1997-1998 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

Responsibility: Who Has It, Who Doesn't, And What That Means To The Nation 

Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

    1st   Mindy Harrawood    2nd Melissa Fox       3rd Ashley Ledbetter

Definitions
"Having respect for yourself and others is a large part of having responsibility."
Melissa Fox, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

Student Opinions
"There are many solutions such as a class [mandate] for students…throughout school, starting with kindergarten. Each class would entail moral teaching, anger control, dealing with difficult problems, expressing your feelings through a non-violent way and learning to go to someone for help. Each class would be serious and as important as English, Mathematics and History. Teaching from an early age would let children get used to being friendly and open towards other people. This would allow the children to grow up with respect toward others and they would be able to teach their child the respect they need.

Another solution would be [a] one-on-one with students: Teachers and students talking personally with students with a lack of self-esteem and morals. An example is a program called White Hats. It is a program designed to help grade school students have a high school buddy. The high school students meet one day per week at the grade schools. During this time, they can help with homework, play on the computer, play basketball, read a book or just simply talk. This allows personal contact with a child that is more gullible to society's pressures. White Hats allows a child to have a role model that he or she might not normally have. Another program available is the Key Club. It allows students to become more involved with the community…There are also many programs set up to help students work through their problems. Peer mediation is a fast-growing concept that many schools are using. This allows students to confront their problems head-on. They can talk about their problems with a person of their age and who is going through the same thing. Students that drop out of high school are on the rise. Schools re now developing programs for high-risk and dropout students. These programs teach the basic knowledge of everyday life. These programs help young teens that have had children to learn and take care of their children at the same time."
Mindy Harrawood, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"My second step is for families to be families again. I think this is very important…that parents sit down with their families, especially children and talk with them about the things going on at school and with their friends. A good place for this is at the dinner table each night, if possible. My third step is perhaps one of the most vital of them all. It is that parents should know where their children are and what they are doing. I think a curfew is a good way to at least somewhat know this. When children reach their teenage years, a curfew becomes essential to having control over them. You should also know your children's friends and their parents, as well as what kind of child that person is."
Melissa Fox, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"The boy is to blame because he committed a crime and he should take responsibility for what he did. I also think that the school is to blame because the boy should never have been able to get into the school with guns in the first place. The family is also responsible because they apparently did not teach this young man how to control his behavior. All three of these should take their own small amount of responsibility because they all could have stopped this incident from occurring… My only solution to this problem would be to have better interaction between students and maybe even parents. I would set up a program designed for students who need to talk about their problems. I would make sure that all information remained private except that parents could talk to a counselor if they felt their child could have a problem. This would help to build a communication line for troubled kids to open up and let their aggression out in a positive way and not a negative way."
Ashley Ledbetter, Harrisburg high School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"As a result of the Heath shooting in Paducah, Kentucky, the question is asked, "Who is to blame for this horrible tragedy?" Is it the parents of the young man? Is it the media? Is it the criticism of the other students? When I thought about it, it all boiled down to this young man, himself. Was it the parents that brought the weapons into the school? Was it the media who pulled the trigger? Was it the other students of the school who took the young lives of three victims? The answers to these questions are no, no, and no. The only one responsible for these deaths is the person that performed this dreadful act.

The parents direct the child by setting an example and teaching him or her. They serve as a role model for the child, but are they always to be responsible for the actions of that child? Children do not learn from their parents forever. They develop their own minds. This is when accountability comes into affect. Could a fourteen-year-old student honestly put the blame on his or her parents for stealing something from the mall, for cheating on a test, or for shooting and killing his or her classmates? No, these are actions that developed from the thoughts of this individual's mind.

Violence in the media is a problem, but it cannot be held responsible for an individual's actions. Individuals must understand the difference between right and wrong. They must also understand accountability and consequences for actions. As stated before, the media did not pull the trigger. One would also believe that common sense would prevent this kind of thing from happening. If our favorite actor or actress was seen in a movie walking into a building and unloading on everyone there, do we go out and do the same? Movies are not reality. Our everyday lives are reality. We may not unload on anyone at any time without having to face the consequences. The thought that the media is to blame for this young man's actions is, like the media itself, unreal.

Almost every student has been made fun of at one time or another by a brother, sister, or a peer. In return, almost every student has made fun of someone. How do we handle it when we are being laughed at? Do we just pack a gun and shoot the critic? If we were to do so, could we blame the critic for making us? Did the critic say, 'Hey, why don't you shoot me, now that I have made you feel bad?' In this case, the answer is no. It was the student who thought these words. It was the student who brought the guns into the school. It was the student who pulled the trigger. It was the student who took the lives of the three youths. If that is not enough evidence to prove that the student is responsible for this terrible tragedy, then I do know what is.

What could prevent this sort of thing from happening? Parents could teach their children the difference from right and wrong and bring them up in a non-violent home. The schools could put up metal detectors, cameras, or hall monitors. Counselors could take closer interests in the students. Could doing all of these things stop the violence? It may decrease, but I do not feel that any of these things could completely prevent it from happening. As far as making a personal contribution, the only thing that I can do is promise that I would never take the life of another human being."
Gatha Place, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"The recent shooting at Heath High School in Paducah, Kentucky was a senseless act of violence. The accused was definitely a disturbed person and he should be looked at as such. He is reported saying that he did not know why he shot the group of students. The shooter needs to be punished to the fullest extent of the law so as not to set a precedent for other senseless acts of violence."
Matt Smith, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"A suggestion that I think would bear some fruit is to have a group of students at a particular school whose job it would be to keep watch over their peers. These would be people who are well thought of and recommended by several teachers or other school officials. They would keep themselves highly organized and their function would be kept out of the knowledge of other students. There would be about five members of this organization per 100 students. These would watch the activities of their peers and periodically and secretly report wrong doings or suspicious activities."
Jeremy W. Yeary, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"The seriousness of punishments for wrong doings at school isn't always harsh enough and many students feel they can do whatever they want without obeying any kind of rules. When students are given too much freedom, the schools lose their purpose of giving discipline and creating an orderly and safe learning environment. Another problem that leads to school violence is the cruelty between students and the lack of respect for others. At Heath, the student who committed the crime was said to have been teased and made fun of by other students. Many times students don't consider others' feelings and many times they have an extremely harsh effect. The possession of weapons is another problem contributing to school violence. The ease [with] which irresponsible and young people can get weapons is scary. Perhaps stricter gun laws and enforcement of them could prevent violence. Parent involvement, or rather the lack of parent involvement, is just one more problem adding to school violence and violence of young people, in general. Many times the ones committing the violent crimes are people who have grown up without parents who were loving and involved. In the tragedy at Heath, one brave student by the name of Ben Strong took a huge risk. He took action by approaching and talking the boy with the gun out of doing any further violence. This heroic act perhaps saved many more lives. By taking less dangerous actions we, too, can help save lives."
Ginger Reynolds, Harrisburg High School Harrisburg, Illinois

"An example of school violence in my home area was the Heath High School shooting that occurred in December, 1997 in Paducah, Kentucky. In this horrible incident, one student in the high school went up to a prayer group that was just breaking up and just started shooting at the students. Three were killed and one will never walk again. In this situation, I feel that the student is fully responsible for his own actions and so are the parents. I do not think that the high school had much responsibility because they had no clue what was going on and, therefore, should not be held responsible. I think that to the nation it means that they are letting the youth be too out of control. The government needs to put some stricter rules on what teenagers are allowed to do and not to do. Some of these rules could be: stricter gun control laws, more enforced town curfews, and a stricter way of controlling the things that teenagers buy."
Amy Bowers, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"Many people blame his actions on the type of music he listened to which is only another way not to lay the responsibility on him. If he had known he would receive the death penalty for taking innocent lives, he might not have been as quick to storm in the room with the power of life or death in his hands. When people of this nature kill without reason, the death penalty should always be pursued. By making an example of what will happen if others commit these actions is the only way to ever deter future violent acts like this…Our lives are a great contrast between violent action and a random act of kindness. This world can be as cruel as a vicious tiger in the jungle or as calm as a baby sheep grazing. We all live together on the same planet and somehow we must learn to share and live together."
Jeremy Klope, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"We started the local S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions), formerly known as Students Against Driving Drunk program at a local high school to encourage students against destructive decisions. This has helped others and myself out a great deal. It gives us an opportunity to come together and talk about issues without feeling uncomfortable."
Mandi Barnes, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois

"Everyday in the news there are stories about our role models turning bad… Children see this and think if you don't get what you want, violence is the answer. The press makes these incidents the leading story for days and shows the replay of violence over and over again…Michael Carneal, 14 years old, is accused of shooting 12 shots into a school, killing three and injuring five others.… Carnell had a B average in school. He played in the band with all of the victims. He got his idea from a movie where a famous actor brought a gun into school in his backpack and started shooting . Only the movie was fake."
Mindy Harrawood, Harrisburg, High School, Harrisburg, Illinois                                   [Back]