In light of all the school violence recently and perhaps an answer to my plea that no one seemed to be responding to this latest wave of school violence, President Bush has finally called for a meeting about this topic.
Through a spokeswoman President Bush released a statement basically stating that American’s hearts are breaking over the loss of lives at our schools, a place in which children are supposed to be learning. I know he is correct; my heart is collectively breaking for these students who went to school only to be gunned down. My heart is breaking for their families and for the family of the principal shot and killed. It is completely senseless.
It is the President’s wish to gather together representatives from local federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, parent teacher organizations and the teachers’ unions next week.
The President plans on having a two-way dialogue to discuss the violence, why it is occurring and what federal resources can be utilized to help prevent this from happening again. He also wishes to discuss ways communities can be assisted to help deal with the stress of this latest string of school violence, which weighs heavily on everyone’s mind.
It seems now that the government is listening to people’s concerns about school violence and the true safety of our schools. I am just so sad that it took three school shootings in one week’s time to remind people that this is a huge issue schools and educators deal with.
I am hopeful with this meeting next week, that officials will be able to come up with some sort of plan to keep our schools and our children safe. In a world in which children’s home lives are becoming increasingly unstable, many students only have one place they feel safe from harm, and that is school. Unfortunately, violence is taking away this sense of security and safety that our schools have to offer. I am hoping there is a way to put safety and security back into our schools, because no child should ever feel afraid to come to school, and no child or staff member should ever lose their life at one. Period.