Columbine and Community

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As I am sure most readers are painfully aware, today is the 10th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings. An extension of sympathy to all those who were impacted by that horrendous event should be given.

But we should also pause and reflect on what our individual roles are in keeping such tragedies from occurring again. Vainly hoping that that school violence when it happens, happens somewhere my children and I are not is not an appropriate response.

Minnesota had its own version of Columbine in the Red Lake School district just over four years ago. A sad, loner student killed in his school as well, seemingly encouraged by a violent connections he had formed on the Internet. In a column I wrote at the time "The Need for Community," I suggested:

Most kids look for and find “communities” with values that are life affirming and socially responsible. Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H clubs, church groups, and both formal and informal groups revolving around special interests such as bicycling, hunting, literature, or sports play a big role in most young people’s lives as they grow up. Schools provide opportunities for socialization through athletics, music, drama, newspapers, business or art clubs. In these groups, young people learn not just about personal interests, but also about one’s fellow students and mentors and why they are worth caring about. And they are where kids often find that others care about them as well.

In our efforts to improve our schools and reduce school expenditures, the “extra-curricular” activities are often first on the chopping block. Politicians and taxpayers see music, arts and athletics as superfluous. The “basics” are reading, writing, math and other purely classroom pursuits. Guidance counselors, teacher-librarians, coaches and club sponsors are nice extras only tangentially related to the real purpose of school. Sigh…

How many of us as teacher-librarians or technology coordinators make a conscious effort to create “communities” for our own students, especially for those kids who do not seem to have much success with the traditional organizations? Do you have a “geek squad” in which members gain self-esteem by helping students and staff with technology problems? Do you have library volunteers who watch the circulation desk, help re-shelve materials and created displays? As a former member of the “projector sector” – students who assisted technology-challenged teachers set-up 16mm projectors in my high school, I personally recognize how important such a seemingly small thing helped me establish a sense of belonging and camaraderie in school. And it’s why I, as an educator, encourage all of us to enlist the aid of kids for whom football or band are not exactly their thing.

"Extra" - curricular activities have taken a hit on our budget cuts this year in our district, as I am sure they being cut throughout the country. Communites don't often form in classrooms and committment to others can't be evaluated on a multiple choice test.

Will the money we save in coach and sponsor stipends simply go to metal detectors and security cameras and lawsuits down the road?

Comments

[Kenn Gorman]

Another great post - since I not only teach, coach. and run the Tech Club, I am aware of the need for every kid to fit in somewhere...and not only fit in, but be welcomed and accepted. A simple idea such as a once a week computer game club might make the difference for a specific student.

I once figured out that my coaching stipend worked out to be less than $4.00 per hour - even though the check is welcomed at the end of the season, I realized many years ago that I coach for the students, not the money.

One last thought - I believe we all know that the students need these clubs, teams and other communities...but how many teachers would admit that maybe we need them, too?

[John Byrnes]

Research has determined that from the Moment of Commitment (the point when a student pulls their weapon) to the Moment of Completion (when the last round is fired) is only 5 seconds. If it is the intent of a school district to react to this violence, they will do so over the wounded and/or slain bodies of students, teachers and administrators.

Educational institutions clearly want safe and secure schools. Administrators are perennially queried by parents about the safety of their schools. The commonplace answers, intended to reassure anxious parents, focus on the school resource officers and emergency procedures. While useful, these less than adequate efforts do not begin to provide a definitive answer to preventing school violence, nor do they make a school safe and secure.

Traditionally school districts have relied upon the mental health community or local police to keep schools safe, yet one of the key shortcomings has been the lack of a system that involves teachers, administrators, parents and students in the identification and communication process. Recently, colleges, universities and community colleges are forming Behavioral Intervention Teams with representatives from all these constituencies. Higher Education has changed their safety/security policies, procedures, or surveillance systems, yet K-12 have yet to incorporate Behavioral Intervention Teams. K-12 schools continue spending excessive amounts of money to put in place many of the physical security options. Sadly, they are reactionary only and do little to prevent aggression because they are designed exclusively to react to existing conflict, threat and violence. These schools reflect a national blindspot, which prefers hardening targets through enhanced security versus preventing violence with efforts directed at aggressors. Security gets all the focus and money, but this only makes us feel safe, rather than to actually make us safer.

Some law enforcement agencies use profiling as a means to identify an aggressor. According to the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education’s report on Targeted Violence in Schools, there is a significant difference between “profiling” and identifying and measuring emerging aggression; “The use of profiles is not effective either for identifying students who may pose a risk for targeted violence at school or – once a student has been identified – for assessing the risk that a particular student may pose for school-based targeted violence.” It continues; “An inquiry should focus instead on a student’s behaviors and communications to determine if the student appears to be planning or preparing for an attack.” We can and must assess objective, culturally neutral, identifiable criteria of emerging aggression.

For a comprehensive look at the problem and its solution, http://www.aggressionmanagement.com/White_Paper_K-12/

[Heather S]

I am a School Library Media Specialist, and I sponsor an after-school fifth-grade book club. I don't get paid to do it and it taxes my already very slender personal time. However, I love it. Year after year I keep volunteering to do it. It is so fun to relate to the kids in a way that is not related to grades. They choose to be there. We only meet four times during the school year. As I am working on a very demanding master's program while working a fifty-hour a week job, the time just isn't there to plan and meet more often. But as I said I would never give it up. If you are at all wanting to start a little something to include more kids, or to encourage reading, or just to reach out to students beyond the classroom setting, I recommend it very highly. We meet for an hour, argue and discuss, visit the author's website, etc. I strive to make it a place where people can speak their minds and be accepted for their opinions and selves. It's my third year and it really enriches my life. Doesn't cost much, just a few little theme-related treats that go with the book. Sometimes I get businesses to pay for the treats. We have a great time.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Kenn,

Doing this kind of work earns what a friend of mine once called "jewels in your crown." I always liked that expression.

Keep on doing the good stuff,

Doug

Hi John,

I sincerely appreciate the information and the link to the whitepaper.

All the best,

Doug

Hi Heather,

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I've always enjoyed student book clubs as well, including Junior Great Books.

All the best,

Doug