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There are few things in this
world more difficult than the struggle of raising babies into decent,
responsible adults. We have some choices that we can make....”We can make
it harder for evil to cause harm by supporting each other, mentoring
children, embracing those who are different from us...”
If we cannot succeed in teaching our children to be more compassionate,
more caring, more empathetic towards one another, then all the gun control
and metal detectors will never make schools safe. The beauty is that the
tools for teaching compassion exist. The tragedy is that they
are not being utilized.
We all have the responsibility to help kids understand that learning is
connected to character. We have an obligation to teach children morals
that bind us all as individuals and societies. Through the development of
empathy and self-discipline when taught hand in hand with academic
learning we must teach the value of each other as individuals.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, schools in which, serious
crimes were reported were more likely to have zero-tolerance policies than
schools with no crime or less serious crimes. This suggests to me that
zero tolerance policies do not prevent tragedies from occurring. The
sad facts speak for themselves. Most schools that have had shootings have
also had zero-tolerance policies. In all the shootings the shooter has
been bullied, abused and shamed by other students.
Zero-tolerance polices do not work and it is my opinion that this policy
only help's to make matters worse by taking compassion out of our
schools. Zero-tolerance policies only deal with problems after they have
occurred and therefore do not deter students from inappropriate behaviors.
No amount of new gun control laws is going to stop the slaughter of our
children. It would be more sensible to take a compassionate and
preventative steps, such as; more accessible school counseling.
It would be more sensible to bring compassion and mentoring back into our
schools.
It would be more sensible to put a stop to all the bullying.
It would be more sensible to instill self-esteem into all of our children,
no matter the size of their parent’s bank account or their abilities on
the football field.
It would be more sensible to make a strong statement against bullies in
our schools and make zero-tolerance policies against them.
Others have argued with me that there have always been bullies...even when
you and I went to school. But times have changed. Families are
falling a part...parents aren't as available to their children because
they are divorced or both are working hard and have no time to spend with
their children. Our children of today because of the above mentioned
problems have lower stress levels.
Our schools have adopted useless policies such as, zero-tolerance.
Teachers are no longer mentors. Our children have no where to turn...or
they do...sex, drugs and violence. We have no compassion in our schools
anymore and our children are being slaughtered almost daily because of
it.
Quick fixes like the zero-tolerance policy are not the answer. Don’t
you all see what it is doing to our schools? Where is the compassion for
troubled children? Where is the helping hand? Having a
zero-tolerance policy may make you feel safer but it doesn't mean that you
are. The facts speak for themselves. What will it take to wake people up
to the real issue...school bullies?
Each day I send my two teenage boys to school I worry about their safety.
I no longer feel like it couldn't happen to me or to you.
Please help me in my quest to wake-up America to the real issue into
school shootings. Each day that we avoid the truth someone's child is
being slaughtered.
Can we really afford to close our eyes to the truth? I would gladly give
up any tax cut if it would be used to start strong and aggressive
anti-bullying policies in our schools.
Please help to stop the slaughter. Please help me save my children from
being shot down at school.
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