Taking the Fight Out of Teenagers

The recent spate of disturbances on high school campuses across Southern California is just that -- disturbing. What are all these teenagers fighting about? Why are they so angry? How is it that teenagers’ fuses are so short? From Los Angeles Unified’s Jefferson High School to Riverside’s Norte Vista High School to Santa Monica High School, arguments are escalating into melees. Why? And what can adults do to stop it from happening?

It is tempting to blame human nature. Kids have always fought, and fights have always drawn a crowd. Running to catch the action, students’ pulses race. Pushing and shoving for front-row views, bystanders contribute to the mayhem. It’s an emotional rush.

Although it isn’t hard to see why teenagers would choose such a show over sitting at a desk doing geometry or reading “Julius Caesar,” school should be the one place in a child’s life where reason and order prevail.

The problem is that schools operate within the larger society, and when that society glorifies violent behavior it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain order in schools. One has only to look around to see how teenagers are being lured astray: Professional athletes attack their fans, hip-hop artists boast of violent crimes, reality shows reward aggression. Adults must examine our own complicity in providing and promoting entertainment that encourages the cave man within.

Children need to be civilized. Socrates, not Tony Soprano, should be their role model. Parents of 4-year-olds work hard to teach their children to use words rather than hitting or biting to solve playground problems. The work can’t stop with taking turns on the slide, though. Teenagers need to see adults in the media and in the news working through disputes without recourse to fisticuffs.

I applaud efforts by counselors to sort out the conflicts between individuals and groups of students, but we will never be able to eliminate all the things that make teenagers mad. The hole my son punched in his bedroom wall when he was in high school serves as a reminder of the fury that smolders within many a teen upon getting a third speeding ticket or worse. Most grow out of this anger without doing lasting damage to themselves or others. In many ways, 17-year-olds are children in men’s and women’s bodies. We need to help them learn to deal with their anger as well as take responsibility for their mistakes.

Campus scuffles are dealt with severely. Parents are called in. Suspensions are dealt out. Police are often summoned to restore order as well as to impress upon students the seriousness of disturbing the peace. Along with these official repercussions, we must also teach teenagers the simple guidelines of getting along with others, even those we don’t particularly like.

Just as we taught our kindergartners to stop, look and listen before crossing the road, we need to teach our high school children what to do the next time they feel the urge to raise their fists: Stop, think, breathe and walk away.

Carol Jago teaches English at Santa Monica High School and directs the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA. She can be reached at jago@gseis.ucla.edu.