Human Behavior in Extreme Situations: Implications for K-12 Education in the Twenty-First Century

Columbine. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook. For most Americans, these names conjure images of violence and feelings of terror or deep sadness. While news reports of rising crime rates build up each day and all-too-frequent occurrences of school-based violence cause panic and fear, policy-makers and school administrators have scrambled to ensure that students are safe and protected in the classroom, in many cases by increasing security, arming school-based police, and putting surveillance systems in place. But looking to the past and examining the ways that humans have responded to novel dangers and extreme situations throughout history may provide us with a better idea of ways that we can adapt ourselves to the threats we now face, particularly in school settings. This book analyzes the response techniques, collaborative models, and personal characteristics that helped individuals from prisoners of concentration camps to kidnapping victims escape their situations and provides modern-day tactics for both responding to and preventing violence in schools.