Being Proactive with School Violence

During my years as a school counselor I could count on it happening a couple times every school year.   A teacher would hand me a note or drawing with the comment, "You need to see this."  Perhaps the note would contain threatening comments or the drawing depicted a knife, gun or other symbols of violence.  In other cases one of my colleagues would approach me about a student who had become withdrawn, or expressing anger.  In all cases the student was on my radar.  Sometimes I would approach the student to find out what exactly was going on.  Other times I would seek insights from their peers to gain their perspectives.  I had a team of peer mediators who not only helped resolve conflicts but became my eyes and ears.  Part of the training involved how to identify bullying, depression and violent tendencies.  In all cases we tried to be proactive.

I thought of that again this morning as I heard initial news reports on the stabbings at a high school in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Twenty students have been injured, including some with life threatening wounds.  One student who escaped stated that the sixteen year old who is in custody had been bullied.  The police chief stated in an interview that there seemed to  be a pattern in the attack since most of the wounds were in the same lower abdomen area. 

One of the unfortunate realities of our educational system is that as budget money gets tight, student services get cut.  Often those student service include counseling or student intervention programs.  I recall a conversation a couple of years ago with one public school counselor.  He had over four hundred students assigned to him, leaving little time for individual contact.  He decided to retire rather of facing than face the increased responsibilities.   

I can speak from experience.  Seven years ago I was the victim of a budget cut.  The administration chose to reduce student service, rather than cut back in academic programs.  While I can understand the rationale,  I shutter at the implications.  During the first year I was retired I often heard from  teachers who were looking for insight into dealing with a student issue.  Unfortunately the phone calls stopped, although I still hear comments about what I and my colleague in the counseling office brought to the campus. 

The current environment puts added responsibility on parents and other adults to identify troubled teens and help them deal with their feelings or problems in a positive way.  When we ignore students who express anger, or who seems to have withdrawn, we are leaving the door open to more tragedies on our campuses.