Is this what our world has come to?
Every day, I read articles from other newspapers outside of Greene County because I like to be kept informed as to what is going on in our nation, and even around the world.
And it seems even more important to do this these days, in these trying times, especially with what is going on with the recent school shootings.
But I have to be honest, most of the time I don’t enjoy what I’m reading.
Because it seems that with each passing day, sad stories get sadder, the reports of violence get uglier and more common and the wedge dividing our citizens when it comes to hot topics seems to get bigger.
Honestly, it can get maddening reading so many news articles about all of the shenanigans going on in our world. And nothing is more confounding, perplexing and frustrating than the issue of how can we keep our students safe.
The marches and rallies; the television interviews with survivors, parents of slain kids, and so-called “experts” from just about every field imaginable; the angry debates about gun control; the verbal attacks on the NRA and our elected officials from people who think they should be doing more; the mad rants on social media outlets from both sides … All of it can be exhausting to sort through, read through, think about.
But in the end, it should never be forgotten that the single most important question needs to always be this: What can we do to keep our schools and our students safe?
It’s such a simple question, and yet, trying to find an answer that we can all agree is agonizingly frustrating.
And I have a great of sympathy for school district administrations and staff who are just as bewildered as the students and parents are in trying to find the right solution.
Of course, it’s so easy for us “armchair quarterbacks” to say things like, “It’s simple. Put in bullet-proof glass, armor the classroom doors, hire armed guards and tell the teachers to start packing.”
But of course, it’s not that simple.
There are so many factors that fall into play for those measures to be taken. Cost is probably the biggest one – and believe me, it’s huge.
Then there are a billion questions that have be addressed … What if teachers don’t believe in guns, or aren’t physically capable of firing one? How would we make sure that students couldn’t get the teachers’ guns? And what happens if we lock up the schools so efficiently that the students wouldn’t be be able to get out if there was an internal emergency?
Sadly, this is what our world has come to. Every school is so terrified of a tragedy occurring on their grounds that they are looking for solutions, any solution, that might help save the students – even if the idea seems a little peculiar.
For example, a recent article published in USA Today reported that a Pennsylvania school district publicly announced a plan to arm its students … with rocks.
Yes, should an armed intruder infiltrate their school, the students of the Blue Mountain School District in Schuylkill County would be able to protect themselves by “stoning” the assailant.
The article reports that district Superintendent David Helsel testified earlier this month before the state House Education committee that arming students with rocks is a part of the district’s strategy to “protect them against the threat of violence.”
Following his testimony, Helsel told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the rocks are one small part of the district’s overall security plan, and that staff and students in his district have been trained in a program called “ALICE” (which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate). As part of the program, he said, every classroom has a 5-gallon bucket filled with rocks that students could use to “stone” a school shooter, if necessary.
So … this is what the world has come to.
Rocks.
This school district, sensing an urgent need to do something proactive to protect their students in the horrific wake of so many recent senseless tragedies, came up with a plan fill up buckets with rocks as a last-ditch defense for students against armed lunatics who burst into their schools and classes and begin firing rounds at them.
To put it mildly, this whole story scares me to death. Not so much because I think the plan is a horrible one (although I do have questions as to whether it is a smart idea to give all students easy access to thousands of rocks at any given time), but because instead of focusing all their attention on what they should be focusing it on – improving the students’ academia and better preparing them for the future – they all now must focus all of their attention, time and energy on coming up with plans and ideas on how simply keep them alive.
This is crazy. This is unacceptable. This is depressing, agonizing and sad.
This is what our world has come to.
All I can suggest that we do is hope and pray that our school districts and our local and state leaders work together with communities to make school safety the biggest and most important priority.
We need to all work together – law enforcement, educators, churches, mental health and human services experts – to tackle the issues of bullying, the opioid crisis, mental health, better parenting.
We need to stop throwing rocks and start addressing the real issues. And if schools can afford initiatives such as metal detectors, school resource officers and more heightened security, the they should look into them.
Something’s gotta be done. The time is now. Too many kids are dying.