It is with a heavy heart, that I am blogging this week about another senseless school shooting tragedy. On February 27th, seventeen year old T.J. Lane walked into Chardon High School
There have been various reports regarding what set Lane off that morning. Some reported that he was an “at-risk” kid who had a troubled home life. Others reported Lane was upset about a recent breakup. Still others reported that Lane was seen as a “loner” and oftentimes bullied by classmates. Back in 2010, I blogged about the rise of cyber-bullying. You can read my thoughts and what your fellow students had to say here: http://www.historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2010/09/cyber-age-of-bullying.html
For this week, I’d like to know, “What do you think can be done to stop attacks at school such as this? Who is to blame – the shooter, the students, the parents, the teachers or the community as a whole?” I’d like you to think about your answer from a security, social and educational standpoint. Answers are due no later than Wednesday, March 7th, 2012.
I don't think there is any way to stop these attacks from happening because they are out of everyones hands. Who to blame is also something that is hard to discuss yes its the shooter who chooses to take action but you need to look at his motives. I believe schools need to enforce serious bullying policies. It shouldn't be tolerated at all and there should be serious punishment involved. As for security students need to be informed and trained what to do when situations such as this arise. My school had a serious incident when I was in high school and no one was trained what to do besides to get kids in classrooms.
ReplyDeleteThese kinds of incidents happen quite often it seems now. This is no ultimate way to impede these tragedies from happening; however if she was described as a troubled loner kid with a troubled home life. The school corporation could have seek out counseling for the child. They also could increase security upon kids entering school. Having metal detectors aren't going to impede upon kids rights and add security for people seeking a cheap public education. It is tragic, however there isn't much that can be done now. It's how they choose to proceed forward.
ReplyDeleteI just recently discussed this topic with my boyfriend and his mother due to the fact that my boyfriend's little brother is only 12 and lives not far from where this happened. The little brother is also quite often bullied in school, making my point that I want to partially blame bullying for this incident.
ReplyDeleteI wish there were better and more effective policies to stop bullying. Most schools seem to punish both the bully and the person being bullied as a way of stopping the problem, which it doesn't. Children are told to get an adult or teacher to help, but most likely the adult can't help the emotional damage (and physical) that's already been done.
I agree with Devin's comment about using metal detectors to prevent weapons from entering the school. Yes, there are expensive, but how many children's lives would that save alone? Quite a bit in my opinion.
I also think parenting comes into play here. A combination of a bad home life and school life (practically the only two places children spend their time at) leads to very scarey and risky scenarios.
Overall, this will still keep happening because it's impossible to stop this, mostly due to the fact that I believe there will always be a bully no matter what you do. But we can slow it down.
The parents and the shooter are to blame. We've had guns for a couple of centuries now and before the last 15 years or so kids weren't deciding to go postal on thier class mates for being bullied. Do you think bullying is new and people just picked up on it in the last couple years? The problem here is the fact that there are too many parents that just let thier kids do whatever they want, watch whatever they want, and don't pay attention to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zack, bullying has been around as long as people have been around. When kids are brought up in a dysfunctional family, get bullied, and are allowed to do whatever they want, watch whatever they want, and to express themselves any way they want it is all a recipe for disaster. I don't know if you can completely control the issue, but there are steps that can be taken to reduce the problem.
ReplyDeleteMy son was the victim of a bully. He was not being bullied, a 5th grader was bullying a kindergardener and my son, a 3rd grader stood up to the bully and was suspended because, after being punched several times by the bully for standing up to him, he struck back. Because he defended himself, he was punished,
What does that teach children? Don't stand up for yourself of others or you will get in trouble.
the adults need to stop trying to be friends with their children and be the parent instead. There is plenty of time to be a friend when you have done your job as a parent.
I feel that everyone could share the blame. Parents aren't taking the responsibility of talking with their children about the dangers of bullying or how to stand up to them. Teachers aren't teaching children not to tease of bully others. At the same time, I feel administrators need to set better relationships up with students and to let them know they can talk to them about anything. I believe one of the main reasons children don't talk about being bullied to due to a level of embarrassment and no connections with teachers or figures of authority.
ReplyDeleteIf metal detectors were put in schools, I'm sure several students (and parents) would feel safer. My high school thought about putting metal detectors at all the entrances my senior year. While I thought it was a terrible idea then, I think it would be a great safety feature for students now.
As far as stopping attacks, I think people of authoritative positions should step up and learn to read the signs of bullying. It may be impossible to completely stop, but at least something can be done about events like this from being so traumatic.
--Rebekah Cage
This type of situation has been happening for many years now, even when my parents went to school, but they never decided to take a gun to school and open fire. Or me for that matter I didn't see the point. Many kids these days think a gun or violence will solve their problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rebekah about the metal detectors being placed in school. It doesn't put a bad image on a school or makes the school seem unsafe, to me that would make the school safer. Also teachers paying closer attention to their students, that's their job.
The teachers and the shooter himself are to blame. The teachers should have seen the signs that he was troubled and had done something to help. Lane wrote a disturbing poem on Facebook that should have been a red flag. The shooter was seventeen and should have known right and wrong and the consequences of his actions.
I agree with everyone and how it is very hard to really pinpoint someone to blame but i feel that everyone can do their part. I think higher security definitely would help as well as the school should have appointed some kind of counselor. Maybe more teachers on "hall duty" could help, i know it made a difference at my school. As far as parents, i mean parents should know not to treat their kids like crap i guess but some still do it so its kind of hard to try to get that to stop. As for the parents that try to be good parents, i have known of many that leave guys at "arms reach" or unsecured, i guess just be more careful there.
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard to exactly say who to blame should be awarded to. I know I'm supposed to answer this from a social security point of view, but I'm not sure there anyone to blame other than the shooter himself. We all have to go through breakups and hardships, but we must execute wise decisions as well; every action has a consequence. I also wonder if a doctor/psychiatrist knew about any signs that may have indicated suspicious behavior? I don't think the parents should be blamed unless they let their child watch violence at an early age. Now that I think about it, I might deem society as a possible partial blame as well. Video games and media in general are sort of opening new violent doors to kids at a much earlier age. It's important to watch what our growing kids perceive, because it shapes who they become as (pre)adults. I suppose no one and everyone is to blame.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way to stop school shootings and there is no one specifically who we can point the finger at. I do feel like parents, teachers, and school administrator should pay way more attention to their kids/students than they do. A lot of students who are bullied, sad, depressed, abused etc. are just over looked. People just think "Oh their probably just having a bad day." No, how about people take the time to get to know what is wrong with a child. Take interest in their life, what makes them happy or sad, ask them how life is at home, what is going on in their social life, show them that you care! We lack a lot of school administrators, teachers and parents who just don't care anymore because their to busy caught up in their work or relationships. I know that every child can not be talked to and that people can't take the ext a mile with every student who looks sad, but they could be doing a lot better than what they are doing. Also it is the students responsiblity to speak up and ask for help and to speak up and talk about whats wrong or hurting them. All parties are involved and to blame!
ReplyDeleteI think there should be a student ID and metal detector as soon as you walk threw the door.. this will not allow anyone with a knife or gun to enter the building. The ID will tell the security grads that you attend the school and that you are not some random kid seeking revenge...
ReplyDeleteI think every school should have a metal detector, cameras in every hallway and stairway, Police officers on scene, and the student must be able to show and scan student ID card when they enter the building. It is very sad we have to come to these as a necessity in schools but for the safety of the students and teachers I think it's very necessary. I think only the shooter is to blame how can anyone else really know how one feels or thinks let alone others intentions. People can easily be misread as a person but the way they look or act doesn't always show thier real personality, intentions, or capability. The parents and teachers can only do so much to raise and keep us safe as well as to keep us inline. In the end the only persons fault is the shooter. I'm sure the parent's of the shooter are just as upset as the one's who lost a child. Even if the parent is a over protective or barely around thier is only so much people can control. In the end we can only control ourselves.
ReplyDeleteBullying is nothing new, although I can say that this generation of kids are so much meaner than my generation. I believe the blame lies in all the areas mentioned above. Security at schools is not being taken seriously. These 'rent a cop' security guards that are supposed to maintain safety and the peace, are just dropping the ball. Parents who don't stay involved in their children's lives and behaviors don't react accordingly are also to blame. You can't just let your child misbehave with no consequences. How are they ever going to learn right from wrong? Also, you have to spend time talking with your child,and give them a place that they can always come to vent about things happening in their school careers and lives in general. For a child knowing that they can talk to their parents is a huge deal. The educators are not doing enough when it comes to monitoring the bullying. On the other hand, teachers are so stressed with making sure that students are passing tests for example: ISTEP. It just seems that they are so otherwise occupied with the pressures of this, that there seems to be a disconnect with students on the personal level. I find this frustrating.
ReplyDeleteDenise Halcomb
I definitely agree that metal detectors should be in more schools. When I was in high school all doors automatically locked except for the main entrance and even then you had to be buzzed in to get into the rest of the school. That doesn't keep someone from bringing a gun to school but it does prevent someone coming through a door unnoticed after classes have started. I also feel that there is so much publicity for situations like this. It's catching like wild fire and I think everyone pulls "inspiration" when they hear about other people doing it. If we weren't bombarded by newsfeeds about teenagers killing themselves or others because of bullying maybe they wouldn't think it to be an option. To an extent I think parents are to blame but mostly it's the person that is doing the deed. A teenager can't be on complete lock down and surveillance by parents all the time. Like everyone else said, bullying is nothing new but with the new ease of access to everything digital it's a new outlet. Not only may a kid be bullied in school but even in the privacy of his or her own room they are being harassed.
ReplyDeleteI think there's not much that can be done to stop or prevent attacks at school. I feel the best course of action would be security guards and metal detectors. As far as who to blame for this school attack I think the attacker should be held responsible for their actions. Event if the attacker is a child I'm sure they know what they are doing and the attacker in this case was seventeen. I understand he was harassed but that's no reason to harm or kill anyone. There are better ways he could have handled the situation.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is tricky. Metal detectors, police officers, it's all been tried before. It might be less about security and more about morals...
ReplyDeleteThe shooter can be blamed because he didn't use his heart, he chose to be destructive and to not reason.
The parents can be blamed for not loving or better educating their child.They can also be blamed for not caring enough to keep track of his life.
The peers could be blamed if this boy was being bullied or pressured. It's so important to be accepted in life. All people need to be cared about and accepted, even those who say they don't.
The schools/teachers could be blamed if they aren't keeping an open door policy and communicating with students about fear and harm and abuse and respect for life... etc. I believe that educators can help where parents fail, even if it's just a little.
Personal opinion of course...
It is extremely hard to say who is to "blame" when these situations are all circumstantial. Ultimately, society needs to always stop trying to find someone to blame and hold the individual responsible for their actions. Our society has become very weak mentally and we seem to take the easy way out of things, essentially not fully thinking things through. Schools have tried to beef up security, but are they really going to implement metal detectors and more personnel for these issues? Probably not, it just sounds good when these issues arise. Sure, teachers could be to blame, but how when you really teach that and fit that into a curriculum? It would make more sense if society and parents would try to deal with these issues before they escalate into incidents such as these.
ReplyDeleteThere's so many people that you could point fingers at and there are so many contributing factors and he said she said that we'd never get the story straight. Parents will get blamed for neglecting their kids. Teachers will get blamed for not paying attention or be blamed for favoring one student over another. I remember being bullied in middle school and I did not want to talk about it to anyone. The only way I got through it was by relieving my stress through drawing. I think that if you can't find a way to express your feelings or emotions, in a positive manner, they'll build up inside until one day the bullied will snap. Yes bullies are bad and you can heighten security in schools all you want but you can't follow each individual kid around school or control what they do or say to one another once they leave. Some people become bullies because of events in their own lives but I believe that no matter how great of a life they have some people can still turn out to be a bully.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone is to blame but at the same time no one is to blame for attacks like this. There may have been some way to prevent this from happening. I think all it would have taken was for someone to show T.J. that they were in his corner. From personal experience, that’s all it takes. It doesn’t matter if it’s a teacher showing a friendly interest or a classmate that shares a common hobby.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to say who is at blame here, and not sure if we can really stop an event like this. Being bullied has most likely happen to everyone, but people deal with the stress of it differently. Maybe more security so guns can't get into the shcool would help. No gun no deaths in school, but outside of school would be different. Seems no matter how hard we try, theirs always going to be a problem to fix. Jessica Smith
ReplyDeleteCan it really be prevented? You can prevent students from bringing weapons into school, sure, raise security, do searches, make them have transparent backpacks and purses. Doing this you are greatly killing privacy, and are surely going to upset anyone involved, it will be expensive, and it will also upset parents that this is being forced upon their children.
ReplyDeleteEven so, after this is done, anything a person picks up can be considered a weapon. A pencil could kill someone surely like a knife could, and same with many other things that can be brought to and are already at schools. If someone really wanted to hurt others, you really can't stop them, aside from trying to get them to think differently or resulting to force.
Now for who's to blame, you can't blame any single source. Parents likely take a role in it, but parent's teachings are useless if the child doesn't listen or care. It's obvious he's mentally unstable, and likely could use some support, but what's support going to do if he pushes others away? He is certainly to blame, for being capable of pulling off something like this. Perhaps he has reasons he didn't and won't speak of, perhaps there's many things involved none of us know about, but truly it was ultimately his decision and his actions.
Things like this can never be truely prevented as long as others are willing to degrade others. Like a few people have said, raise security on the school as a whole. This seems to work out in inner city schools through the country that have high violence and gang statistics. Ultimatly if people want to get violent there will always find/be a way for them to be.
ReplyDeleteAs for who is to blame, both the one doing to violent act and the ones being attacked are both to blame, to Some extent. The perp is definatly to blame for taking it to far and committing the act. But people have to think what pushed him to go this far. People say that bad parenting and home life is to blame for it. If that was the case the violence would be committed at the house, there are always exceptions so this could be a benifactor in some. Ultimatly it is the students who bully and push the bullied to far. Everyone has a breaking point and some get pushed to far and violence is a result of this.
Each person is responsible for their own actions. We can't blame the bullies for the monsters they create, although I'm sure they feel a connection. The student made all of the choices leading up to the shooting, teachers and peers are not responsible for the shooters mental health, even if they have damaged it.
ReplyDeleteRather than chasing after bullies I think programs should be implemented to help students learn more effective methods of dealing with being bullied. Mental health should be exercised just as we make sure children get physical exercise growing up. Bullying is going to happen; it is more practical to teach kids to have a defense and means of peacefully dealing with bullies, than to try to stop bullying from happening at all (ever).
As far as culpability is concerned, I feel that the limits on how long we punish a 'mismanaged' child should be limited. Why keep a youth in jail until his life is half imprisoned, who would really want to start life as a middle aged ex-con/murderer with prison-education? If the system demands such justice, than have sentencing spill into neglectful parents, but I think there is a point of overkill in giving a minor a grater sentence than their age.
I think the blame lies with all of society, by allowing bullying to continue. We all play a part in bullying and if nothing is done to stop it, it will continue. All schools should have "no hazing" rules, that should be strictly enforced!
ReplyDelete