School fights have been an issue for as long as anyone can remember. According to the CDC, an estimated 18 physical-fighting incidents occur per 100 students per month.

School fights break out for numerous reasons such as gender, race/ethnicity, sexual identity, and grade-level. Maintaining peace in the school is important because it keeps everyone in a safe and respectful environment that encourages a positive and encouraging learning environment.

Fights are harmful to the school day and can cause disruptions to everyone’s learning environment. When interviewed, Sophomore Ronin Saengchanh says, “Fights block up the hallway and make it harder to get to class.”

Without fights, students would have an easier time traveling to class whilst also being on time. With a little self control and disregard for negative comments, we can all make the school safer and more peaceful.

Peace in the schools is at a rapid decrease, the Georgia Department of Education reports an astonishing 200% jump in student violence. But what could be the cause? When interviewed, Assistant Principal Blair Lemons says, “Most conflict starts over social media, or out of school, so it’s harder for teachers to spot or prevent.”

Social Media helps fuel dangerous and violent ideas in our schools. This is because it is easier to remain unknown and rumors spread significantly faster.

Apps such as SnapChat, where messages can be hidden and deleted quickly, allow for bullying to become easier than ever. On this said app, it is very hard to trace back information to its source, allowing for miscommunication and bullying to be a common occurrence.

Many students will choose to film an altercation when they see it, to then later post on social media platforms. Social media promotes a common goal for virality which incentivizes people to continue to film these violent actions for attention and popularity. When asked about his thoughts on social media’s impacts, Lemons says, “…someone takes a video and then that circulates and people draw their own conclusions just based on a little snippet.”

Peace in the school would be a far more achievable goal given people didn’t search for validity on social media. To avoid conflicts on social media, you can choose to block or ignore someone who is creating a negative environment.

Administration and teachers have a major impact on the contribution to peace in the school. They continuously teach citizenship through not only lessons but through active participation in helping students work through conflicts whenever they arise.

Teachers show citizenship by being respectful and responsible, and enforcing students to do the same. This will provide an excellent example for the students to replicate when they are dealing with their own social interactions.

Lemons advises students by saying, “Seek out resources to prevent physical altercations.”

When students feel a conflict is affecting them, they can come to a teacher or administrator to talk things out with. Then they can come up with a far more beneficial solution to that, rather than a physical fight.

The most successful way to prevent a fight and keep peace in the school is to have self control. The only thing that you have 100% control over is yourself. When interviewed, Saengchanh says, “Just walk away and have self control and think about the consequences of getting in a fight…you can only control and prevent yourself from fighting.”

The most beneficial way to avoid an altercation is to be mature about a situation, don’t be irrational and act on an impulse. Lemons says, “Learn coping skills to deal with disagreements and conflict, because they’re inevitable and always going to be there.” Some good examples of coping skills one can use to be a better problem-solver is, taking deep breaths, writing down your feelings, or talking to someone.

All in all, conflict will alway be an issue, but with a little more self control and disregard for attention and drama, everyone can work harder to maintain the peace in the school.

Benefits of peace in the school include, a safer learning environment, and a more healthy place with less drama and toxic people. All together, we can make the school a more peaceful place that encourages kindness and citizenship.