It is no secret that academic performance has declined over the last thirty or forty years.

Today's students are not as proficient in the "three R's" as are parents or grandparents was. "Cultural illiteracy," is rising. Cultural illiteracy indicates a failure to "possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world," or to "be deficient in one's understanding of the basic terms and concepts that a person needs to function properly in our society." (Schroder 75).

As public education has grabbed the attention of parents, policy-makers, and political candidates, the problems of school violence have received increased attention. School safety has become the sixth initiative of the U.S. Department of Education's Goals 2000 program. They propose Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools by the year 2000. (Perlstein B. 02)

Personally speaking, I just want to look back beyond the 1990's and focus on a much earlier generation, the 1960's. The television show "Leave it to Beaver" was a cultural icon. It was suburban family perfection, the backdrop for the life of elementary school student, Theodore Cleaver, known as "the Beaver." Anxiety in the Beaver's life came most often from strong, often unfitted attempts to understand and cope with family and friends. On rare occasions such attempts landed him in the principal's office. Or perhaps his parents, June and Ward Cleaver, would be called in to talk to his teachers. But father, mother and mildly devious son certainly never went in for group therapy.

School boards are addressing the problem of school violence through multiple approaches: education, prevention and intervention. Peer mediation programs are being implemented, particularly in middle and high schools, to assist students in finding nonviolent solutions to conflict. Increasingly, school boards and local law enforcement agencies are collaborating by placing uniformed security officers in secondary schools and finding positive results. Many school boards are also adopting tougher school policies and practices in an effort to create safer schools. (Schroeder 75)

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1557
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)