Since we can't trust our politicians....

[Chris James]

Since our ignorant government can't seem to get its act together on the root causes of school shootings, I have been looking around for answers. No, I can't accept the Rush Limbaugh moronic foolishness of arming all the students. He actually espoused the idea on Fox News, of course. I get the idea that parents are frantic with worry, we need better answers...and then I came across this:

https://amp.businessinsider.com/one-teachers-brilliant-idea-to-stop-future-school-shootings-has-nothing-to-do-with-guns-2018-2

Short of turning our schools into armed camps, hiring ex-Marines to patrol the hallways, or just strip searching individuals before they enter the school, we need a concise plan. Let's not dehumanize the students, let's look into their minds, and starting in fifth grade seems about right. At least this teacher is doing something positive.

[ChrisR]

Has the teacher actually done anything with this sizable data collection or is it simply 19 years of un-annotated data points? Considering there appear to be few guidelines for how the kids should consider their responses, how does one interpret the results? And are things correlated by observed behaviors, such as cooperation levels, athletic abilities, GPA, family income,etc.? It's tempting to seek ANYthing that can help explain and prevent a recurrence of the shooting, but frankly nothing seems to have worked since at least the UT Tower shooting.

Obviously the last thing we need is another 20-year government study on children and machine guns, or anybody else and mass shootings, but how else do we we separate them?  Perhaps a tougher gun law could be reinstated. But while advocates for such are disappointed that the 2004 gun limitation law expired in 2014, it failed renewal not because of a Republican majority - it failed despite a Democratic majority (53-44)! So even party lines can't be counted on.

It can't mean that we stop trying, but we need to find something that will work in a timely manner. I frankly don't have the answer. And I look for workable solutions which can save our next generations. If you, Glennon, and Chase's Mom are onto something, let's hear it! 

CR

 

[Cole Parker]

I agree.  I was disappointed we didn't learn what she did to stop the bullying, to stop the loneliness, to stop a kid being unliked.  I imagine she has had some success doing these things; otherwise, why continue something that has no value for 19 years?  But it would have been nice to hear what success she'd had, and how.

This was excepted from a Readers' Digest article.  So, perhaps the positive effects were described there.  The article seems truncated without that.

I think metal detectors should be part of every school.  People complain it takes too long so screen kids coming in.  If that's the objection, it's a poor one.  Simply set up a system where all the kids walk through a detector and if an alert goes off, just pull the kid aside and let the rest continue through.  That way there'd be no interruption of kids entering, and all kids would quickly learn what objects not to carry with them into school.

Yeah, there would be costs.  But those would be far less that the cost to society of 18 school shooting in the first month and a half of this year.   Frankly, I think that instead of budgeting any increase in military spending this year, we should spend it on making our schools safer.

C