School Safety

“Do you think that only people in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York get divorced, are victims of violence or abuse, or are uneducated? …Maybe that’s why we are more surprised than we should be when we hear of all these shootings in small town schools.  We are all still in the state of ‘not me’. ‘Nothing can happen to me.’ ‘I am happy living in my own little bubble… .”
Katie Sakowicz, Joliet Central High School, Joliet, Illinois

“Kids are dying in school, which makes us think that schools are not safe anymore. I guess you can say that nowhere is [there] a safe community because you hear so many things on the news. Trusting people is hard because you don’t know what may come of it.”
Makara Puth,  Joliet Central High School, Joliet, Illinois

 “Cases like the Columbine, Colorado and Jonesboro, Arkansas, massacres are incidents of school violence. Students are killing other students without fully realizing the consequences. Many kids are afraid to go to school, for fear of being a victim of school violence.”
Cassie Flynn, Rockridge High School, Taylor Ridge, Illinois   

“When students know they are safe don’t you think they will learn better and have a more positive attitude knowing they don’t have to fear their own classmates.”
Randell Gates, Joliet Central High School, Joliet, Illinois

“Schools are just covering the basics and when a violent crime does occur, they just brush it off. Why not ask the students how they would have handled the situation?
Kelli Carter, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania

Jennifer is thoughtful:

“Is school violence only mass murders, shooting sprees, or bomb threats? No, violence can also be fistfights, verbal arguments, and bullying; and it must stop! If we want productive communities we must have productive youth. [This is] the question that lays heavy on my mind; does this violence only affect the children involved in the confrontation? My answer is no. Whenever this violence is made public it does two things. One, it shows violence to other students which in turn may cause even more violence to erupt and secondly, teaches other children that violence is okay... There are many bullies in our elementary and middle schools today, and although...physical abuse hurts; words affect children much longer. Verbal abuse lowers self-esteem and self-confidence [and] can leave people with emotional scars and complexes that can carry over into adulthood.”
Jennifer Arwood, Harriman High School, Harriman, Tennessee

From South Dakota, Faye ends this conversation by directly addressing you, the adult reader:

“When you hear of another school shooting like the one in Littleton, Colorado, or of another drive-by shooting, what do you think? Maybe you say to yourself, where were their parents? Or maybe you silently pray that God will not let that happen to your family, or that there will be no school shootings at your children’s school. Maybe if you are my age you pray that it does not happen at your school. What has happened that we are now praying for our safety in school?

   Is school not supposed to be a place where society’s children can learn safely, a place where some of their most crucial years are spent? Where have we failed in our society to let fear have the upper hand on us?  Is it not supposed to be a place where many memories occur, and life-long friends are made?”
Faye O’Bryan, Kadoka High School, Kadoka, South Dakota

The curriculum: 

 “There are few courses that are offered in most High Schools today that teach adolescents about the real world. There are, of course, the required classes such as Consumer Economics and American Government that teach basic facts about the adult world. There are a few classes that are aimed at teaching teenagers how to live as adults and what is expected of them as adults (for example classes such as Parenting and Adult Living). However, these classes are not enough.”
Shawn Berberich, Rockridge High, Taylor Ridge, Illinois       

Jared doesn’t believe schools are capable of teaching everything: 

“I need development that the school cannot give me.  The school cannot teach me the rights and wrongs of life, how to love, how to deal with conflicts, no textbook can teach me that.”
Jared Witt, Newell-Fonda High School, Newell, Iowa

And Jose doesn’t think they should try: 

“Many parents believe that our nation’s school system should take the responsibility of teaching their children discipline, morals, and ethics. It is impossible for teachers to take the role of both a parent and a teacher.  Teachers already have too many things on their hands as it is.”
Jose Ochoa, Joliet Central High School, Joliet, Illinois

The educational achievements of American students suffer in comparison with students around the world:

“In earlier times an education was simply reading, writing, and arithmetic. Today subjects vary and so do the levels of learning. …[The student attributes the following quote to E.D. Hirsh, Jr.] ‘Almost all American children have been receiving inferior schooling that hinders them from developing their capacities to the fullest. Compared to the rigorous education received by many Europeans and Asians, most American children are underprivileged.’” 
Krystle Bullock, McLeansboro High, McLeansboro, Illinois

“Somewhere between the parents’ putting the responsibility on the teachers and the teachers’ putting the responsibility on the parents, the job of teaching children morals and academics has been pushed aside.”
Lauren Heit, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

Bottom line: 
“It is an understood and accepted fact that human behavior is learned. The youth of today are more confused and disoriented than they have ever been before. They are confused about the future, where they are going, and what role in society they are supposed to fill. The past few generations seem to lack the knowledge of life and maturity that they should have been taught.” 
Adrienne Huffines, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma