3 ms·

Here in Taiwan, all public school students his age have utility knives at school and many regularly carry them in their pencil cases. Serious violence here is

by xiaoma 17y ago

Here in Taiwan, all public school students his age have utility knives at school and many regularly carry them in their pencil cases. Serious violence here is extremely rare by western standards.

mquander 17y ago
To be fair, serious violence in most American schools is rare, too. There's a study linked from the article commissioned by the US Department of Justice: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/iscs08.htm http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/iscs08.htm One telling statistic that it provides is that during the '05-'06 school year, there was an average of one "serious violent crime" experienced per 1000 public school students (defined as "rape or attempted rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with a weapon, threat of physical attack with a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon." -- and you can bet that "threat of physical attack" and "physical attack or fight" is fairly loosely defined.) 1 in 1000 per year is satisfactory, if you ask me. I don't think you can do much better than that among the population as a whole without sacrificing a ton more privacy and freedom.
- xiaoma 17y ago
  Regardless of how loosely you feel the other statistics are defined, homicide rates don't leave much wiggle room. And homicide rates are many times higher in the west, particularly in the US. >1 in 1000 per year is satisfactory, if you ask me. I don't think you can do much better than that among the population as a whole without sacrificing a ton more privacy and freedom. What leads you to that conclusion? From the sound of this article, things are quite a bit more restrictive there. Kicking children out of their normal schools for nothing more than an honest mistake which hurt nobody isn't exactly the most forgiving system.

3 ms·

Here in Taiwan, all public school students his age have utility knives at school and many regularly carry them in their pencil cases. Serious violence here is

by xiaoma 17y ago

Here in Taiwan, all public school students his age have utility knives at school and many regularly carry them in their pencil cases. Serious violence here is extremely rare by western standards.

mquander 17y ago
To be fair, serious violence in most American schools is rare, too. There's a study linked from the article commissioned by the US Department of Justice: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/iscs08.htm http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/iscs08.htm One telling statistic that it provides is that during the '05-'06 school year, there was an average of one "serious violent crime" experienced per 1000 public school students (defined as "rape or attempted rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with a weapon, threat of physical attack with a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon." -- and you can bet that "threat of physical attack" and "physical attack or fight" is fairly loosely defined.) 1 in 1000 per year is satisfactory, if you ask me. I don't think you can do much better than that among the population as a whole without sacrificing a ton more privacy and freedom.
- xiaoma 17y ago
  Regardless of how loosely you feel the other statistics are defined, homicide rates don't leave much wiggle room. And homicide rates are many times higher in the west, particularly in the US. >1 in 1000 per year is satisfactory, if you ask me. I don't think you can do much better than that among the population as a whole without sacrificing a ton more privacy and freedom. What leads you to that conclusion? From the sound of this article, things are quite a bit more restrictive there. Kicking children out of their normal schools for nothing more than an honest mistake which hurt nobody isn't exactly the most forgiving system.