Every time a serious incident of violence occurs in a school setting, or outside school involving children, almost the same ritual follows. We act surprised, we express shock, we condemn it, we look for someone to blame, and we call for tougher measures.
For a few days, we talk about "juvenile delinquency", absent parents and teachers who can no longer maintain discipline. Then comes silence. Until the next incident.
Perhaps it is easier to sweep the real reasons under the carpet than to confront ourselves, whether individually or collectively.
The study by the Centre for Gender Equality and History (CGEH), presented yesterday by Politis on integrating the principle of non-violence into education, raises precisely this uncomfortable question.
What drives a child to lash out? What kind of environment produces such behaviour? What do we do before a child hits, bullies, humiliates or excludes another child?
First and foremost, there is the family. What values and educational practices shape that child from their earliest years?
Then there is the school, where children spend more time on weekdays than they do with their parents at home.
Clearly, children and young people are crying out.
They are crying out because of the dead ends they encounter.
What else are the rising incidents of violence among minors, the self-destructive tendencies of children and teenagers who are entering "legal" addictions and drug use at increasingly younger ages, addiction to the digital world, complete indifference to what is happening around them, academic failure and early school leaving, anger towards parents and schools, and delinquent behaviour such as vandalising parks in the afternoons or racing motorcycles recklessly through neighbourhoods?
These are, above all, cries of existential anxiety.
What children desperately want is to be visible, to be heard, to belong and to see a future for themselves.
We already possess the knowledge and the foundations needed to give children what they truly seek.
They need free time to communicate, space to play, create and take initiative.
They need the freedom to fail without being labelled incapable or less intelligent, to fall and then try again.
We can create a system that helps our children learn to live peacefully with others, express themselves, recognise and manage their emotions, build relationships, understand diversity and develop initiative.
We can build a system capable of curbing the violence that we are currently allowing to flourish, along with every other form of destructive behaviour hidden behind this cry for help.
The way to suppress the symptoms is to confront the causes directly.
And we know what the causes are.
The question is whether we are finally prepared to listen to children's anger and act, instead of asking after every violent incident what went wrong.
