Catholic Charities Holds "Violence? Not In My School" Conference

Sister Mary Rose McGeady D.C., president of Covenant House, delivered the keynote address at the “Violence? Not in My School...” conference at St. John’s University.

In a concerned effort to develop strategies that will help resolve the critical issue of youth violence in schools in the diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, Catholic Charities, the Program for the Development of Human Potential (PDHP), St. John’s University, and Catholic’s Building Community (CBC) held a conference on May 1, at St. John’s University.

Appropriately named "Violence? Not in My School...," the conference aimed to challenge the blind belief that the recent violent calamities witnessed in public schools all around the country could not occur in our Catholic schools. Former executive director of the New York City Board of Education Office of School Safety and current High School principal Dr. Enid Margolis helped "Frame the Issue" by providing an in-depth, thought-provoking overview. Margolis could not stress enough the importance of acknowledging that the problem does exist in our schools and that denying or neglecting the problem only makes the situation worse.

Keynote speaker Sister Mary Rose McGeady, D.C., president of Covenant House, stated that although the mistreatment of children and dejected teenagers is a worldwide dilemma, the United States statistics are poorer and show that "(we) do not have a good report card on how the nation is dealing with kids." The fundamental human needs–love, a sense of belonging, and a sense of hope-are being denied to children. "Everyone is searching for an owner’s manual so that (their children) can turn out as perfect as possible with minimal work," McGeady said. But what all children need, regardless of socio-economic background, is a lot of attention, and unconditional love and respect from their caregivers. Presenting children with a sense of future, developing their potential with programs in education and job training, as well as teaching them critical thinking skills at an early age, are all essential in reaching the growing number of troubled youth.

Among the workshops attended by the gathering of nearly 300 were Creating an Atmosphere of Respect; Street Gangs and Criminal Activity: The Impact on our Schools; Making and Creating Networks For Safe Schools and Communities; Conflict Resolution; Violence in the Media, and Bullying.