If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
A few months ago, not long after the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., I was at work when my phone rang. It was an automated message from the school that my two older sons attend. I was informed that there had been a shooting at another school a few blocks away.
I asked her what the kids do if Mr PC comes. Someone gets on the loud speaker and warns everyone that Mr. PC is there. She said they then lock the doors, turn off the lights and hide. They practice to prepare. She said the drills can be scary,
How can we possibly reassure teens that they are safe and that these tragic events are low frequency events that are unlikely to happen yet again?
On a very basic and scary level, before our story became a national headline -- a "massacre" -- and before the heated discussions around violent video games and gun violence, it was a very real, vivid, and tragic series of loud, piercing, and fatal moments in time.
Prevention is so much more important than predicting risk. In the wake of recent school tragedies and a resonating fear in schools, these key tips are invaluable for both teachers and administrators alike, as well as for parents.
The agreement to back near universal background checks on gun sales was a hopeful signal that at least some previous hardcore congressional gun lobby shills finally got the message that an aroused public wants action -- any action -- to pass long thwarted meaningful gun control curbs.
"Glee" attempts to tackle the issue of gun violence in our schools, but was it worthwhile, or did it feel manipulative?
I witnessed first-hand how a community can change and make a difference in the lives of its members, and if there is determination and a just cause, the community can prevail.
In the months since the Sandy Hook massacre, a new and unwelcome kind of moment has entered my life. A moment when the absolute joy I feel watching my son giggle or sing or run happily across the playground abruptly shifts to a deep sorrow and an aching fear.
How shallow do they think I am? I would trade my money, my fame, my reputation and legacy if there were the slightest chance of preventing the anguish of another Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, or Sandy Hook Elementary School. I ask you, truly, what manner of human being would not?
Those calling for change after recent shootings have done remarkably little soul-searching about the education system that allowed such a disturbed individual to wander through its hallways speaking little and avoiding eye contact, apparently completely ignored.
I know that coming to school every day and being greeted by the sight of an armed guard will change the culture of my former school. We are talking about students, not inmates; high school should not feel like a prison.
On Wednesday, March 13, the day before the three-month anniversary of the tragedy in Newtown, I will travel to Washington, DC, and join mothers from more than 30 states for Moms Take the Hill Day.
Mental health professionals sit at a unique vantage point in this debate. Many of us struggle to protect our clients from stigma, to safeguard confidentiality, and we've grappled with when it should be breached.
His son Andy is a rampage killer. Imagine for a moment what it must be like for him to read that last sentence. For Jeff, it is a life sentence in more ways than one. The sins of the son have affected Jeff profoundly and changed every aspect of his life.
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