So, another school shooting and we hear ‘ban the guns’ again. Like that would without a doubt solve the problem. Like there aren’t already millions out there. What I don’t hear is real solutions. Want to keep people safe? Ban some guns or legislate keeping some people from getting them and that will do the trick. Always the easy answer and the blame game. Know what? There are no easy answers and we are to blame.
People say they care about children and education. That’s why our education system is a mess when it could be the best in the world. Not enough teachers, teachers who don’t care or don’t have the resources to do their jobs, teachers whose hands are tied, doublewides for classrooms, guns and knives in schools. Kids bullying other kids till they shoot each other or kill themselves.
You say kids are the future? Kids should be protected and not scared at school? Kids have always been scared at schools. There’s always been kids getting beat up. Even shot in inner cities. Just a bit worse now.
You say kids are the future and we need to make sure that we treat them accordingly? You’re right. So do it. Spend the money. Put the time in. Work the details. How about spending more on schools in the right ways to get the right people teaching and make the school someplace the kids want to go? Clean up the buildings. Safety? Metal detectors at every entrance to the school 24/7. Bulletproof glass. Two doors in every classroom. Stop the bullying. Let qualified teachers carry guns and teach them how to safely resolve situations (though in theory we could forego that if the aforementioned solutions were put in place). Hire qualified bus drivers who the kids can trust and we can trust.
When problem kids arise, put the money and time into helping them and figuring out what’s wrong. Worst case, put them in jail or an institution. Everyone should learn accountability early. Make the parents accountable for the things that the kids are doing in the schools. Up to and including jail time. Go outside the schools through outreach programs to give kids things they can do instead of getting into drugs and gangs and stealing cars. Make the programs in the schools such that kids see there’s a way out of the life they have.
Yeah, that’s all going to cost money. Taxes. Do you want great schools and great education and a bright future or do you want your money? You can’t have both. But if you have a truly great education system, everybody has a better standard of living in the end. Why is it that only the elites have true access to a great education system? The same people that run the country. Maybe they don’t want the rest of us to have a great education system. What would you pay to give your own kids a great start in life? If you aren’t answering that question as “almost anything”, there’s something wrong. These are the overriding questions we should be answering.
We say we want our kids to have a bright future. We say a lot of things. If we can’t put our money where our mouths are, then we’re just a bunch of monkeys trying to get something for nothing, make someone else pay for a half ass answer or blame someone else for our misgivings. We talk a lot of talk. Time to walk the walk.