School Shootings
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/15/justice/new-mexico-school-shooting/index.html?hpt=ju_c2
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/15/justice/new-mexico-school-shooting/index.html?hpt=ju_c2
This story from CNN is about a seventh grade boy in New Mexico who opened fire in a gym with a 20 gauge shot gun injuring two students which just occurred on Tuesday January 14, 2014. It was the brave actions of a social studies teacher that talked the boy into putting the gun down and stopping a massacre. Police have the boy in custody and are investigating the shooting. Apparently the boy had warned some students not to attend school that day but did not elaborate as to why. None of the children told an adult about the suspicious request. Police are currently trying to find a motive for the shooting. So far it seems as though the boy was not picked on or had any negative interactions at school. This leaves everyone wondering why this young boy would commit such an act.
School shootings are becoming more common throughout the United States and is leaving the nation to wonder why and what can be done. The recent gun restrictions were an attempt to decrease the risk of school shootings but has many factors working against it. For starters many people feel it is their rights being taken away and secondly their is already many guns circulating throughout the states. Other suggestions were to have someone in the school be armed. Teachers are currently undergoing training for what to do in case of a school shooting. Many of these trainings involve shooting a gun with blanks to get people aware of the sound and make the training more effective.
So many questions are involved in trying to find out why this is occurring. Is media exacerbating the situation? By showing these scenes are we somehow increasing the risk of it occurring more often? Are guns to accessible to these young kids? Are video games to blame? Music? Tv Shows? Communities? Culture? This seems to be a very complex problem with no clear answer or end in sight. So the answer remains a mystery on how to solve such a horrific and troubling problem facing our schools and the safety of our students.
I definitely agree that school shootings are happening more often and it is unknown what is causing these problems. It is also clear that there is not much of a solution at this point. My husband is a teacher and had to undergo training in the school on how to respond if there happens to be a school shooting. This included shooting a gun in the hallway and officers trying to get into the room. It was very realistic and somewhat traumatizing. It is mind boggling how normalized violence has become with video games, movies, tv shows, etc. So Stephanie, you are right, we don't really know the cause or a clear answer to this very serious issue but it is something that needs to addressed. It is however, more reassuring that school staff are being better trained for this type of crisis. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteI think that you raised several good points that apply to many of the school violence occurrences in the recent past. First, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding gun control regulations. While many politicians are arguing over whether or not this would infringe on our rights, no one has proposed a method to regulate this law. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that weapons will always be readily available- if not guns, knives, homemade bombs, etc. Due to this fact, I agree that an emphasis should be placed on preventing crises and improving crisis interventions.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am not sure whether the media is actually making the situation worse, or if the media is just more prevalent in our lives currently. The Jonesboro, Arkansas shooting of 1998, for example, was equally as tragic as the shooting in Newtown in 2012, however news of the Newtown shooting traveled not just by the nightly news, but also social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, radio, text messaging, and blogs. While I do not know whether the media is encouraging violence in children and young adults, it is undeniably the reason that the Newtown shooting impacted people across the nation, and was not just isolated to Connecticut.
I like to flip this and make people not think about "what can we take away" to help the situation but think about "what can we add"
ReplyDeleteWe can add training to teachers about what can and possibly will happen in their school or district.
We can have services offered to students or teachers ( such as screenings, free counseling ect.)
We can build community centers to get positives into a "bad" neighborhood.
We could encourage more parent interactions with teachers and schools.
We can give educational resources to students to help them recognize symptoms in their friends.
I don't think the approach is let's take all the guns away...or that video games are horrible. I think about the approach to these situations as what are we not giving these kids that this is their resort to get attention or feel heard.
I agree with Melissa saying not to take guns away nor do I think Tv, video games, music are a huge influence. Every person and situation is different but I do not think it can be generalized to say playing "violent games" or watching violent shows is going to make someone commit crime and have violent behavior.
ReplyDeleteI do think guns are too accessible for children and for anyone for that matter, as well as being able to get ammo off line, etc. So, I do feel as if the government needs to do more to control and monitor purchasing and distribution. It may be a difficult process but guns exist and I do believe in the right to having a weapon but kids do have too much access for them.
I think more in school counseling, etc is necessary too because it is possible that things like this may be prevented if a child is heard or felt like they are being cared for and that they matter. This could be a way to reach out to kids and be able to track behaviors, emotions, thoughts, etc. Almost as if there was mandatory counseling for all students and a law. So the government would need to invest more money in having this available and the right staff, i.e. Social Workers!
The shooter had a plan. He was able to access a gun in his home; the gun was not locked up. He was able to modify the gun in preparation for the shooting. I am wondering how the family missed the signs. How can we better prepare parents to notice the signals, that a child needs help? The shooter warned some students to stay home. I am wondering how we can encourage increased communication among students, staff, to offer help in recognizing warnings, tip-offs that a peer is in distress? Teachers also need counseling in these tragedies; yet they are being charged with the role of putting on the "face of courage" to counsel students even though the teachers are "scarred" themselves. How do we prepare staff to assume this assignment or do we acknowledge that other professionals might need to be in this role to address the trauma of teachers/staff as well as students. The community approach toward all of the kids demonstrates outreach to all students involved: "They don't stop being our kids because they are injured or incarcerated".
ReplyDelete