To Be or What ? School Security
By Bennet Pomerantz

First Printed the week of October 16, 2006
Copied with Permission

Hopefully, out of these tragedies will come the sense of communal obligation all throughout our country--President George W. Bush

Obviously, kids should not have access to weapons, and there should be no weapons in our schools," --Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

"It’s people like you that make people like me brings guns to school, to hug people like you," Graffiti from an unknown student on a Delaware high school wall.
My friend Donna is an aide at a Pennsylvania Elementary school . She told me her school has been in lock down mode ever since the Amish school children were shot. “The fear is strong, since those children were killed” she relayed to me.

Over the last two weeks, school shootings in Wisconsin, Colorado and Pennsylvania have unnerved the nation. Two of the school shootings have involved adult intruders; the other was a student seeking revenge.

This week, as I write this column, President Bush asked for help with the school violence in an educational summit.”It seems every week we learn of yet another school shooting, and all the president is willing to do is hold a summit," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Democrat from New Jersey.

In my opinion, it is too little and much too late, there has been too much blood spilled already for talk, actions need to be taken. Can we say stop the madness . . . I do not think so!

Representative Frank Lasee announced plans to introduce legislation early next year that would give teachers, staff and school administrators the option to carry concealed weapons. To me, this would be adding fuel to a fire already there. To me, this is a bad move. So what happens if the student gun men disarm the educator..he has another gun to shoot more people with.

And now, is this where the madness ends?...Here are a few examples of recent school violence in the last few weeks and months.

A 13-year-old boy in a dark-green trench coat and mask carried an assault rifle into his school Joplin Memorial Middle School in Missouri, pointed it at students and fired a shot into a ceiling before the weapon jammed, authorities said. No one was hurt. He was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and making terrorist threats. The Joplin student's backpack contained military manuals, instructions on assembling an improvised explosive device and detailed drawings of the school, which has 750 students. The rifle belonged to his parents, who told police they kept it in a gun safe.

There was another scare at a school about 40 miles south of the Joplin Tuesday when authorities said another 13-year-old boy brought a revolver to a junior high school in an apparent attempt to impress his friends. A teacher found the unloaded handgun in a locker.

The small town of Riverton, Kansas., where five high school students were arrested in April and accused of plotting a school rampage.

E-mails threatening an attack similar to the Columbine High School shootings have prompted a North Carolina school to increase security.

I am sorry, did we not learn anything from Columbine High school? If you do not remember, on April 20, 1999, students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris stormed their school, killing 13 people and themselves in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

We need to face the fact that no one is immune from having a similar incident occur in their schools and their community.

Is there anything we can do? YES, we need to stop burying our collective heads in the sand and admit there is a major problem that wont go away. Heck with NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND, lets stop the violence in schools NOW.

Food for Thought



School Security

What is it that everyone has, wants to give, but usually no one cares to receive it?

An opinion

In replying to Mr. Pomerantz's column, I'd like to offer my opinion too. The values and morals are based on my understanding of God's Word, the Bible.

Obviously, kids should not have access to weapons, and there should be no weapons in our schools," --Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

True, kids should not have access to weapons and they certainly do not belong in our schools, but what is the answer?

Representative Frank Lasee announced plans to introduce legislation early next year that would give teachers, staff and school administrators the option to carry concealed weapons. To me, this would be adding fuel to a fire already there. To me, this is a bad move.

I couldn't agree more. The problem is two-fold: First, believe it or not, the decline of the student body began when they removed prayer from our schools. Now, I know we've heard this before, but as God's Word says "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32 NIV)

Think about it. Many years ago it was okay to bow your head and say grace before eating, or whisper a prayer before a test.

Now, I'm sure with all that's happened in our schools that kids do say a prayer sometime during the day, at least for protection if nothing else.

Secondly, I'm afraid there is a major attack on families and has been for many years. We have strayed so far from the TV families' standards such as Leave it to Beaver or The Brady Bunch. You may laugh, yes, but you never saw any of the kids disrespect their parents as much as kids do today.

We need a revival, starting with each of us as moms and dads. If we get our act right with the Lord and seek out Godly counsel, we may have a chance to show our kids the right example. We have to walk the walk. Kids are smart. A parent can't say, "don't do drugs and then the kids see mom or dad drowning their failures and challenges in a beer bottle. No wonder kids don't have any respect. They watch our lifestyle and our actions more than ever.

What message are you giving them?

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