After the tragedy at Northern Illinois University this week, Governor Rod Blagojevich said, "If there is a way where this tragedy could have been anticipated, or stopped beforehand, we will find it."
Charles Steger, President of the University of Virginia, where a similar tragedy occurred less than a year ago, wrote in a letter to Northern's President Peters, "We would like to think that institutions of learning and of rational thought would be spared such madness. Sadly, this is not the case in today's world."
This is our reality as educators. What can we do about it? Please post your thoughts.
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12 comments:
I think that the only thing we can do as educators is to talk to our students. Teachers are so busy with trying to teach grammar, writing, and various pieces of literature, that they often forget about the most important lessons to be learned in life. Beginning at a young age, students should be researching, studying, and discussing issues such as depression, loneliness, violence, drugs, and the many other challanges this world faces. A lot of times students are not having these coversations at home with their parents, and so it is up to the schools and teachers to make sure students are getting the knowledge and education they deserve. It also helps students to realize that we do care about them and want them to be safe and succeed in life. We must make students realize there are always going to be options, but it is up to them to make the right choices. Maybe one day we can make a difference.
i have to admit, safety in high schools is a concern of mine as we enter this career. Schools are very different in a post-Columbine world. While one teacher will not connect with every student, you can only home that everyone is reached by someone. This connection beyond teaching content could be the difference between a student coping with their personal issues and deciding not to deal with life at all.
I agree that making personal connections in school is important. Depression and feelings of lonliness are not uncommon among teenagers. These issues largely go unaddressed in high schools.
The scariesT thing with these school shootings is that you don't know what to look for; after the fact everyone always says "oh yeah that person was kinda wierd" or "there were signs" but how do you really know and whose to say who is wierd or not. This is what is scary to me the not knowing, so my advise for teachers is to just be alert of your surroundings or red flags, be prepared, treat every student equally, and most importantly, PRAY!!!
I think everyoe's comments are valid, and I agree with every one of them. Even at the middle school level, we frequently see disturbed students who attempt something drastic as a cry for help...attention...I'm not sure what, in any specific case. Vigilance is key, and even if I referred a person to the social worker when there wasn't really a problem, I'd feel better about that than about letting it go if I thought a student had a real issue. I think relationship building, especially at the younger ages, is key, but the fact remains that these things happen sometimes even if we're unprepared, as much as we'd like to think we're on top of everything. I'm a big believer in kindness, both as a way of treating our students as well as our expectations for students to treat each other. I wish I had a more substantial answer here, I really do.
What a horrible tragedy at NIU. In response to the question: I think it is important not to mask or sugarcoat the reality of our world with our students. I think it is our responsibility as educators to keep our students informed about the realities that we all face in this society. There are ways in which to go about this in terms of age appropriateness; however, I think that masking the facts is a bad idea. Having open discussions about today’s hot issues is a good thing. Depression, suicide and things of that nature are a real part of these kids lives and I think that our part as educators is making sure that kids “in need” are provided with the necessary resources in order to cope.
Everyone has made valid comments. Unfortunatly, there is just no one answer to prevent violence. As teachers we must be as involved in our students lives as they will let us. We must discuss violence and ways to prevent it with our students. We must educate ourselves about possible signs. We must be there as much as possible for our students. If our school doesn't have preventative programs like mediation teams, then we need to create them. We must create a venue where students can talk about violence and its effects. I guess the biggest thing is that we just have to try... try to do whatever we can to keep things like this from happening.
I don't think there is much we can do. Making our schools look like maximum security prisons is not helping the situation. I feel it is only making students feel the need to reject authority all together instead of embracing the safety that the school districts are trying to offer them. The schools that have experienced such tragedies may embrace the new safety precautions, but in my experience with junior high and high schoolers they are finding the new metal detectors and pat downs to be an invasion of their privacy and self-security.
I think one possible suggestion would be to train teachers in the "FBI tactics" we see in the real world...and yes, on TV. Self-defense courses could help to prevent us from being stabbed like the teacher a few weeks ago and some calming tactics could help us talk the student out of what s/he is about to do.
Another suggestion is for the state to stop cutting the funding for extra-curricular activities. I did not participate in very many extra- curricular activities in school, I was more worried about homework. But, my parents were an integral part of my life. They knew my friends, where I was, what I did, and were there for me through the break-ups and make-ups of peers and boyfriends. Some students aren't so lucky. Having those options available for fraternity to take place throughout the growing up years may help to give these students a place to call home, especially for boys. Since our shooters so far have all been boys that basically hated the jocks and cheerleaders, the question that arises in my mind is where were the other boys like him? Why can't the state give a little money to create clubs and such that offer things for the "geeks" and "nerds" to do? Sure, there is usually scholastic bowl...but that is another line of geek. Why aren't there video game clubs? I would donate old game systems and games to a high school that would allow for students to stay after school for an hour or so playing the video games their parents can't afford to buy them. I'm sure that's not the only type of club, but it is one that comes to mind. Why are we taking the fraternity away from our students and then asking ourselves why kids kill?
I could write for hours on this topic. I fully intend to take the self-defense courses available to protect my own self. And I think that all teachers should be offered a course, especially in those districts that may be questionable. We can't hurt the students, but we can defend ourselves against punches and knives. And if I could find a course that will show me how to talk a student OUT of doing something dangerous to himself and/or others then I will take that course too, because even with all of the laws that are available, I think that touching a student to protect the lives of the 29 others in the room is more ethical than being forced to step aside and watch a knife slice the throats of 29 other people.
Seeing as how this shooting hit so close to home, I am beginning to realize that as educators we can only be there for our students. I used to think there ways to prevent this type of violence, but the reality is the world we live in is so full of unnecessary death that we cannot escape it no matter how hard we try. All we can do is try to make our students better human beings and let them know that there are better alternatives other then violence. I just hope NIU educators take this opportunity to help their students during this horrible time.
huskies may have fallen, but they will never be forgotten...
May you all rest in peace...
School violence is a serious subject and a scary realization that it can happen anywhere now. As future educators we will have to be brave and not be afraid to talk about what happened. We need to offer our students a place to talk and write about what they are feeling. It's a good chance to have students write a proposal to the school district on how to make their own school more safe.
We can not hide and fear the dangers our world is capable of. We need to be brave and teach our students violence is not the answer and educate them to be smarter than others. If we can offer them a good education, then maybe they can try and improve the country. We need to listen to our students and encourage them to do the right thing. It's just sad that we have to fear violence in our workplace and the students learning place.
I hope the families of the victims survive this horrible event and others learn that this is unacceptable behavior. Governments needs to become more strict on the laws and how they handle violence, ( NIU commmunity reacted quick, hopefully schools learn from them).
Being a college student myself, it is scary to think that there is this kind of violence in our schools today. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone at Northern Illinois University.
The shooting at NIU made me realize that shootings can happen anywhere. We always hear about devastating school shootings, but it ended there. I never thought something tragic like this would happen so close to home. I think that trying to connect to your students as much as possible would be one step in preventing such a tragedy. As usual you cannot reach out to every single student, but making yourself available to your students may help one student. Teachers can make a huge impact on the lives' of students at such a young age. Let your students know that you are there to help in any way possible. Some things are unavoidable, so all we can do is be there for people in need of help.
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