School Shootings : Is a Possible Solution as Simple
Essay title: School Shootings : Is a Possible Solution as Simple
School Shootings : Is a Possible Solution as Simple
THESIS: There was a time in this country when everyone could walk around with a
gun. We would teach our children how to use them to hunt for food and if need be protect the family and home. Yet with all that access you never heard of a child going into a school and killing everyone. We are suppose to have advanced, gotten wiser and still with all of todays technology we cant seem to prevent a child from walking into a class room and shooting someone. Where are we going wrong? I feel that we are not listing to or communicating with our children enough, nor are we dealing with the bulling in our school systems that are children have to live everyday. The answer is not more gun control laws.
“If we can put a man on the moon, why cant we stop violence in our schools?” A
student asked President Clinton, he couldnt answer it then and we cant answer it now
(Furrell).
There was a time in this country when everyone could walk around with a gun. We
would teach our children how to use them to hunt for food and if need be protect the family and
home. Yet with all that access you never heard of a child going into a school and killing
everyone. We are suppose to have advanced, gotten wiser and still with all of todays
technology we cant seem to prevent a child from walking into a class room and
shooting someone or everyone. Where are we going wrong?
On October 12, 2004, Everly, Iowa, 15 year old Joseph Menke was arrested after police
found a .22 caliber High Standard revolver in his possession. Fortunately no one was killed or
injured. It was said he was upset over ongoing teasing and bulling from other students.
On February 2, 1996, Moses Lake, Washington, two students and one teacher was killed,
one other wounded when 14 year old Berry Loukaitis opened fire on his algebra class (Time
Line).
From Bethel, Alaska to Savannah, Georgia it seems that there is no city to big or too
small that is safe from the possibility of a child walking into school and shooting someone or
everyone. There hasnt been one city that would have been more obvious than another in
helping authorities to determine what school this could happen in next.
In March 1994 Congress adopted and President Clinton signed into Law the Educate
America Act: Goals 2000, Goal 6 was “that by the year 2000 every School in America will be
free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conductive to learning.”
The supporting narrative for this goal states that “no child or youth should be fearful on the way
to school, be afraid while there, or have to cope with pressures to make unhealthy choices”
(Futrell).
In 1998 Attorney General Janet Reno convened a panel of experts, at the behest of
President Clinton, to look at ways to prevent these tragedies. Participant Dennis Denny, director
of research for the Police Executive Research Forum, said panelists discussed a variety of
solutions–“after-school program, mental health counseling, student problems solving.”
“March 2000 President Clinton urged congressional lawmakers to enact a long stalled
package of new gun control laws” wrote Major Garret (CNN.com).
Here we are 2007 still dealing with the same Question. Why cant we stop violence in
our schools? Why do we feel that more gun control