School Disasters
Dear Doctor,
The school disasters seem to be getting more common and serious. I would think a lot of parents worry about the safety of their children.
Can parents prepare their children to protect themselves in case one of these terrible things happens?
Frightened
Dear Frightened,
About three years ago I attended a week long conference. Many forensic psychologists and law enforcement specialists were there. One of the major topics was school safety.
Here are a few of the things I learned. The pace and severity of school incidents is no greater than it has ever been. There is a long history of school incidents, happily statistically rare, in all countries in the civilized world.
Some things are hard to protect against. For example, the worst school incident in American history was not Columbine. It was a school bombing in Bath Michigan in 1927.
A member of the school board, no less, became angry over the increase in his taxes. So, he killed family members, burned a barn and house, loaded his car with explosives and set them off in a local school.
45 people, mostly children from the second to the eighth grade died. some 58 more were seriously injured. Other incidents have happened usually at a rate of about one every three months. The two recent ones involving the sad deaths of the young women seem emotionally related, probably a copycat kind of behavior.
The FBI has certain "markers" for students who might enact something like the Columbine horrors. Unfortunately the science is not well advanced and the "markers" number about 46, or did at the time of the conference.
The best protection is provided by some simple rules your school district can enact. Locked doors with admittance, after review, through a bell is simple but helpful. In short, common sense helps. We need not make our schools armed bastions in order to be safe.
Because schools have significance in our growth as human beings means that there is always the hideous chance for catastrophe.
Being mindful and thinking ahead are probably the best solutions.
Tags: school incidents, school safety
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