In the weeks after the tragedy that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Connecticut, there have been several ideas discussed about how to prevent something like that from happening again. Senator Al Franken says that schools need to have more counselors. He will push for federal funding to make that a reality.
There are no words that can adequately describe the shock that people felt after learning about what happened in Connecticut in December of 2012. A twenty-something shooter went into Sandy Hook elementary school and opened fire. Twenty six people were killed that day – and twenty of them were children. This traumatic event is one that will be remembered by parents across the nation every time they drop off their children at school.
How do we prevent this from happening again? Many different answers have been suggested, (some of which are quite controversial).
The National Rifle Association believes that the answer is to have armed guards at every school. Others suggest that the answer is to require gun owners to purchase liability insurance on all of their weapons (and to be held responsible for the actions done by someone else who used their guns).
Teachers and school staff in Utah learned how how to handle a gun for the purpose of carrying a concealed weapon with them into the classroom (or, at least having the option to do so). Many schools are practicing lockdown drills and checking students backpacks as they enter the school building.
Senator Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, has another idea. Put more counselors into the schools. He told reporters that evaluating school security is important, but that he is more concerned with putting additional mental health workers in schools. He believes that this is what could help prevent future school violence. He said:
One of the things we need to do better is identifying mental health issues earlier in a child’s life.
Senator Franken serves on the education committee in the United States Senate. He said he will push for federal funding to boost the number of school counselors, social workers, and psychologists.
It is no secret that the United States has a very broken mental health system. Parents of children and teens who have mental disorders often resort to going to emergency rooms for help because they have no other option.
I’ve no idea if putting more counselors and mental health professionals in schools will put an end to the violence we are currently seeing. However, I am absolutely certain that it wouldn’t hurt to give Senator Franken’s idea a try.
Image by Jonathan Miller on Flickr