Social problems affecting students and schools

¶ … social problems affecting academic achievement are as many and as varied as the ways of defining "academic achievement." Often, those factors are inextricably intertwined, such that none may untangle them. Sometimes, they present themselves as an impassable jungle lying between a student and his or her goals, preventing him or her from achieving. Sometimes, those same outside influences are better represented as a sweeping, blue sky of opportunity. These social problems that I make mention of are fighting, bullying, peer pressure, single parent household, obesity, and poverty.

Fighting is widely held to have become a serious problem in recent decades in many schools. especially in poverty stricken areas. Fighting involves violence between school students as well as physical attacks by students on school staff. Educators have rung the alarm bell over the school violence, while parents have called on the society to take necessary measures to stop the violence to promote a safer learning environment.

School bullying is not an uncommon sighting in schools throughout America. Whether the child is a bully or being bullied, almost 30% of children experience bullying. Bullying can include many things such as physical violence, name-calling, threatening, and stealing. There can be one person or a group of people involved in bullying someone usually weaker than himself or herself. In recent surveys, researches found out that younger children, in grades from 6-10, are the main grades of bullying. As children grow older, they are less likely to bully others. Bullying does not just disappear after the child grows older. The behavior stems into adulthood, and leads to a path of delinquency and aggression if it is not fixed. They are also four times more likely than non-bullies to be convicted of crimes by age 24.

One of the societal issues that many of students face is peer pressure. Students face pressure from their peers to be part of social clicks and even violent gangs. Students are pressured to do drugs and do things that are legally immoral. Classrooms are overflowing with students who are socially driven to be something more than they are, students are constantly facing the difficult task of fitting in with the in crowd an staying on top. I believe that many students would become more academically successful if schools were able to provide more resources to their students. These resources could include more social organizations that are run through the school and maybe even breaking down popular activities into smaller groups that offer a greater chance of individual recognition and social success.

Some students who come from a single parent home are determined different from the "normal" ideal family structure. For those students that have both parents at home are not familiar with the aspects of only having one parent. It also leaves the children who only have one parent at home more susceptible to making bad choices. These choices include not doing homework, talking back to the teacher, and misbehaving inside the classroom.

Obesity is another social problem in the classroom. Obese children are twice as likely to be talked about as non-obese children. It is very uncomfortable for these individuals to attend school for various reasons. First, these individuals are uncomfortable with how they look. Second, they are talked about constantly on a daily basis. Third, they stand out among their peers.

Poverty is the final social problem that I will make mention of. Children that are poverty stricken are at a great disadvantage. They tend to do poor in school and cause disruptive behavior in the classroom. However, this is not the case for all poverty stricken students. Some rise above expectations.