent necessity for teaching these skills in all schools. They illustrate that the rise of assaults by students in schools of the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) has doubled in some of these schools during the school years from 1999-00 to 2004-05.
The youth violence explosion that erupted in the spring of 2005 on the streets of Cleveland is well known to all who live in the greater Cleveland area. There probably is a close connection between the rise of youth violence in schools and on the streets of Cleveland with the increasing violence in the society at large. For all these reasons, the teaching of social skills methodologies in schools should be considered equal, or even more important, to teaching academic subjects.
Another article*** in this same publication deals with coping methods. This article also neglects to mention the teaching of Social and Violence Prevention Skills methodologies and how those skills, when employed appropriately, are effective in coping with violent situations and in achieving peaceful solutions. Some Social Skills lessons, published in the "Ready-to-Use Social Skills Lessons and Activities"**** four book series for grades PreK-K, 1-3, 4-6 and 7-12, have been taught to children by the Society for Prevention of Violence (SPV) since 1983 in classrooms of hundreds of schools in the CMSD and other districts. For the purpose of augmenting this Social Skills Methodology when dealing with most violent and delinquent situations, a Violence Prevention Skills Methodology was added in 1995 to teach children how to resolve real-life situations peacefully that could end otherwise in violence. This methodology book is entitled "Ready-to-Use Violence Prevention Skills Lessons and Activities."***** It is a two book series for Elementary and for Secondary Students and is widely used in schools all over the United States. Both methodologies applied in tandem is SPV's Social Skills Program. Unfortunately, it seems impossible, although usually promised, to assure continuity of teaching these skills over the years. The excuse for this failure, that is most frequently given, is a large turnover of principals and counselors, who are determining the use of outside school programs. For the purpose of counter-acting violent behavior, the continuity of teaching the same Social Skills program throughout all grades from PreK to 12 and in all schools of a district is a must. Only under those teaching procedures will it be possible for children to practice the same skills over and over again in order to become capable of employing the skills pro-actively and almost automatically when confronted with a difficult and violent situation. Those conditions are an important requisite for giving children a chance to resolve violent encounters peacefully.
During the last ten years, the SPV aimed to acquaint, and in many cases, to re-acquaint schools in the CMSD and in other districts with its pro-active Social Skills Program. In fact, to teach these skills in schools where the principals indicate a special interest to employ the SPV Program, but are unable to pay for having its teachers properly instructed, the SPV accepted the responsibility to solicit funding for these teaching efforts. Fortunately, funding proposals for up to three schools were granted every year for over many years. This success enabled SPV to teach its Social Skills Program in at least three additional schools each year and thus to give more children the opportunity to learn how to apply these skills in order to cope with and resolve violent situations in a peaceful manner. Again, continuity of teaching is a problem because of school staffs' high turnover of supervisors. It is suggested therefore, that school districts consider to make the teaching of the Social and Violence Prevention Skills methodologies, which is SPV's Social Skills Program, a mandatory part of their general curriculum so that after a Social Skills Program is once started in a school, the teaching will continue for years throughout all grades and in all schools of the district, no matter who heads the individual school.
The Social Skills Lessons teach life skills such as: building character, strengthening appropriate behavior, controlling adverse behavior, dealing with feelings, ignoring bullying and peer pressure, nurturing diversity and tolerance, selecting the right friends, promoting team activity, negating truancy, solving problems, making decisions, etc.
The Violence Prevention Skills Lessons teach children to recognize, avoid, and resolve peacefully, unruly, delinquent, and violent situations, such as: family and sibling conflicts, difficult relationships, misjudged friendships, wants and needs, shopliftings, car stealings, date and other rapes, kidnappings, chemical substance, and alcohol intake, suicide attempts, gun possession, fights, assaults, delinquent activities, criminal activities, etc.