In Focus
Once again our nation mourns the loss of young, innocent lives in a school shooting.
There are more questions than answers. People and lawmakers are once again fighting over gun control and pointing fingers in every direction.
In this unfortunate instance, the guns were legally obtained. Yes, they were used to kill but I am getting tired of hearing that it’s the gun’s fault. The gun can’t pull its own trigger. The shooter is 100 percent to blame.
With all the legislation regulating guns, it seems some of them will ultimately get into the wrong hands.
This is just a small portion of a much bigger picture.
How do we keep schools safe?
In our local communities schools have active shooter drills, locked doors and liaison officers are present. I feel our local schools are pretty safe. Is it perfect? No. Honestly, if there is a will, there is a way. But short of metal detectors, never letting a single outside person come in and 20-foot cement walls around the school grounds, is anything perfect? No.
The majority of the problem is that these shooters are students. So, no matter what safety precautions are put in place, they can enter or are already inside. And they know the active shooter drill because they have practiced it. A potential shooter knows the protocols and how to get around them. This is where the issue lies.
How do you protect students from their own classmates?
There has been much debate about arming teachers. Sorry folks, that’s just not going to happen. Why? Because I think most teachers wouldn’t take on that responsibility. Yes, some would but for others, it would be like shooting their own child. They would rather take a bullet.
Having armed veterans be present in the school is another idea. Okay, sure, it is a slightly better idea. But again, could this work? Hard telling.
What this all boils down to is mental health. COVID has made this issue even worse and the need for mental health assistance in schools is a dire need. Counselors, social workers and mental health experts are in and out of the schools a lot but the need greatly outnumbers those available to address the issue.
Bullying continues to be a big issue also. In some instances, various factors are involved and bullying seems to be a trigger for the shooter.
It’s only going to get worse as racism and discrimination continue to reach new heights. In my opinion, in this day and age, if you seem to be anything but a straight, white, Christian individual, you can be the target of bullying. Sometimes it only takes something like if you don’t play in sports, you don’t like a club or are not involved at school or maybe you are just pegged differently than others.
I attended an eye-opening seminar once where I was introduced to the book “Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer” by Phil Chalmers. This man has spent decades talking to killers and learning why they did what they did. I strongly believe every parent, teacher, administrator, officer...everyone...should read this book and take the signs to heart. I’m serious—read the book!
How is the kid’s home life? Do they mutilate animals? Is there self-harm? Isolated? The list goes on. But here’s the question: Are the signs being noticed and reported? Is it being taken seriously?
These signs need to be detected before it’s too late. And often times they are just overlooked. This is where we need to do better.
Our legislation needs to allocate more funds for schools to get mental health practitioners, smaller class sizes, host classes pertaining to mental health, and incorporate trusted individuals for students to reach out to.
I think that would be a good place to start. It won’t entirely fix the issue but I think it would be a step in the right direction.