NSU Horizons Fall 2007

24 horizons verbatim Reflections on School Violence: No Simple Solutions H ow can I face going into my teacher’s classroom tomorrow? She was murdered by her own students.” In an auditorium in Jonesboro, Arkansas, a Westside M.S. student asked me this question in front of several hundred people. “Your teacher, Mrs. Wright, was a great person,” I responded. “She gave her life for education. What do you think she would want you to do? I think she would want you to face what has happened, come back to school tomorrow, get the help you need, and go on with the important business of learning!” When I began my career as a psychologist working in schools, I never expected to answer questions like the one above or to meet parents who had their children murdered at school. Nor did I expect to lead or serve on crisis teams in the aftermath of 11 school shootings at the middle or high school levels in communities such as Jonesboro, Paducah, Columbine, and Red Lake. Always invited, my purpose on these teams was to guide and support the community and identify those most affected by the tragedy. Always very careful in working with a grieving individual, I knew not to say, “I understand what you are going through.” A frustration in all of these situations was the media glorification of the perpetrators. The focus should have been on the victims and survivors and the needs of the community. The long-term impact of the trauma was often underestimated, and many communities later experienced suicides by survivors of these incidents. I have conducted hundreds of interviews, always focusing on the victims, survivors, and prevention rather than on the perpetrators. We need to glorify and publicize the millions of young people who do the right thing every day and give them the national news coverage. I do feel a responsibility to share what the grieving parents have recommended for changes in America. As would be expected, the parents do not agree on what needs to be done, but have individually outlined these points in publications, testimony before Congress, and through the development of foundations in memory of their children. Increase religious participation in schools I was in a school classroom the day after a shooting and was asked if I would lead a prayer in memory of the deceased and responded by suggesting that every- one have his or her own silent thoughts and/or prayers for the victims. Reduce gun access to children Most school shooters obtained their guns from their own homes. I have often warned parents that a child who is think- ing of suicide knows where the family gun is and how to load it, contrary to what the parent(s) may believe. Increase mental health services for children I was on a program with U. S. Surgeon General Carmona and heard him say that he could not fix the mental health system, as we would have to create one first. As a former presi- dent of the National Association of School Psychologists and a presenter to school psychologists and counselors in every state, I have found that it is rare for these professionals to have the time to provide mental health assistance to students, as their duties are primarily scheduling and assessment. By scott poland “