How can we reduce school fights

Hi, I am a teacher in Dar es Salaam. In the recent past there have been rising cases of fights at our school among the students over very trivial issues, in fact some have turned to be very brutal.

I know that as a teacher it is a natural responsibility to stop this but sometimes you are left at a loss of what to do!

I once dealt with a problem like this but since there isn’t a single answer for all problems let me take it on again.

Teenage is an aggressive period in life. And for students, even a simple conflict can be the cause for a school fight.

There are several reasons that cause fights among teenagers. This could be because of a misunderstanding, or a relationship problem.

Sometimes these school fights can lead to tragic ending that involves lives of the students in that particular school. In some cases more serious consequences if the teenager has easy access to highly dangerous weapons like guns.

Fighting should be banned in schools and as far as I know, it is, but that doesn’t stop it from happening. Children and especially teenagers are going through a time of their life, where their hormones react through their bodies before their minds can think about the decision. I think more should be done to prevent fighting.

So as parents and teachers, the question that rises is how to prevent violence and school fights.

Parents should continuously educate their children about the consequences of abusing force and violence in resolving any problem. Guide them with the proper way to solve conflicts.

And they shouldn’t allow their children to watch television shows that promote violence.

Parents need to let their children know that it is okay to feel angry, but it’s important to channel that anger doing something that can cool you down.

As teachers, you should set a good example to the students by demonstrating tolerable attitudes when dealing with students when you are angry.

Expelling a student from school is not a way to solve a problem. Bring the students to consult a counselling session instead.

If school fights still occur, identify the students that are involved and provide them a chance to explain what caused them to fight. And try to solve it.

These are just some of the preventive actions that can be taken to prevent school fights from happening. After all, prevention is the best cure for all problems.