The debate over violence in schools gets more heated with every school shooting we witness. Both sides in congress have their own solutions and both claim that their opponents’ solutions would wreak havoc on the nation. In the meantime, parents get up every morning and send their kids off to school terrified that this could be the day it’s their school; terrified that this could be the last time they see their child.
Blacksburg, a small community in Virginia, experienced the deadliest school shooting in our country and third in the world. Curt, a member of the church there, had this to contribute to the conversation.
“The discussion about gun violence completely misses the mark.” He says “the reason for the violence is societal degradation. In the shooting that devastated his little community, the gunman killed thirty-two people and then killed himself. The Baptist church across the street caused quite a controversy when they put up a memorial with thirty-three crosses. However, what people don’t think about was that the gunman was a victim as well, he was a victim of sin.”
No law passed in Congress can change that. If you wait for congress to pass legislation that would bring safety back into our school system, you’re going to be waiting for a while.
Steve Kerr, basketball head coach of the Golden Gate Warriors, passionately communicated a sentiment that many of us share. “I’m tired of offering condolences, I’m tired of the moments of silence.”
There is a solution, but it is not likely what you think it is, and that has nothing to do with your political persuasion.
When Tony’s son came home from a Waukesha public school with meditation exercises instead of homework, he was the last straw. He heard about the private school which our kids had been attending for the last few years. As a single father, he had to make some sacrifices financially to pay for his son’s education, but he is glad to make them when he reads news of gun violence in public schools. He has many other reasons as well.
Several recent high school graduates from public schools have said they did not feel their public education prepared them for college.
A quick google search will likely turn up lots of options in your area. Many parents are not aware of how affordable private education is. A Saturday Evening Post reached out to three private schools in our community and found tuition for private education is between $3,000- $3,500 a year, with tuition being discounted for multiple children. In many locations, parents are allowed to divert their tax dollars to charter schools that are technically classified as public schools but are allowed to operate as private schools. Homeschool Options and even hybrid options have been made more available in recent years.
The problem of sin will always be a part of our society. Even private school is not the perfect answer, but statistics show a trend. Since Columbine, there have been 311,000 instances of gun violence in schools. Hyewon Kim—a Cato Center for Educational Freedom Intern—compiled information on school shootings in the United States from 2000 to 2018 using the Tribune‐Review database. The database is limited to legitimate school shootings; that is, shootings that occurred on or near a K‑12 school campus while classes were in session or when students were present. The list also excluded suicide-only incidents. Hyewon found 134 school shootings from 2000 to 2018. Only eight of these occurred in private schools while 122 occurred in public schools. None of these school shootings were categorized as mass shootings (4 or more victims). Obviously, there were no school shootings in homeschool. Mass shootings do happen in other parts of our society, but places of business make their own policies to avoid gun violence. Public schools are the one place where our kids have to go that are under the jurisdiction of the government.
Why is it that statistically, school shootings and mass shootings in particular disproportionately affect students? One observation is that it is in these institutions, Christianity is visibly attacked, openly mocked, and generally discouraged. Our public educators have made the decision to remove the cross from school and in its place, They adorn their front lawns with hundreds of little white crosses to commemorate those lives lost because we took God out of public education.
Parents have got to respond proactively. Don’t let your child be a victim of bureaucracy. Sadly, we have left our schools up to the jurisdiction of congress, and we have left our most vulnerable, our children in their hands.