Story Archive

Trigger Point

On the anniversary of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, an NBC News investigative report noted that “Researchers who study school shootings say the nation has done the wrong things, again and again,” to prevent them. Most notably, a 2010 study found the most widely adopted school safety policies — zero-tolerance and student profiling — are “unsound practices” that don’t work. Worse, those making policy haven’t paid attention to the actual causes of such shootings before coming up with their “solutions,” such as zero tolerance. Few gun control proposals would have made a difference to prevent shootings; for instance, a background check wouldn’t have stopped the Newtown shooter. Metal detectors at schools? They “do little more than ensure that the operator of the metal detector gets shot first,” NBC says. The shooters haven’t “snapped” or “gone crazy,” researchers say, but have actual grievances against school officials or other students. There’s a lot of talk about “doing something” immediately after a high-profile shooting, but after a month or two, the problem is forgotten — until there’s another high-profile shooting. To address the core problem, schools have to actually listen to kids, provide professional mental health care when needed (and have the money to pay for it), and address student grievances, such as bullying, in intelligent, thoughtful ways to defuse murderous rage. (RC/NBC) ...School officials have to listen, apply intelligence, and be thoughtful? Well, apparently nothing is going to change.