麻豆精品

Moments after she had escaped the high school where a gunman killed 10 of her classmates, a Texas teenager spoke to a TV crew about her experience. The reporter asked if she ever thought this would happen to her. The student gave a shaky laugh. 鈥淚t’s been happening everywhere,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here, too.鈥�

Her , perhaps because her words resonated with the fear so many people in the U.S. have around school shootings. One survey found that most adults and students are afraid a school shooting will happen in their neighborhood. Another found that parents鈥� fear for their children鈥檚 safety at school has tripled in the past five years. The new national found that in 2017, 6.7 percent of students reported they missed class in the previous month because they felt unsafe at school 鈥� an increase from 4.4 percent from 1993, but not a significant change, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

But in reality, researchers say, school shootings are rare and their numbers are . Schools are safer than they鈥檝e ever been, and violence and bullying have decreased over the past 20 years, according to . Every year, more than 1,100 school-age children are killed 鈥� but only 1 percent of them are killed at school.

Researchers point to increased media coverage of school shootings as the reason for this exacerbated fear. But they are divided on whether the fear is detrimental or useful. Some argue that public awareness has led to a decrease in school violence. But others point out that it has also led to zero-tolerance policies that suspend or expel students, children of color.

In a March with the National Prevention Science Coalition in Washington, D.C., University of Virginia professor Dewey Cornell argued that this outsize fear could cause more harm than good:

鈥淥ur decisions about school safety have to be based on a careful analysis of the facts and not just be driven by fears and emotions, however important they are,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd to recognize that school violence is a small part of a much larger problem of gun violence.鈥�

Districts have spent billions of dollars on 鈥渉ardening鈥� measures such as metal detectors, security guards, surveillance cameras, door locks, and bulletproof glass. But these methods and may not prevent a shooting or reduce the number of people harmed by a gunman.

Since the Columbine shooting in 1999 that sparked national media coverage of these tragic events, it鈥檚 become routine for students to sit through active shooter drills. One used the sound of real gunfire. Some that these drills save lives, while others say they unnecessarily traumatize students.

The more pressing issue, Cornell said, is gun violence across the nation, where on average 319 shootings occur every day. 鈥淎 map of the shootings that occur in one week in the United States would blot out the school shootings that occurred in the past two years,鈥� he .

Restaurants see 10 times as many shootings as schools, Cornell , yet there aren鈥檛 calls to arm waitresses and chefs with guns or install bulletproof glass to protect diners.

But some argue that in the face of fear, data like these can seem meaningless to parents and students.

University of Florida professor Dorothy Espelage, who studies bullying and harassment, grapples with this conundrum. She knows the data 鈥� that school shootings are rare 鈥� but she still worries about the safety of her nieces and nephews at school.

鈥淲e can look at the science 鈥� that school shootings have been down 鈥� but no one has been listening to that,鈥� Espelage said. 鈥淭hat fear is real. I think it鈥檚 totally normal for someone with children to want schools to protect them.”

That鈥檚 why Espelage, who is working with Florida school districts after the Parkland shooting in February that rocked the state, said she focuses on 鈥渟oftening where they鈥檙e hardening鈥� 鈥� incorporating mental health supports as schools add more security. Espelage trains school resource officers on trauma-informed care and works with schools to make sure students have meaningful relationships with adults so that they feel connected.

In response to the Parkland shooting, Florida passed a $400 million in March that raised the minimum age for owning a gun, allowed teachers to be armed, expanded the number of school resource officers, and increased mental health services.

Leaders at the Florida PTA have found that more parents are concerned for their children鈥檚 safety and have been advocating for security measures as well as mental health services in schools.

鈥淓specially here in Florida, with what we鈥檝e been through, parents are afraid,鈥� said Angie Gallo, vice president of education development at the Florida PTA. 鈥淲e see the headlines. We see the news. It鈥檚 in parents鈥� backyards, and when it鈥檚 in their backyards, it frightens them.鈥�

But at the same time, PTA leaders recognize that school shootings aren鈥檛 the most pervasive form of violence 鈥� or even of gun violence 鈥� in their communities. National news outlets don鈥檛 give the same coverage to shootings that happen in poor neighborhoods as they do to school shootings, yet that type of violence is much more prevalent, data show.

鈥淭here鈥檚 violence every day in our communities as well that affects our children and that isn鈥檛 quite as visible,鈥� said Linda Kearschner, president of the Florida PTA. 鈥淲e have to make our entire community safer for children.鈥�

have been on the decline since the 1990s, along with gun violence generally, though most people don鈥檛 realize this, a found.

The 鈥�90s was also when media coverage of school shootings began to ramp up, said Ron Avi Astor, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies school behavioral health. Astor has observed this trend in other countries, too, where a pinnacle moment 鈥� such as multiple student suicides linked to bullying in Norway in the 1980s 鈥� attracted significant media coverage and spurred a national reckoning.

In this light, increased attention and fear over an issue can cause change, spurring new laws, funding, and programs, he said.

鈥淲e think media coverage is actually playing a positive role in changing the national norms, the consciousness of what鈥檚 acceptable, and what鈥檚 OK,鈥� Astor said. 鈥淏efore, all this stuff was happening at much higher rates, but people didn鈥檛 care.鈥�

Astor acknowledged the downside 鈥� that constant headlines can cause people to think a problem is getting worse, instilling more fear. But he also pointed out that a certain level of concern is warranted over an issue as serious as children dying, regardless of whether there鈥檚 been an improvement.

He recalled when, as a researcher, he was working with a school in Detroit to help decrease the number of students who were raped. A year later, the researchers had achieved a 50 percent reduction in these assaults. While an impressive number, it was a horrifying reality to Astor that three students were sexually assaulted that year.

Similarly, some argue, the national consciousness shouldn鈥檛 rest until the number of school shootings is at zero.

 

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 麻豆精品鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.