Topic : 10/12 Homecoming Shooting

That is what is missing in this world.  No one, but no one is held accountable for ANYTHING!!!  Everyone & everything is to blame.  BS!!!

I am sick and tired of hearing about how parents have ZERO CLUE where their child is, who their child is hanging out with or what the hell their child is doing.  After all that, parents sit back & say, "I never saw anything wrong.  How could this happen?"  DUH!!! Wake up!!!  Know where your kids are!  Know who they are hanging out with!  Know what the hell they are doing!!!  If ya don't, don't shrug your shoulders when people ask you where YOUR KID got their weapons.  If you ain't watching, you aren't being a parent!

Also I feel it is time for bullying to STOP!!  No, if ands or buts about it!!!  Parents if  you allow your child to pick on someone because they are "different" then they are, your child is a bully.  He or she is the bully who will probably one day become a target!  And you will have to take part of the blame, cause you failed in teaching your child the most important thing:  Treat others how you'd like to be treated.  Or as my parents taught me, "If you can't say something nice...say NOTHING AT ALL!!"

I was bullied all through my school years & 25+ years later I can still hear the taunting & feel the humilation.  Yet my parents taught me that violence would only make me just a horrible as the bullies.  Yet I can see how being tormented could drive someone to strike out, eventhough it doesn't heal the wounds nor stop the hurt.  For every bully that is "put in his/her place", there is another 2 or 3 to take their place.  It is a never-ending horrifying cycle.

It is time for bullying & the playing of mind games to stop.  If we don't stop these games, people will continue to use violence to fight back.  It's not the right way, but for some it's the only way they can see.  Which is very, very , very sad.

Lastly, if you think there is a problem or a threat...don't think it'll just "go away".  Talk to authorities & if they don't listen...KEEP TALKING!!!  Don't give up, your child's life may depend on it.  There were "signs" before Columbine, before VU & all the other tragedies...keep your eyes open & be ready to speak up.  It may save lives, including your child's.

How many more school shootings will occur before we wake up?

I am an educator in California.  Ever since the Columbine shootings, I made the personal decision to have my classroom door LOCKED when class is in session.  Why? To PREVENT armed intruders from bursting into my classroom!  Often, they hope to find the first (random) door that is not locked!

Do you teach your children to wear a seatbelt, to prevent death in a car accident?

Do you teach your children to wear a condom if they  prematurely participate in sexual activity, to prevent unwanted pregnancy or STD's?

Do you teach your children to not get into a car with a drunk or stoned driver?

Did you know that Israel suffered NO PLANE HIJACKINGS for decades by securing the cockpits?

(We could have PREVENTED 9/11, if we had had the same common sense in this country.)

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF "CURE."

Something as simple as locking a classroom door when in session is such a small, but smart, thing to do.  In the event of a fire, we can all still LEAVE class.  Locked doors PREVENT INTRUDERS.

We cannot secure every hallway or every room; but we can ceratinly secure classrooms in session.

Until we unravel the "mysteries"  of violence in this country, we will have to take OBVIOUS PRECAUTIONS.

The criminal profiler, Pat Brown, tried to speak about the "disaffected" teens and their early childhhood upbringings.  ARE PARENTS TEACHING THEIR KIDS THAT EVERY LIFE IS SACRED?  No.

Dr. Phil is a behaviorist.  He does not dwell on parental models, but he does state that "children learn what they live."  Let's admit it:  guns have been a part of American society for hundreds of years.  But the last decade has shown a DRAMATIC increase in school shootings.  Let's pay attention to what is happening in our society in the last decade.  Pat Brown deserves an UNINTERRUPTED HOUR to share her thoughts on this subject. We all know very well how our kids witness violence EVERY day, in their homes and on the screens, in their music and in the media.  This appetite for violence is spawning it.

Until Brown gets to speak more fully, I will continue to "lock down" my classroom, when in session, so that I do not have to phone parents and ask them to come to school and claim their son/daughter, who is lying in a pool of blood on my floor.

in the Cleveland shooting is the shooter. Can anyone imagine being neglected and burnt at 5 years old? I have two young sons and could never imagine doing something to harm them. 

 I usually love listening to Dr. Phil, but today I could no longer pay attention to the rest of the show after Ramona Robinson told of the shooter being neglected and burnt at 5 and then a few minutes later Dr. Phil labeled him under the "problem" category. How can anyone be normal when you have such a horrible childhood?

I do feel horrible for those victims that were shot as well. No one deserves this and they are in my thoughts and prayers.

When I was in school i befriended people that were "problems". I agree with warning our children, but I think we need to tell them to befriend the people that seem to be the "problems". One word or one hello or one smile can make a world of difference in the life of a child like that.

God Bless Us ALL

Your comments are TOTALLY on point: Parents are not  teaching their children to be kind and respectful. 

Kids are mean to each other and disrespectful to teachers, who must then correct that behavior.

Thank you for pointing out the psychological battering that is going on, in homes and at school, by bullies.

I am very sorry you had to suffer from that.  I am sorry that so many "disaffected" teens suffer from it, because some of them attempt to seek revenge.  Happy, healthy kids who feel loved and respected do not harm other human beings. 

Parents:  Be responsible for the children you bring into this world.

YOU ARE THEIR FIRST TEACHERS, by your role modeling.  Do you teach them how to be kind?

That means, do you LISTEN to them, respectfully---or do you ignore/lecture them, disrespectfully?

By the time kids come to school, it is difficult to undo the harm or neglect in socialization that could have taken place in your homes.  We teachers try our best to teach subject matter.  Today, we must also be parents, psychologists, police, protectors, and a host of other roles.  Give us some assistance, please!

We count on you parents to do your part at home.  We chose teaching because we love your kids.

Thank you for pointing out Jackson Katz' excellent film:  "TOUGH GUISE."   It should be in every school.

It is appalling that "wrestlers" have a television program that degrades women, by dragging them by their hair, across a stage.   It is even more appalling that women are so desperate for income that they would take these degrading roles.   Wow, the message they send to other young women and girls!

Do you remember the days when men protected women, instead of violating their dignity?

Do you remember the days when men respected their mothers?    What happened to decency?

There is something terribly wrong with many "males" today.   I think they have been abandoned by their own fathers, a sad legacy---which explains the lack of role modeling.

My son and I were watching a traffic camera video of an accident where 2 cars collide and kill a man walking down the street.  I was horrified.  Then my son said that he had seen the video on funnyjunk.com.

Imagine a website teaching our youth that this tragic loss of a young life is funny!   Everyone who prays should pray for our youth.