Heartbreak

When people my age were kids, we never worried about our safety as we went off to school each day. Our parents never worried about sending us.

About the worst thing we faced was a little razzing from the neighborhood toughs…or a P.E. teacher that tended to come unglued from time to time.

It was nothing like this modern era when the tragic news of a school shooting has become commonplace. At first, the name ‘Columbine’ held a unique place in our hearts; now it sits atop a litany of names growing more and more lengthy by the year. The news from Chardon, Ohio that now a third victim from yesterday’s rampage has now died breaks our hearts all over again.

Parents of our generation hold our breath each hour after such a shooting and we hold our kids tighter. Eventually, the fear fades into our psyche, suppressed until the next tragedy grabs the headlines again.

It used to be a far off news story. But it has crept closer and closer.

We’re not immune in East Tennessee. We’ve had shootings in town (Central High School, Inskip) and nearby (Campbell County). We’ve had students killed, assistant principals gunned down and school leaders maimed. 

These incidents often begin with the story of a loner done wrong by the schoolhouse caste system. Each time we search for an answer. Often, it starts with the question 'Why?’ and the follow-up 'Didn’t anyone notice?’

In our day, boys settled disputes with a fight on the playground. These days, a fight on the playground would be followed up the next day by rounds of ammunition and, likely, disturbing internet posts that foretell the tragedy.

Our educators have a full-time job to teach our kids and they often do so with stretched resources, trimmed budgets and full classrooms. Now, we add to their list of duties, “Serving as police officers and first responders.” By all accounts, a teacher at Chardon High School likely prevented more tragedy by his quick intervention and his heroism.

It would be nice if our teachers didn’t have that worry in the back of their minds. It would be, better still, if we could figure out a systematic approach to preventing such violence in the future.

Sadly, it seems like we’re so far away from a solution on both accounts.

JG

(Source: CNN)

Originally posted 2/28/2012