Archive for October 2007
School Shootings, more common than ever.
A school shooting happened at the SuccessTech Academy high school in Cleveland and it was another devastating tragedy that is starting to become more common among high schools around the country. This school shooting was the sixteenth school related shooting in the United States this year alone.
The shooter’s name was Asa Coon, who was a freshman this year at SuccessTech Academy. Coon brought two handguns, ammunition, and three knives with him to school last Wednesday. Coon shot two students and two teachers before he turned the gun onto himself to commit suicide. The injuries on the victims are considered to be minor and are expected to recover.
Coon was perceived as an outcast by his fellow students. He was considered to be a “Goth” and he often wore black nail polish, black clothing, and a trench coat to school. Coon had a troubled childhood and a distressed relationship with his mother. At the age of 12, Coon was put into a juvenile health treatment after he attacked his mother, where he attempted to kill himself. Coon was not perceived as an aggressive or violent person, but he got into an after school fight with a fellow student, and was suspended on Monday.
As you may recall, the Virginia Tech school shooting happened in April of this year, and it was a tremendous tragedy. The shootings that happened at Virginia Tech and at SuccessTech Academy have sent up warning flags amongst high schools all over the country that they could be next.
These shootings can all be prevented if someone would take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of the students and staff within the high schools. Staff and students need to take these steps in order to possibly eliminate school shootings.
One thing that the staff can do is to appear more approachable, so that students are informed on what is going on with the students. The staff also needs to take more safety precautions to keep the school safer.
One thing that students could do to prevent these shootings would be to report any suspicions or threats made by a student about the school or another student. Anonymous hotlines should be made on high schools so the students feel they can report anything to authorities. Teachers should also appear to be approachable, so that students feel safe to confide in them about possible threats.
The most important thing that students can do to prevent these school shootings, is by not judging fellow students by their differences. Students need to allow themselves to choose their personal beliefs for themselves, students need to understand that it is okay to be different from everyone else, and that you should not be embarrassed by your beliefs. Students need to have an open mind, and they need to put themselves in the other persons shoes. You will never realize what someone else is going through, unless you take the time to understand and ask them about it. As the old saying goes, “you never know a person, until you walk a mile in their shoes.” I feel that this should go through every students mind before they decide to say something negative and demeaning to another student, because it may have just been said as a juvenile joke, but the results can be extravagant.
1 comment October 19, 2007
Boy Crisis/Gender Gap
A growing concern in schools around the country is that of the increasing gender gaps within the educational system. This has become a growing concern because of the fact that more girls are becoming college graduates and are jumping ahead of boys in terms of academics.
It has not always been this way, in the 1970’s, schools were influenced to make themselves more gender interrelated. Thusly, the schools needed to attract more women to promote feminism. So, billions of dollars were spent to advertise feminism within the schools. Therefore, women eventually obtained a “go and get it” attitude towards their careers. Women are now able to pursue any job that interests them, from a CEO of a business company, to an architect.
As women developed a more aggressive outlook towards their careers, men have, regrettably, developed a somewhat more lenient, and laid back attitude towards their work ethic. This new working ethic has become a hindrance on the overall accomplishments in the educational and professional systems for men.
Boys are taught at a young age that they need to be able to “suck it up”, and power through the pain. Girls, however, if they get injured or hurt get immediate attention and are lovingly embraced. Parents do this, because instinct takes over, and they want to prepare their children for the future. If they have a daughter, they would rather shun her away from the real world, so she never has to get hurt. But if parents have a son they say “boys will be boys”, and accept them and their mistakes.
Boys are not receiving the same kind of attention that they need in schools to succeed. In schools, girls are still accepted in their clicks if they like to study, yet boys are considered nerds if they strive towards good grades. Boys are considered popular if they are tough and are able to beat someone up. Girls are frowned upon if they behave like that, they are told “girls argue with their words, not with their fists,“ and they are told to “behave like a lady.” (I can’t tell you how many times I have heard those before!)
According to NewsWeek, boys are two times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with some kind of learning disability, in elementary schools. Boys are also twice as likely to be submitted into special-education classes than girls are.
The gender gap still affects women too. According to an article on Gender Biases, women generally succeed at English and speech classes, because girls tend to have more developed motor skills. Men, generally succeed at math, science, and technology classes because men are better on hands-on materials.
I think that boys need to start receiving more attention from their teachers in the classrooms, and receiving more help. Boys need to realize that there are many male role models to look up to. Parents need to volunteer at school activities and clubs to show leadership. Teachers, therefore, need to accept students and comprehend that boys are different than girls and vice versa. All students, male and female learn at different paces because of their individual genetic material.
1 comment October 5, 2007
