Nobody Left to Hate by Elliot Aronson

Nobody Left to Hate by Elliot Aronson Elliot Aronson's work, Nobody Left to Hate: Teaching Compassion after Columbine (2001) deals essentially with the investigation of the causes and reasons for extreme forms of aggressive behavior in schools and particuallry the horrifying events of the Columbine school massacre. In his book, Aronson in the first instance poses the question of why these events took place and what precipitated such extremes of violent behavior among students.

Secondly, the book offers important possible solutions and methods of dealing with the serious problem of school violence. Throughout the book, Aronson emphasizes that in order to deal with a problem of this nature we have to fully understand the underlying factors that caused this violent behavior in the first place.

He suggests that from a psychological and sociological perspective there are certain clear indications of the reasons for these shooting, This is an extremely important study in that it attempts to reveal the background causes and real reasons for this behavior and, in so doing, provides us with the possibly of preventing further incidents like Columbine. I felt that this book is also important in that it provides a clear and technically uncomplicated view of the psychological and social issues that are the originating factors of this violence.

The style of writing and the explication of the problem are clearly outlined with a minimum of psychological jargon. However, the solutions to the problem that the author presents are equally important. This is a critical issue for our modern schooling system and for the society in general. In order to deal with the problem we first have to understand the causative facets of social violence in the United States.

From a psychological perspective, this is a study of dysfunctional attitudes and behavior patterns that include negative aspects which exist in our schools, such as prejudice and bullying. This aspect is emphasized by many recent studies on violence in America. For example, a study entitled Cross-Cultural Conflict Resolution in the Schools: Some Practical Intervention Strategies for Counselors by Brinson et al. (2004) states that; It is clear that acts of violence and terror have now become pervasive in our culture.

These are not just violent acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists, or even community gangs, but manifestations of verbal and physical abuse, bullying, extortion, and fights that take place inside the schools themselves. School violence continues to be an area in which many experts agree that more must be done to protect children and help them cope with the effects (Brinson, Kottler & Fisher, 2004) The above view emphasizes the imporatance of social psychologist Elliot Aronson's work.

This increase in violence is an extremely important aspect that not only affects the quality of out education but also infects our society with aggression and violence and has the potential of disrupting and even destroying the social fabric of our society. This is why the views that Aronson puts forward in his book are so timely and significant. This book deals with a clear and comprehensive observation of high school life in the United States.

Using various psychological theories and perceptions, the author explores aspects of the events that created the Columbine tragedy. The book is also the result of many years of teaching experience. In brief, Aronson's work finds that there is an atmosphere of fear, intimidation and bullying at many schools. This is exacerbated by extreme competitiveness and an exclusionary and cliquish social atmosphere that pervades many educational institutions and schools. (Aronson, p.

15) the combined effect of these aspects coalesces to create the atmosphere of alienation and exclusivity at many high schools in the country. The author identifies this as the central cause of violence behavior. In fact, this behavior is seen as reaction to exclusion and alienation. On the other hand, based on these findings, the author also states that it is possible to change this atmosphere of intimidation and alienation, and therefore to create a schooling environment that will act against and prevent future occurrences of violence.

In other words, a learning environment can be created where there is 'nobody left to hate' (Aronson p. 20). The most important aspect of this study is that Aronson identifies the central causative effects of the violence. This allows for a clear view of the facts that can be referred to in the search for solutions. He states that the Columbine murderers were in fact reacting to what they perceived as unfair and biased treatment from both the other students at the school and from the school authorities.

He also states that peripheral interventions, such as rules and laws, posting the Ten Commandments, surveillance cameras, and other means are nor sufficient as they do not deal with the root causes of the violence. (Aronson p. 64).The basic reality is that many students at high schools feel alienated and lonely and have a perception that they are being prejudice against unfairly. This is a reality that can no longer be ignored and the book makes substantial inroads into ways of dealing with these problems.

It is also interesting to note that other surveys and studies tend to confirm Aronson's assessment of the number of lonely and alienated students in our schools. For examples, the Search Institute's 1996 survey of 100,000 middle and high school students supports Aronson's depiction of the unfriendly environment in too many schools. In this survey as few as twenty-four percent of the students who were questioned saw their schools as a caring and understanding environment.

(Robinson) Another extremely important aspect of this book is that the author states that policy makers and educational authorities need to reassess and revise the education system from the point-of-view of the growth of violent behavior patterns. There should for instance be a greater focus on the emotional life of the students, and not just on academic achievement. Possibly the most important advice that the author provides is that there should be a greater emphasis on compassion and understanding in our schools.

Teachers should also focus on teaching students about empathy and conflict resolution and more effort should be made to deal with the fundamental causes, such as the pervasiveness of school bullying. Bullying in fact was one of the central facets noted as a motivating factor in the Columbine killings. In short, Aronson pleads for a greater awareness and effort from teachers and administrators of schools to construct educational programs that offer students common goals that can be used to reduce animosity and alienation. (Aronson p.

64) The book also points to the role of teacher in changing the sense of alienation and perceived unfairness among students that can lead to violent actions, such as Columbine. The author notes that if teachers promote extreme competition and bias in the classroom, then this can lead to feelings of disenfranchisement and exclusion from the culture of the school. Therefore, the onus is to a great extent rests with the teacher to adjust their teaching methods accordingly. There is also an emphasis on cooperative.