School shooting in Ohio

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I heard students (who were on CNN) say that these particular kids bullied him. I do not know if it's true or not. I also heard on NPR this morning (they were doing a show about it) that the father was abusive to many females (in front of him maybe?) and that both parents were involved in domestic abuse. So before the boy got to live with grandparents, he saw a lot...but many kids see a lot and don't kill. So why him? Nobody really knows.

I also agree that these "at risk" kids should not be at regular school where the teachers don't know them and there are no mental health professionals to help them.

Every time something like this happens, I start to shake. It is probably one of the most tragic events taking place these days it happens more and more often...yet every time it does, I am still in shock and so very sad for the victims.
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
Yes he was just waiting for transportation to the alternative school. He is a resident if that school district but he was assigned to the alternative school in another community because if his problems.

Also four of the students who were shot rode the bus with him from the high school which first stopped at the career center to drop them off and then onto the alternative school to drop off the shooter. One girl wad shot randomly ad he was being chased out of the school by a teacher.

Nancy
 

buddy

New Member
I hate bullying but recently it seems as though many of these violent acts are blamed on that and almost no one is suggestign that in this case. It's more likely that he was a very troubled boy who was paranoid and believed people were against him when they really were just going about their own lives.

I so agree. I think many of us have been bullied a little and many quite a lot. But most dont turn to this kind of crime against others. I have to believe (maybe I need to believe) that kids that do this may just have bullying added to the mix and it may push them further toward what they clearly could do anyway. There is usually a really involved story to these cases and I wish we could protect not only the victims but the perps long before it gets this far.

The Columbine kids are grown now and they still suffer from what they went through. Just awful all around.
 

Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
In my school district, students who are sent to the alternative high school have to provide their own transportation. They are not even allowed on the regular ed campus.

I think that the teacher that chased him is a hero. I wonder how many lives he saved.

~Kathy
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
When Onyxx was going to the alt school, they had a separate bus transport her and the other kids... Her ride in the afternoon was over an hour long.
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
I think the one change that will come out of this is their own transportation. The bottom line I guess is that he was troubled and we do not know what genes he's carrying.

The teacher that chased him is being called a hero. He's the assistant football coach who has adopted four boys and by all accounts everyone loves him and he is great with all kids.

Nancy
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
http://ideas.time.com/2012/02/28/ohio-school-shooting-why-parents-are-to-blame/

This is horrible. Now there's articles all over the web about how to prevent school shootings, about blaming the parents (above), and worse.

I still believe that if they'd stop cutting the funding for getting help for kids - and for parents like us who are out of our depth - instead of locking up kids one after another - maybe, just maybe we'd get somewhere.

I heard on the news last night, a commentor wondering if there was any warning this could happen. Yes.

I feel awful for this kid; and for the parents of the victims, and the victims themselves.
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
I listened to a radio interview today with the director for the Center for the Study of Violence, Dr. Alan Lipman. He has studied thousands of violent acts and school shootings and he had some very clear points. He said that in all the thousands of school shootings they have studied they have found an overwhelming number of them were done by people who were seeking vengeance because of some perceived hurt or rejection but the underlying problem was mental illness or emotional disturbances that went untreated. The perceived hurt or rejection or bullying is the trigger or the match for the fuse that explodes and the person commits violence. But he made it clear that if the person was not mentally ill or disturbed those perceived hurts or rejections would never cause someone to commit acts of violence. The act of rejection or bullying or hurt is not the cause, these are things people deal with successfully every day.

He also reported that teachers need to have an in-service day that deals with recognizing the signs of mental disturbances and give them the tools they need to report those students to the appropriate counseling services, over the parents head if the parent does not take action. Dr. Lipman is also an attorney and says that teachers have that right and obligation now but they don't know it and they don't know where to refer the kids for help. It is very important that teachers become the front line because many parents either do not recognize the signs or in some cases they are not attentive to the needs. (this boy's parents were in a violent relationship and he was living most of the time with his grandparents or cousins).

He went on to say that most of these kids use the social media to publicize their dark and disturbing thoughts and schools and counselors need to monitor and take seriously. This boy that did the shootings had some very disturbing rants on his fb page that should have been picked up and reported by any number of people, including the alternative school that he attended.

I was impressed with Dr. Lipman's knowledge on the subject but if I could have asked him a question it would have been....who is going to pay for the counseling services that these children so desperately need because as we have seen with the health care debate, we don't want it and insurance companies are not going to cover it just because he says it's necessary.

Nancy
 
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Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
That's fascinating, Nancy. I don't know if I agree with all of it, though.

He went on to say that most of these kids use the social media to publicize their dark and disturbing thoughts and schools and counselors need to monitor and take seriously.

I don't have the expertise to diagnose whether a child is mentally ill and I certainly don't have the time or inclination to start reading my students' facebook pages. Who exactly would be in charge of keeping up with the social media? Our counselors have case loads of over 500 students.

I do know that in cases where an administrator took disciplinary action on something that a student posted on facebook, the parents started screaming that the school had no right to use facebook postings since they were not made at school. I also think that going over the parents' heads would stir up a hornet's nest.

I don't know what the right answer is and you certainly had a great question about who would pay for the care these kids would need once they are identified.

It's all very troubling.

~Kathy
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Our School Board is considering a provision that prevents teachers from using FB to interact with students. Some teachers really believe it helps the students to get reminders, encouragement & guidance via FB but there's fear of inappropriate involvement.

The needs are so great. The resources are getting increasingly limited. Teachers have full schedules. I just don't see any answers coming soon. Sad. DDD
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
I agree with everything you said Kathy. What he is suggesting is certainly worth considering but it takes a lot of time and effort and training. Actually he said that teachers now ar enot trained but there are clear indicators that they can be trained on and then referred to social servoice organizations who take it from there, similar to the way teachers now report suspected abuse.

DDD he doesn't at all suggest teachers interact with students on fb or other social media but that if they suspect a student is troubled use it for information. I think most schools have policies against that. I have often thought there should be some mens where students or parents can anonymously or confidentially report students they felt were mentally unstable or were saying or writing disturbing messages.

I know there are no easy answers but people want to know how to prevent this from happening and unfortunately it involves a lot of efforts that we don't currently have the resources or training to do.

And Kathy you know I know teachers are stretched to the max now and are not paid enough for what they have to do, but in a way it is a compliment to your profession to be considered the first line in helping to identify students who are in trouble. The problem is you aren't given the tools to work with after you identify them.

by the way in the court hearing held just a short time ago, it was announced that in questioning him he said he did not know these students and he picked them randomly. They did not bully him or harm him in any way and it was not about drugs. He was sent back to detention and is required to be charged by March 2.

Nancy
 
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