Term Paper on "Nobody Left to Hate by Elliot Aronson"

Term Paper 5 pages (1466 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

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… READ MORE

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