Prevention of School Shootings

Out of the 235 mass shootings that occured in 2018, 23 of them took place at schools. School shootings are becoming more common today than they were before. Many people believe that something must be done to prevent these shootings. People want to know how many times do school shootings need to happen before something is finally done. The U.S has had back to back school shootings in 2018. It doesn't seem like this phenomenon is slowing down any, so here's some ways to prevent school shootings.

Initially, schools must first eliminate bullying for the most part. Bullying is what causes most attackers to attack. Most attackers have been treated badly by others, left to be alone, mocked, or just simply frowned upon for being themselves. Some attackers may also have difficulty coping with something more personal.

Being bullied and not being able to handle it can cause the attacker to break. Students should receive some form of punishment for bullying, like suspension or maybe even a referral home. Children never know what someone is going through so they should be taught kindness, empathy, and love not to bully. Schools should do more to cancel out bullying across the U.S. To follow up, doctors should regularly conduct mental health exams. Most of the attackers usually suffer from some sort of mental illness. Nikolas Cruz, shooter at Marjory Stoneman had always showed a very dark side every since he was a young boy according to a former neighbor (Flores,2018 paragraph 1-4). While mental illness should not be used as an excuse for such violent acts, in the U.S mental health isn't usually the focus when visiting a doctor. Doctors are more worried about if a child has a sore throat rather than if a child is in their right mind. Elizabeth Englander explains that doctors should detect a child's problems early on and refer him or her to a mental health professional if needed.

By doing this mental health professionals can sort out kids that schools may have to watch over carefully and closely. In the meantime, students should not be afraid to speak up about any suspicious activity that they have heard about or seen.Students may not come forward because they don't want to be portrayed as a "snitch" by their peers,when really they are just being helpful. Students should always come forward if they have any concerns about a student or the safety of their school, even if they think the threat is not serious. The school staff can not take action if they are unaware of what kind of things are happening. Scott Poland says that "a missing component to school safety is getting the students involved". Kids know where most of the bullying is going on so they need to get involved when teachers are determining where they need to increase their supervision. It is important for students to speak up because they tend to have more knowledge about what is going on in their school because they are more closer to the ground than the anonymous calls that are made to the local police station. At the same time, schools should use social media as a tool for identifying troubled students. On social media , kids will sometimes post threats the need to be taken seriously. Elizabeth Englander notes that in Steamboat Springs, Colorado police took a boy into custody that threatened to harm his peers via social media.

This could've been an act of extreme violence, but instead it was prevented before the boy could act on his words. If students see anything suspicious online , they should report it to the authorities immediately. The Parkland shooting suspect made several instagram posts about becoming a "professional school shooter" prior to the shooting. Most perpetrators will post online before they attack , simply because they do not care or because they just want attention. University of Virginia professor Dewey Cornell says that , "prevention must start way before there is a gunman in the parking lot"(2018). Parents and school staff are getting tired of waiting on politicians to act on this problem. While waiting on politicians , they want to get involved. Prevention shouldn't harden schools, it should make them softer by focusing on the students mental health, student involvement , and student relationships with other students. In 2018, preparing for school shootings is now just another part of a teacher's day.

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