Sticks and Stones May Break a School Shooter's Bones, But ...

A school district in Erie, Pennsylvania recently handed out 18 inch baseball bats to its teachers, teacher aides and other staff members to defend themselves and their students against any shooter that tries to enter their classrooms. A second Pennsylvania school district gave their teachers five gallon buckets of river stones to ward off a shooter.

The superintendent of the Mill Creek Township School District was quoted as saying, "we're not just going to go hide". However, a teacher wielding a baseball bat is at a grave disadvantage against a disturbed person with a gun. The Blue Mountain School District plan involves not only the teacher in classroom, but the children as well. Assuming the teacher has time to drag out the bucket of stones from the closet – do you really believe the teacher would be able to deter a gunman with a bucket of stones? More likely, a lot of the children and teachers would be hurt and even killed.

A better way to stop student shooters is to address the problem before it actually becomes an issue.

Teachers or anyone who work with or are around children, should be able to pick up on a child's attitudes and behaviors. Especially those behaviors that suggest something is not quite right with this child. Instead of putting plans in place to resist a possible shooter, school districts should spend money to identify and help students who are at risk.

Teachers and staff should be trained to recognize the signs of a troubled student, to engage that student and to become a positive influence in his or her life. Above all, teachers should not give up on the student, because most likely, someone in that child's life has already given up on him/her.

Every school's curriculum at every grade level should teach poetry. Singing sessions once a week especially at the elementary level would be great also. Poetry and singing touches the heart and soul of humans like no other subject can. Poetry can release tension in one's mind and provide an escape to students feeling trapped in their circumstances.

Instead of bats, stones and guns in the schools, the appropriate training of teachers and staff, as well as, prayer and Bible reading will go a long way in preventing a student from becoming a school shooter. Will prayers to the Almighty God and the reading of the Bible ever return to schools? We can pray.

Ref: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/us/erie-bats-school-shooting.html