The Public Education Act in Hungary has been modified to establish a new institution, the school guard, whose duty it is to ensure the safety of schoolteachers. According to the government, this was necessary due to a recent series of difficulties that pedagogues have had to face.
The details are still unknown: how many will be hired, which schools will be affected and the exact responsibilities of the school guards.
What happens when the school guard shows up at a school?
The idea to employ people, who are not pedagogues, but who are responsible for creating a secure atmosphere in schools, has been raised several times in the last few years. Some specific school safety programs are already available: for example, a school talk with the police. However, the police are not permanently stationed inside schools and definitely are not part of school life.
According to Elliot Aronson, who wrote a social-psychological analysis on violence within high schools, there is a difference when school conflict is resolved within the school environment or by outside intervention. In the case of an aggressive deed, the perpetrator should be called to account as well as the environment where the incident happened.
Some school have made it possible for teachers to attend problem and conflict resolution training to learn techniques to avoid violent communication. However, it’s more complicated, and costs quite a lot of time and energy to create an effective, safe school environment than a fast intervention with a spectacular result. The latter, however, does not provide real help in the long term.
If schools had therapists, counselors or social workers available, who work with both teachers and students to acquire self-knowledge and problem-solving skills, practicing non-violent communication would be more common and aggression could be prevented. In Hungary, according to the law, a school with at least 500 students should have at least one school therapist, yet there are many unfilled positions.
According to children's rights, every child is entitled to a non-violent childhood. Therefore, preventing aggression and bullying in schools ought to be a main focus. According to criminology, punishment does not hold anyone back from violating the rules as much as the consequences that may occur after the aggressive action.
If a school is facing a problem regarding an aggressive incident, they usually try to hide it for fear of negatively impacting the reputation of the institution, the same can be said when a child is hurt. Meanwhile, an adult being insulted usually is made public. Transparency is not always consistent and when an issue arises, ad hoc decisions are made by the teachers.
If someone from outside the school environment is brought in to address a problem in a manner which focuses on order rather than preventive meausres, it does not reflect the real issues of the children in that environment.
According to Elliot Aronson, we can intervene in two kind of ways: we either find the problem at the root or on the surface. If we want kids to respect other people’s rights, they have to be aware of their own rights first. Children’s rights are not about abstract rules, but the needs of children. When law classes are being held forpupils about their rights, the first task is always to teach where their rights begin and end. Moreover, their rights end, where other people’s rights start. This can only work though, if based on partnership.
Basically, children must know that respecting the rights of others is crucial and there are consequences — either when they break the law, or when someone else does the same. Being aware of their own rights can make them responsible adults who protect themselves in an effective way.
A school is never isolated, it is based on independent personalities, where everyone is responsible for their own actions. A school is a community where each person has a role and accountability. There is a dependency between pupils and teachers, where every occurrence and action influences the school. If autocracy is the norm, partnership between teachers and students will be rare. If teachers do not feel good or safe, that will impact the environment of the children. Vice versa, if kids experience conflict among each other, teachers will also be less competent. If teachers humiliate students, there is a higher probability that they might be involved in harmful situations too. Where school conflicts are not handled properly, everyone, including the students, teachers and parents, will be unhappy and dissatisfied. If tension is not solved within the walls of the school, meaning not by pedagogy, psychology or social work, but by an outside force, then real motivation for a solution mechanism will never evolve and problems will remain.
In order to reach inner harmony it is important for everyone to play a role and take responsibility, and the border of everyone’s competency should be clear. It is possible that the police might upset this sensitive balance. New questions would come up: for example, who is responsible for what. Role conflicts might evolve among teachers, social workers, psychologists and school guards. This uncertainty may result in the growth of tension in the lung run.
Security in schools – according to students
According to a survey of 5,300 children, nearly 4,000 feel safe in their schools. However, every fifth child said that there is too much bullying and harrasment in their schools and that they need more acceptance and equal treatment. The children surveyed said emotional security, and they prefer a tolerant atmosphere and supporting adults over physical security control.