I had on Fox News this morning since school was cancelled. I usually keep the television on for noise when I'm home. There were two stories this morning regarding education that caught my attention. The first one was about an elementary teacher in Pennsylvania who was arrested for making terroristic threats against the students at the school she taught in. Apparentaly, this woman was upset that she had be assigned to teach fourth grade rather than fifth grade. So, she terrorized the school by making seventeen threats. She disguised her writing to look like that of a student, including misspelling words. She left signs that read "Your so stuped [sic] you should all be killed." Another one they showed on the news report was "You'll never catch me. I have a gun too." The reporters went on to say that this teacher even made bomb threats.
I guess the school had to beef up police surveillance until the perpetrator was apprehended. Four police officers were responsible for patrolling the school. Fox interview several parents who conveyed how scared they were and how scared the kids were. The parents also spoke of how upseting it was to find out it was one of the school's teachers responsible for the threats. This teacher turned herself in and has been on leave since October.
This story is insane. I think this woman needs immediate psychological help. This was an elementary school with kids ranging in age from 6-11. No one in their right mind would terrorize little children because of an issue that should have been taken up with administration. Who knows how this teacher's threats could impact those children. This woman definitely needs to be punished legally in addition to receiving mental therapy. However, I find something ironic about the situation. Parents, the community, and the media are quick to judge how terrible this act was. They are calling for the stiffest of punishments for this lady. Don't get me wrong, I totally agree. On the flip side, though if a student had done this to a teacher would there be such an uproar? I'm not so sure there would be. What do you think?
The other story was regarding a US Congressman's idea of teaching twelve year olds in West Virginia how to shoot a gun in school. Evidently, West Virginia lacks the number of hunters they once did, which is hurting the state. In an effort to boost the number of hunters, the Congressman is proposing that the school district teach a unit on how to shoot a weapon. Opponents say that given the amound of school violence today this is not a good idea. What is your take? My opinion is that this should not be a mandatory class. I would never have wanted to learn to shoot a gun at twelve. I would not have felt comfortable in doing so. Therefore, if the state thinks this would be a viable way to boost hunting in their state okay, but the course should be voluntary. As for increasing school violence, I'm not so sure a program like this would contribute to a rise in violence. I mean, look at violence in video games, on television, and in the lyrics of music. Yet, dispite the exposure to violence most kids do not go out and committ violent acts. Again, this is just my opinion. Feel free to tell me what you think.
I'm glad I turned on the news this morning. There were some really good hot topics in education today.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
How Frequent are School Shootings?
I find that since I have been threatened I have an increased interest in school safety. So, I am going to look into school safety. I've spent some time today looking at what the web has to offer on school violence. I stumbled across a website called Info Please at www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html . It is pretty interesting. If you have an opportunity check it out. The company that runs the website, Pearson, has been publishing statistics since 1938. The website has listed all of the school shootings around the world since 1996. In addition they have also listed how many people were injured or killed, who did the shooting, and the age of the shooter.
What I found to be eye opening is that there are a lot more school shootings that one might think. Prior to this research I could have perhaps come up with a handful of school shootings that I had heard about. Columbine, of course; the shooting death of a six year old girl in Flint several years ago; the rather recent Amish school shooting; and two others that I remember watching on the news but couldn't give you any details on. Well, I read through the timeline of school shootings on Info Please. I only counted the shootings at middle and high schools in the United States. Since 1996 there have been roughly 36 school shootings in the US. Of that 36, 14 of the shootings involved principals, teachers, or other adult staff members. This means that about 38% of school shootings have involved teachers/administration. This is by no means a scientific study. It's just my observation.
More disturbing is that almost without exception the school shootings have been committed by students within the school, not outsiders. There were a couple exceptions, like the Nickel Mines shooting at the Amish school in Pennsylvania. It hit me- all of the standard security precautions that schools take wouldn't do much good against a threat from within. What good does locked doors, visitors signing in/out, or having security cameras to monitor activity in the school really do?
I then went to You Tube and found a student production entitled School Safety 101. This is a 9 minute film that interviews high school students at Bixby HS regarding how safe they feel at school. I thought the students would downplay the importance of safety. I also thought that most of them would say they feel safe. However, most of the kids said they did not feel safe. Furthermore, they felt that their school administration was powerless to stop a shooting. The filmmaker, Kendal Osborne, looked at how safe the students felt by doors that required a security code in order to enter. The majority of the students interviewed thought the security coded doors were a joke since codes were initially posted outside the doors. One student pointed out that the doors might be a hindrance to police if they ever had to respond to a school shooting there and didn't know the code to get in.
I learned a lot more about school shootings than I had known before. I have no idea we have had so many in this country. Check out the website and You Tube if you get a chance. They are both enlightening.
What I found to be eye opening is that there are a lot more school shootings that one might think. Prior to this research I could have perhaps come up with a handful of school shootings that I had heard about. Columbine, of course; the shooting death of a six year old girl in Flint several years ago; the rather recent Amish school shooting; and two others that I remember watching on the news but couldn't give you any details on. Well, I read through the timeline of school shootings on Info Please. I only counted the shootings at middle and high schools in the United States. Since 1996 there have been roughly 36 school shootings in the US. Of that 36, 14 of the shootings involved principals, teachers, or other adult staff members. This means that about 38% of school shootings have involved teachers/administration. This is by no means a scientific study. It's just my observation.
More disturbing is that almost without exception the school shootings have been committed by students within the school, not outsiders. There were a couple exceptions, like the Nickel Mines shooting at the Amish school in Pennsylvania. It hit me- all of the standard security precautions that schools take wouldn't do much good against a threat from within. What good does locked doors, visitors signing in/out, or having security cameras to monitor activity in the school really do?
I then went to You Tube and found a student production entitled School Safety 101. This is a 9 minute film that interviews high school students at Bixby HS regarding how safe they feel at school. I thought the students would downplay the importance of safety. I also thought that most of them would say they feel safe. However, most of the kids said they did not feel safe. Furthermore, they felt that their school administration was powerless to stop a shooting. The filmmaker, Kendal Osborne, looked at how safe the students felt by doors that required a security code in order to enter. The majority of the students interviewed thought the security coded doors were a joke since codes were initially posted outside the doors. One student pointed out that the doors might be a hindrance to police if they ever had to respond to a school shooting there and didn't know the code to get in.
I learned a lot more about school shootings than I had known before. I have no idea we have had so many in this country. Check out the website and You Tube if you get a chance. They are both enlightening.
Monday, January 28, 2008
School Safety and Appropriate Punishments
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have read about my experience. Your support has been encouraging. Like I've said, the whole situation is still fresh in my mind. I'm finding that blogging about it is very cathartic. I am able to get my feelings out and think through a lot of things. Thanks.
I've taken some time off since the position I was subbing for was filled by a full time teacher. I did work for a week after I was threatened, but the kid that threatened me was not on the campus. Had you asked me a few weeks ago how safe I felt at my school I would have told you I felt totally safe. After all, I graduated from that school. I felt just as comfortable as a staff member as I did as a student. Well, now it's a different story. I realize what a security nightmare my school must be. There are approximately 35-40 outside rooms each containing an entrance. There are about 11 formal entrances to the school. Our school has no metal detectors. The to schools credit they do lock all except two formal entrances once school begins. Teachers are not suppose to open their outside doors in their rooms. The school has cameras, a 4-5 person security team, and a police officer liaison. However, all of this aside, there is no way for them to protect me.
I've had to change my life. I am ashamed to admit that I never made myself aware of my surroundings. I was about the most oblivious person you could ever meet. Now, I find myself noticing every person that walks into the bowling alley that I work at. I scan rooms to see who is there (at work, at restaurants, everywhere). I look around when walking out to my car. I actually stop to ask that people see me out to my car, especially at night. So, I guess this whole ordeal has taught me to cognizant of my surroundings.
I now find myself thinking about what an adequate punishment should have been. The school implemented a 5 day OSS punishment on this boy because he had an almost nonexistent discipline record. The boy then competed in the schools version of a male beauty pageant. It is a very popular event. The boys that participate in it are held in high regard among their peers. I have a friend who is currently a student at the school. Her mother was one of my professors in undergrad, and we've remained close. This girl has informed me that pretty much the whole school knows what happened to me. There is nothing I can do about that. I figured it was inevitable that word would get around.
I don't know what is an acceptable punishment. I know I don't think 5 days of OSS is it. In addition, I certainly do not think that being allowed to participate in an event where the participants should represent the best of our school was appropriate. Where do you draw the line, though? My goal is not to ruin this kid's life; however, I want to be sure he understands the seriousness of his actions. I would feel better knowing that he is getting some sort of counseling. He clearly does not grasp why his actions were inappropriate nor why I reacted the way I did. I find that disturbing.
What do you think? What is an appropriate punishment? Should there be some sort of ban on social events for students who engage in heinous behavior? I've heard on the news that the Flint Schools are grappling with this issue. Stemming from an incident regarding football last fall, the Flint Schools are deciding what level of participation students convicted of a crime should be given. While my student was not convicted of a crime, I do think that some guidelines need to be put in place. What are your thoughts?
I've taken some time off since the position I was subbing for was filled by a full time teacher. I did work for a week after I was threatened, but the kid that threatened me was not on the campus. Had you asked me a few weeks ago how safe I felt at my school I would have told you I felt totally safe. After all, I graduated from that school. I felt just as comfortable as a staff member as I did as a student. Well, now it's a different story. I realize what a security nightmare my school must be. There are approximately 35-40 outside rooms each containing an entrance. There are about 11 formal entrances to the school. Our school has no metal detectors. The to schools credit they do lock all except two formal entrances once school begins. Teachers are not suppose to open their outside doors in their rooms. The school has cameras, a 4-5 person security team, and a police officer liaison. However, all of this aside, there is no way for them to protect me.
I've had to change my life. I am ashamed to admit that I never made myself aware of my surroundings. I was about the most oblivious person you could ever meet. Now, I find myself noticing every person that walks into the bowling alley that I work at. I scan rooms to see who is there (at work, at restaurants, everywhere). I look around when walking out to my car. I actually stop to ask that people see me out to my car, especially at night. So, I guess this whole ordeal has taught me to cognizant of my surroundings.
I now find myself thinking about what an adequate punishment should have been. The school implemented a 5 day OSS punishment on this boy because he had an almost nonexistent discipline record. The boy then competed in the schools version of a male beauty pageant. It is a very popular event. The boys that participate in it are held in high regard among their peers. I have a friend who is currently a student at the school. Her mother was one of my professors in undergrad, and we've remained close. This girl has informed me that pretty much the whole school knows what happened to me. There is nothing I can do about that. I figured it was inevitable that word would get around.
I don't know what is an acceptable punishment. I know I don't think 5 days of OSS is it. In addition, I certainly do not think that being allowed to participate in an event where the participants should represent the best of our school was appropriate. Where do you draw the line, though? My goal is not to ruin this kid's life; however, I want to be sure he understands the seriousness of his actions. I would feel better knowing that he is getting some sort of counseling. He clearly does not grasp why his actions were inappropriate nor why I reacted the way I did. I find that disturbing.
What do you think? What is an appropriate punishment? Should there be some sort of ban on social events for students who engage in heinous behavior? I've heard on the news that the Flint Schools are grappling with this issue. Stemming from an incident regarding football last fall, the Flint Schools are deciding what level of participation students convicted of a crime should be given. While my student was not convicted of a crime, I do think that some guidelines need to be put in place. What are your thoughts?
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