The recent school shootings came closer to home today. Too close. While I was helping in my grandchild’s second grade class, three boys started talking to me. One said, “A six-year-old boy was killed at school.”
I asked, “How do you feel about that?”
They all replied, “Scared.”
I’m disturbed.
For years, I’ve repeatedly listened to parents’ and relatives’ share stories about their children being bullied. Often the bullying has gone on for years. They report that the bullies who began bullying their children in elementary school continued bullying into junior high and even into high school.
I’m disturbed.
A high school employee shared about a recent incident on campus with a student who’s being bullied. The bully said, “Go ahead and cut yourself. No one cares about you anyways.”
I’m disturbed.
Then the adult added, “Some teachers won’t let students out of class to talk to someone about a bullying incident because ‘it’s just part of life.’”
I’m disturbed.
The only thing in common I keep hearing over many years seems to be the lack of school response. I can’t tell you how many times a parent or relative has told me about an incident(s) and said, “Nothing was done.”
I’m disturbed.
Last week when I was I Jacksonville, Florida for Youth for Christ’s Mid-Winter Conference, I shared my concerns with a mother who lives in Denver, Colorado. “I’m afraid it’s’ going to take a horrible shooting for the schools in the Modesto area to wake up.”
“It won’t make any difference. We have shootings almost every week,” she said.
I’m beyond disturbed. I’m shocked.
The CBS headline on February 14 was updated February 15th to read, “17 school shootings in 45 days — Florida massacre is one of many tragedies in 2018.”
Editor’s Note: “A previous version of this story, using data provided by Everytown for Gun Safety, said there were 18 school shootings in 2018. Everytown has since revised that number down to 17 after the Washington Post published an article disputing the group’s figures.”
I’m disturbed.
I’m not going to get into how many incidents were suicides, how many were accidents, how many resulted in no injuries, nor am I going to get into gun control. To be honest, I don’t really know what to do. But I do know how I feel.
I’m afraid for my three grandchildren.
I’m afraid for the three second grade boys.
I’m afraid for children in my community.
I’m afraid for America’s children.
Donald Trump said, “No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.”
And yet children, teachers, and grandmas helping in classrooms feel unsafe.
I’m disturbed. I’m very disturbed.
For more disturbing information, visit https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/14/florida-school-shooting-brings-yearly-tally-to-18-in-2018.html to learn more and view graphs of school shooting incidents since 2013.
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Image source: whitehouse.gov
Well written Dr. Fritzemeier. I appreciate your focus on the main point, safety of kids, teachers, and others. Too bad this has become such a political battle, rather than a call to collaboration and cooperation to solve a very big and complex problem.