It Can't Happen Here: Prevention and Recognition of Extreme School Violence

Designed to help parents, teachers and counselors recognize the key warning signs in a student who is about to turn violent, this useful video is especially strong in the testimony of adolescent counselor Frank Savarino, who describes the prime reasons why he thinks we've seen an increase in incidences of violence in schools. Among the perceived causes: the increased availability of firearms, the acceptance of guns in society and in the media as a method for solving problems, and drug abuse and socio-economic stresses on families. Counselors and teachers are encouraged here to watch for the warning signs of impending violence: the abuse of animals by young people, emotional disconnection, paranoid behavior and sudden changes in moods. Unfortunately, one of the prominent weaknesses in this video is the acting in small vignettes illustrating the warning signs of violent behavior, acting which is so stilted and phony it makes Reefer Madness look like a study in subtlety. Showing the real shock a school or community experiences when sudden and unexpected gun violence erupts in the classroom would have added a more sobering dimension to the entire production. In spite of these reservations, however, if this video stops one student from expressing his anger with a lethal weapon, it's a successful work. A companion video for students, We're All the Same, is also available for $89.95 and $159 if purchased together. Recommended, with some reservations. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Ray)