The Weston High School shooting has prompted discussion of everything from installing metal detectors in schools to teachers carrying guns as a way to make schools safer. Before we slap a gun on any teacher, however, we should take a look at something dangerous and violent that happens in schools every day: bullying.
The extent to which bullying actually played a role in the recent case is not yet clear, but nevertheless, this opportunity must be taken to realize that if bullying is allowed in schools, no one is safe; and no number of metal detectors or guns will protect children from the emotionally and psychologically damaging effects bullying causes.
Instead of viewing bullying as just a natural part of childhood, we must realize the true impact bullying has. The very term ""bullying"" downplays and belittles the deeply scarring effects it leaves on children and teens. We should do away with this trite term and call it what it really is: abuse.
Parental abuse, whether verbal or physical, is of course known to have a lasting and damaging impact on children, and the same treatment from peers is no different. Simply ""making fun of"" someone, innocent as it may seem, is verbal abuse and can damage a person. Adolescence is a time of hormonal and neurological changes, and any abuse suffered can be deeply etched in the personality and memory.
UW-Madison Psychology professor Jeffrey Henriques confirms, ""Bullying should not be considered one of the rites of school that students should just have to put up with as a fact of life. A large body of research shows that bullying has a tremendous psychological impact. [Victims] are more likely to report suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior.""
A stray comment can cause deep pain in even well-adjusted teens. However, it is rarely these teens who are targeted for bullying.
Instead, it is often the emotionally unstable and socially awkward who are systematically bullied by their peers. Some victims of this abuse will overcome it and go on to live fulfilling lives. Others will forever be damaged, and some will grab a gun and shoot up schools.
Some can understand how a troubled teen without the reasoning of an emotionally healthy adult could rage against the school where he or she was degraded day after day, and others, including teachers and administrators, just stood by as it happened.
Teachers and administrators come to schools with the goal of advancing the learning and education of the students. However, to be effective educators, they must understand that good learning cannot take place in an environment where bullying is common.
Yet, most teachers and administrators were once students who fit in well at school and often do not understand the true impact of ""making fun"" of someone. To understand the point of view of all students, education majors should receive some training in counseling and adolescent therapies.
Teachers and administrators often treat students differently, projecting different attitudes towards the popular and/or ""good"" kids, the ones involved in activities and who get good grades, and this only affirms the attitudes of students. Some teachers even participate in bullying, joining in the fun of picking on an easy target.
Teachers must change the very atmosphere of their classrooms. For 50 minutes a day they can make sure that degradation and abuse of any kind is unacceptable and everyone feels safe. Only then can they effectively teach.
Administrators should also expand the available student groups and activities, as those that are generally offered often don't appeal to or have room for the off-beat kids who get bullied.
Even more, schools should encourage the cultivation of individual and autonomous thinking and identities among students through more creative and individual activities, so students will rely less on social hierarchies to define their identity.
Before we equip teachers with guns, we should focus on the very root of the problem. Administrators, teachers and communities should examine exactly what goes on between students in schools and make sure that everyone has the equal right to be safe and accepted, and, subsequently, to learn.
