Another One

I was saddened this morning when I heard of yet another school shooting. This one was in CA. Really, when will enough be enough? I was a senior in high school when the Columbine shooting happened and that was 20 years ago and nothing’s changed. In fact, things have gotten worse. There have been so many shootings recently that it is difficult to keep track. Lockdown drills are now the norm at every level of school. In FL, a law was passed allowing teachers to be armed. Is this who we are? Is this who we want to be? Is this what we’re teaching our students and our own kids?

Last semester, I taught a unit on the book Columbine by Dave Cullen (if you haven’t read it, you should) and it was amazing to me how little things have changed since then in terms of who is allowed to possess a firearm. The Columbine shooters bought their guns at a gun show. Guess what? That’s still allowed. My students say they don’t feel safe and some believe teachers should be armed. Why is this our reality?

We started the Columbine unit right after a shooting only a few miles from Columbine High School and we read current events stories as they unfolded. Many of the students were amazed at how long school shootings have been happening and how little has been done to stop it. No other country has this many mass shootings. It’s time we took a look at what is going on and how to curb this epidemic.