A rash of fatal school shootings has again brought the physical safety of our students to the forefront of education discussions.
Last Wednesday, Duane Morrison, 53, took six girls hostage in a Colorado high school, molesting them before killing 16 year old Emily Keyes and then himself. On Friday, Eric Hainstock, 15, pried open his family’s gun cabinet and brought two weapons with him to school. He had recently received disciplinary action for possessing tobacco on school grounds, and had complained about teasing. Finally, on Monday, Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, walked into a tiny Amish school in Lancaster County, Pa., let the male students, a pregnant teacher and some people with children leave. He then ordered the other girls against the blackboard and began shooting shortly after police arrived. He shot ten girls, killing five and then himself. He apparently planned to molest them prior to killing them.
“Our school children should never fear their safety when they enter into a classroom,” President George W. Bush said Tuesday during a visit to George W. Bush Elementary School in Stockton, Calif.
“Laura and I were saddened and deeply concerned, like a lot of citizens around the country, about the school shootings that took place in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Wisconsin. We grieve with the parents and we share the concerns of those who worry about safety in schools.”
He also announced plans to form a conference on school violence to see what federal action can be taken to support communities in preventing violence and dealing with its consequences. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Bush’s domestic policy adviser, Karl Zinsmeister have already met to discuss the conference. The National Parent Teacher Association, school principals, teachers’ unions and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are among the groups named so far to have a part in this conference.
Declining test scores brought us No Child Left Behind. Successes of international institutions of higher education have brought us the Commission on the Future of Higher Education. I can only imagine what this conference will bring.
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Michael Hampton
Oct 04, 2006
This conference is bound to bring more school violence, just like everything else the government has done to date.
Chris Fisher
Oct 04, 2006
Well, if past government action is any indicator, we can probably expect Federal Funding to militarize school police and crossing guards, couple with metal detectors, x-ray detectors, and TSA rejects who get to fondle and strip search the students.
Kim
Oct 04, 2006
Any government action will result in another federally funded jobs program for unemployables, similar to the TSA.
Dana
Oct 04, 2006
Someone on another site said they think it is all just feel-good PR due to an upcoming election. Sometimes, I wish politicians were all talk. But NCLB has been in the works at least since Bush, Sr. was in office and he called his first conference with state education leaders and governors for his education summit.
Maybe the FBI can set up office in the school as well as the police.
Chris Fisher
Oct 05, 2006
Or maybe we’ll see a renewal of the push to ban or further limit gun rights. That would play to both anti-gun liberals and neocon fascists.
Kayell
Oct 05, 2006
I sincerely hope something good comes out of the conference. Having been affected personally by school violence, I can only hope that the government will accomplish something positive in such a vital area.
Dana
Oct 05, 2006
It would be nice, but personally I think it is doubtful. I’m sorry that you had to experience whatever happened and can definitely understand the feeling that “something has to be done.” Something does need to happen, but I think that we have to be very careful about looking to the central government to do anything. They don’t have a good track record at actual success…and the politics would get involved pretty quickly, assuming they even had a good idea to start with.
Most likely it will result in private citizens giving up their rights with no actual decrease in violence.
Chris mentions further gun limitations. That is probably a very likely scenario. In 1996, 16 schoolchildren were murdered by a gunma in Dunblane (Britain). The government decided to stop it immediately and issued a full ban on handguns. In 2001, murder with a handgun increased 90% and armed robbery increased 53%. Other than fully armed guards and military personell in every school, I don’t know what other option the central government would be capable of coming up with.
Peggy Dean
Oct 06, 2006
We need to put a stop to school sanctioned child abuse. In 22 states, for a totoal of a 1/3 of a million children last year alone, teachers are picking up wooden planks and beating children. Injuries are common, and those are only the visible injuries.
Our educated sector should not be modeling violence in any way, shape or form. We may as well forget anti bullying and anti violence campaigns as long as we allow the bully to move to the front of the class.
Carlton Houston
Oct 06, 2006
I agree this is nothing but PR. It’s that Bush has to say something, not that he wants to do anything about it. He’s a tard, plain and simple. If this regime in Washington actually wanted to do anything about school violence, they would have already done something. It’s been an ongoing problem for years, and it has affected every level of society.
This will be another failed attempt to screw more up. They have pushed us into a soft dictatorship already. If there is anything coming out of this it will be a further hardening of that policy, and a further loss of rights of citizens. It will make the target we’re painting on ourselves even brighter as well. We’re going down because all Bushies want is more power.
Erich
Oct 10, 2006
What a bunch of whiners. “soft dictatorship”,
“teachers…beating children”, “ban…gun rights”
Why don’t YOU go out and DO something? Go to a conference.
Join an organization. Run for office. Get involved.
Quit complaining about others – do something for others.
(Yes, I am involved in numerous organizations, from church to
wildlife efforts and community service.)
Anneh
Oct 11, 2006
I work at a high school; I recently started there less than a year ago. I was amazed at how many students were seriously struggling-emotionally at schools. This is not just due to bullying-it’s several things, including their home lives. As a staff member I feel one way to try to stop the violence is trying to get to know each student’s name and say “hello” to them when you see them. Many of the students involved with shootings were “outcasts” and possibly no one ever really paid attention to them, even staff/teachers. This is just one small way we as staff members, whether you’re teacher, principal, secretary, custodian, etc. is just taking a little time to get to know the kids and possibly they may open up a bit to you in possibly preventing an awful event such as what happened. Obviously in some of the shootings it was an outside source, but I guess I feel this is one things I can do personally to try to hopefully prevent such an awful event from happening at our school instead of complaining.
Dana
Oct 17, 2006
Soft dictatorship? Have you ever lived in a dictatorship? There obviously are a number of things I disagree with about this administration, but I don’t see the point of going quite so extreme.
Erich, I agree. We all should “do” something. But “doing something” also includes talking about what is being done, exposing the problems in the system and the problems we see with the proposed solutions. Education precludes really doing much of anything useful.
Anneh, I agree. Societies problems stem from the shortcomings of individuals. Laws and regulations can only go so far to protect us. On one hand, we need to be able to protect ourselves. But that doesn’t touch the root of the problem which lies with individuals which you have stated. A lot of times (but not always) it stems from negative home lives, a lack of attachment and similar problems. I think you are right that a lot can be done by caring adults who actuall listen to children.
BOM784
Dec 05, 2006
It obivous that the president has done somethings during this last term that are, well, “less than admirable,” but i don’ think that this is one of them. This conference will definatley no cause any harm or bring about any more violence so, whats the harm? Maybe by implementing harsher punishments for those convicted of school violence, it will deter people from committing such acts in the future. It certainly won’t do any good for people to criticize the government when its just trying to help
Dana
Dec 05, 2006
The central government is “only trying to help” with its policy on NCLB, as well. What harm could it do? More money, more local control, better access to research-based curriculum choices and accountability. Except for that pesky problem with the central government appropriating money that isn’t its to appropriate, I don’t have a problem with the main principles. If my county undertook the same thing, I might be behind it, who knows.
But when the central government takes over, there are numerous difficulties with “trying to help.” One of which is the lobbyists and one being the impossibility of changing it.
The same will come of this conference. Gradually, we are increasingly governed by an appointed bureaucracy which may be well-meaning, but isn’t responsive to the people or our representatives.
Dec 18, 2006
Police in our schools - Homeland Stupidity