The wave of juvenile crime is on the increase. It
has affected all segments of our society and every community across
our nation. As indicated by a national legislator recently, the
juvenile crime wave that we are now experiencing "is only the tip of
the iceberg." Given the fact that today's juveniles are to become
tomorrow's adult population, the question of national leadership and
stability looms large. Learned behaviors and attitudes among this
group will have a great impact on our society.
The premise upon which social skills training is based, is that
violence and asocial behaviors are learned. As a result of our
inability to manage conflicts constructively, asocial behaviors
surface to our own personal detriment. Many of our societal
institutions, neighborhood centers, the church, and other social
service agencies along with the family, in many cases, no longer
exert the influence once prevalent. Thus there is a need to fill the
void created in the classroom at an early age. The importance of a
strong preventive approach to problem resolution (social skills
training) associated with continual reinforcement (conflict
resolution) is essential.
Children can unlearn violent behavior in less than six months,
according to a study of the effectiveness of an anti-violence program
widely used in U.S. and Canadian schools.
Much of what has been done to address potential violence has been in
a post-occurrence or reactive way through conflict resolution
programs.
The findings in a recent Journal of the American Medical Association*
help dispel the fatalistic notion that nothing can be done about
rising violence among the nation's young people, government experts
say.
Violence is a leading cause of death for Americans ages 15 to 24.
The study* involved 790 second- and third-graders at 12 schools in
Washington state. About half were taught a violence prevention
curriculum over an 18- to 20-week period, and their behavior at
school was compared with that of students who did not take the
course.
At the final evaluation, those who had taken the course exhibited
about 30 fewer acts of aggression every day than children who did
not. The participants also exhibited more than 800 more neutral or
positive acts per class every day than children who did not take the
course.
We propose that the concepts and methodology embodied in social
skills training based on a 4-volume process curriculum entitled
Social Skills
Lessons and Activities, grades Pre-K -
12,** are an essential, logical and
complimentary precursor to conflict resolution and peer mediation
training.
The justification for teaching social skills are strong. The schools'
role can be a powerful one: helping children unlearn aggression and
asocial behavior by substituting constructive messages about caring,
sharing, empathy and cooperation.
"In general, the best strategies," Ronald G. Slaby says, "are those
that developmentally and systematically begin to teach children
alternative skills for solving problems that challenge superficial
beliefs that many youngsters hold about the glories of violence and
that teach thoughtful analysis to social problems rather than
impulsive reactions." ***
The use of both proactive social skills training programs and more
reactive conflict resolution programs are most effective when entire
groups are involved either at the classroom or at the community level
linked to the family and/or community organizations, or both.
A new volume which has been published in cooperation with
Prentice-Hall Publishing, entitled Violence
Prevention Skills Lessons and Activities, grades 7
-12,**** further develops and enhances the
social skills training model as it relates to potential violence
brought about by the existence of drugs, alcohol, gangs, firearms and
family disintegration.
As a non-profit organization committed to reducing the prevalence of
violent acts and asocial behaviors in children and adults through
education, we affirm the importance of early intervention with our
youth through proactive means, by using significant numbers of
"influencers," to bring about the necessary change in the course of
events related to violence and social well-being in our nation.