From Deseret News archives:
What do we tell students about safety now?
Last week, a gunman took six students hostage at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colo. sexually assaulting some of them before killing one girl and himself. Two days later, a principal in Wisconsin was shot to death by a 15-year-old who had been disciplined for throwing a stapler at a teacher's head.
Suddenly, the assurances we as parents give our children regarding their safety at school are probably beginning to sound a bit absurd.
We all have our stock lines.
"You're actually safer at school than you are outside of school."
"This is a safe community. You'll be fine."
"We know your principal, teachers and school secretaries are looking out for you."
"We wouldn't send you to school unless we knew it was safe."
In the aftermath of these disturbing events, what do we tell our children now? Will they believe us?
As much as we would like to protect our children from images of school violence, today's children are more plugged in than ever. Even if parents have a strict policy of turning off the radio and TV when there has been a school shooting, others aren't so strident. A child's peers will have access to this information, and word will spread like wildfire. Worse yet, there will be no opportunity for parents to help children understand the day's events or to place these events in the proper context. Parents need to initiate these conversations.
Public schools are public buildings, so it is not reasonable to expect that they can be cordoned off at the start of each school day. It's unrealistic that every school have an armed peace officer on the premises. Utah simply hasn't the resources or, gratefully, a demonstrated need.
Seemingly, though, there's got to be something better to do than wring our hands and shake our heads when the unthinkable happens. Particularly when the unthinkable seems to be happening repeatedly.
Comments
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