Top Morning Headlines
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
The war in Ukraine continues
The coronavirus is still around
Johnny Depp trial
Uvalde massacre at 1:27 p.m.
Top Morning Headlines
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
One day after Uvalde massacre
Deadly shooting in Uvalde
Calls for gun control
Johnny Depp trial
Top Headlines
Monday, June 6, 2022
A week after Uvalde massacre
Weekend of violence across America
The war in Ukraine continues
Johnny Depp joins TikTok
Two weeks after one of the most horrific crimes in our country was committed, the shooting of innocent children and teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the story has dropped from the main headlines even though funerals are still ongoing for the 21 victims.
How quickly we forget.
The blame game, though, is in full swing.
Blame guns.
Blame the NRA.
Blame poor mental health accessibility.
Blame the police.
The reaction has been the same since the Columbine massacre in 1999.
But there’s seldom concrete action to get at the root of the problem of school shootings.
I remember the first time I had to participate in a school-shooter drill. We told the students where to hide and to remain silent and hidden until the danger was over.
The thought that kept going through my mind, as I’m sure it did for other teachers, was how did we get to this point?
The danger signs were there for all of these violent shooters. They posted troubling and violent messages on social media. Their teachers and acquaintances pointed out their abnormal behavior, but were told not to judge other people.
These young people slid through the system with nobody willing to appear judgmental by pointing out disturbing and serious mental issues.
We all agree our schools are vulnerable. Some of the remedies I’ve read go from the ridiculous to the draconian.
Having only one entrance and exit to a school is ridiculous. Some of our high schools have 2,000 students and over 150 teachers. Getting them in and out one by one through a metal detector would take hours. I shudder thinking what would happen in case of a fire.
There are steps we can take toward making our schools safe, and to say safeguarding schools is expensive is an argument I don’t buy. We spend millions of dollars testing children to see how they’re performing academically.
Instead, we should spend money on having mental health specialists on every campus. We need to actually pay attention when a teacher or student reports a student is displaying the characteristics all these shooters share – posting violent thoughts on social media or in journals. Saying or writing they want to hurt others. Buying assault rifles.
Install two-step access doors at all secondary entrances and exits. Make it difficult for someone to enter a school unless they have a key or a key card. Those two minutes when a shooter has to break through a door could be the difference between life and death.
Numerous security cameras should be installed and monitored on every campus, especially at all entrances. Spend money on security personnel to monitor those cameras.
We do that at home for under $200 and monitor our homes no matter where we are. Our schools should have better security measures than we have at home. We do more to safeguard our vehicles and homes than we do the place where our children are now the most vulnerable.
We live in communities that are gated, and home owners and visitors pass through a monitored gate to get in. Most homes have a chain-link or wooden fence around their yards. But our school grounds are wide open.
Social media sites allow people to post pictures of strangers on the street, anyone who rings their doorbell or the license plates of a suspicious vehicle. Neighbors are alerted when there’s something off.
If only our schools were that safe.
The steps we need to take to safeguard our children aren’t easy and will cost money and tough choices.
Don’t forget what’s really important. Don’t let what happened in Uvalde slip away, unnoticed and overshadowed. We need change now.
If now isn’t the time, then what in the world will it take to make it be the right time.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.