We Have a Heart Problem

I'm sure I will be one of millions that post a blog or editorial about school shootings in the next few days.  After another tragedy, we are scratching our heads again.  The media consensus seems to be that this is the 18th school shooting of 2018 and it is only February.  As I look back over the 16 years I've spent in education, I wonder how we have to gotten to this place in such a short time period.  A place where school and church shootings are common and sometimes don't make the news unless a body count is involved.  So I guess we are in a place where we need to know what direction to go in.

Lets settle some truths before we dive in.  There is not one school that I know of that does not make student safety a priority.  There may be varying degrees and approaches, but we have made active shooter trainings and plans a norm in the school leader toolbox.  It is a sad reality of our profession and to allege that schools are not safe is not true.

Will tighter gun control measures deter the school or church shooter?  Absolutely.  Many of the recent mass shootings have been carried out with an AR-15.  Eliminating the legality of owing an assault rifle will help prevent mass shootings.  This has been proven in many other countries that do not suffer the gun violence that we do.

Do the major social media platforms need to monitor and report this behavior better?  Absolutely.  So many of these incidents are connected to posts on social media that shows the shooter's intent.  To my knowledge, the responsibility to report concerning pictures or posts rests typically with the users.  I will admit that I have not reviewed their policies but it seems to me that with all the filters and algorithms we could catch these posts and they could be directly reported to law enforcement.

I agree that it is not fair to limit the freedoms of many for those "crazies" that commit all these acts of violence, but when that argument is launched with the enthusiasm that it usually does, I feel that the problem is sitting right in front of us and we will not give in and work for the solution.  Our country has a heart problem.  Our nation's priorities do not align with it's greatest needs.

There is no single angle that can be taken to stop school shootings.  It is multi level problem that requires serious diligence by all of us.  We can start by rebuilding our finest American institution.

If we use Columbine (1999) as our starting point for this horrible trend of school and church shootings, a  lot of social issues have shaped our policy making and culture during that time.  The poverty rate has been up and down since that time where we would like to see a downward trend as we go.  As expected, the unemployment rate is also in a sporadic trend.  The point is that last great generation in the country prospered on economic opportunity.  When families struggle economically, they begin to deteriorate.  The economy seems to be a political football and election leverage, but there is a real consequence for not prioritizing it. Along with other social and political changes, the American family is struggling.

Ever hear people talk about the good old days?  Those old stories remind us of what intact families felt like.  No one could even dream of a mass shooting happening in a school or church back in those days because our families were strong and our values wouldn't allow it.  Those were the times when families were strong.  It seems to me that the family unit has become an afterthought.  People seem to place so much more value on things that are far less important.  We complain about the millennial attitude but it is by product of this movement away from valuing family and community.  I have always felt that the family is the heart of our country and right now we have a heart problem.

We can spend a day arguing the merit of the laws passed and where we have went wrong in elections, but we have to begin to focus on rebuilding the American family.  This is multi level task also.  Its a change in policy, attitudes and priorities.  Most importantly, it takes the willingness to put the collective good before the benefit of the small few.  It will not be an overnight process and we will have to make sacrifices.  Its worth it if we want to return to a news cast that doesn't involve shootings, sexual immorality, or crime at every level.  We must fix our country's heart problem if we want to return to the American way.

I spoke to my students a grade level at a time today to help make sense of this mess and and how to be empowered in the event we suffer such an event.  I am 41 years old and I cannot remember my junior high principal needing to have this talk.  My profession has changed profoundly over the years and I hope people know the depth of concern and care we have for our students.  It was difficult to look at the seriousness of their faces today when I spoke.  They do truly care about the lives of their classmates.  It is our job to nurture that caring and help them build strong families.  This is the start to fixing our heart problem.