It's Time to Change: Students ARE the Change

This is a compilation of excerpts from the writing of my eleventh grade English students. I asked one simple question: What can we do to change the current situation of school shootings? I told them that it begins with our words, our voices, and our conversations. The original blog I wrote in response to this issue reached 8,000 people. This is proof that words are powerful, but so are actions. My students also took the time last week to write letters to the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Their letters were powerful actions of hope. I teared up as I mailed that package at the post office, knowing that as a teacher if I received an envelope with over 100 letters in it, I would have been overwhelmed with gratitude for the love surrounding us. I ask you to take the thoughts of these young people seriously. They are the generation that's going to rule the population one day. It's time to change, and quite frankly, our young people are worth listening to; in them lies the change we need to see.

Imagine the lives that could have been saved if there were more people who recognized or treated mental illness.

It was not the gun that did the killing of those 17 people in Parkland, Florida; it was the young man who pulled the trigger.

The subject has been plastered to my social media for two weeks. Guns don't kill people, people kill people--right? It took around 20 minutes for Nikolas Cruz to purchase his firearm, and another 6 minutes to take away the lives of 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That's about 26 minutes. It took 26 minutes for Cruz to murder 17 students, send the country into an uproar, and to threaten the safety of schools across the country. It's the same time it takes you to drive to school. The time it takes to watch half an episode of TV. The time it takes to eat your lunch And yet this mere 26 minutes that changed America could have been prevented.

Our society is incapable of making change because of our unwillingness to see past our differences.

If we wish to move away from our pattern of tragedy, we must hold more loosely the values we all hold so dear, and revert to listening. Not filtered, choice listening, but true, honest, brutal listening.

Communication. It is the action that ends wars and begins nations. Yet once in school, students feel this communication isn't worthy of usage.

I had a few thoughts: 1. We always go to "thoughts and prayers" when an event such as this takes place. 2. It's time to change.

How many more shootings will it take to make something different?

Tweets. Retweets. Likes. All these tools bringing awareness, which is the first step to change.

These kids in Parkland are taking huge steps. To go from students one day to full on activists the next day is beyond powerful Their fierce and unified nature should be a force to reckon with.

Each step starts with you. Take notice. Listen to each other. Understand others. Learn to love. It's a step in the right direction.

Yes, we are a species of hate, however we are also a species that knows pain and what it is like to lose someone we love. 17 kids my age died that day. 17 families left to grieve. 17. The Florida shooting lasted a total of 6 minutes. It only took 6 minutes for a boy to kill 17 people. It only takes 1 minute to have a conversation with someone. 1 minute to hold the door open for someone else. 1 minute to pay for somebody's meal. If we all used this 1 minute to love others, then we could love 480 people each school day.

Love is the only emotion that can compete with hate and love is by far the greatest defense we have.

Many people may be convinced that guns are the problem, but I believe it all begins with the characteristics you possess.

Kids don't go to school to get killed. At least that's not how it is meant to be.

Kids don't want to be seen as different; they want to fit in. They don't want to be labeled by others as weird or strange. For that reason they don't talk to people about their mental problems.

When concussions became mainstream talk, more measures were put in place to provide safer sports. I think that this can be applied to mental health as well: we need to talk and learn about it to start to mitigate the tragic outcomes associated with poor mental health.

When we are at school we just hang out with the people we know in our comfort zone. We never make a legitimate effort to be inclusive. This is the problem. Almost every single school shooter is a person who others would have expected to do something like that. It's the kids and/or adults who are separate from any social "group" at the school. The kids who get bullied. The kids who are struggling in school or have broken family back home. They have nothing to lean on to support them when they are broken down and weak. They aren't the monsters they seem to be, they are normal, struggling people like us.

If everyone was nicer to each other and more accepting, people would feel they fit in and be less isolated from everyone else, which can lead to a decrease in depression and anxiety. Kindness can go a long way and a simple hello or smile could change the attitude of a person.

Changes need to be made, but these changes don't require government involvement, or special policies to be made or teachers carrying guns of their own. It starts with the students.

Our parents, for years, generations, have left the safety and protection of their precious children in the hands of the public education system for the seven hours and five days a week. However, in the span of the 51 days we have been in the year 2018, there has already been 18 school shootings. Eighteen. Parents, teachers, and students are supposed to assume on the thin line of what feels like a gentleman's promise at this point that we will be protected in case of an irregularity.

It's a pattern. Something catastrophic happens. People die. America blows up into a mixed frenzy of people showing sympathy and people wanting to take action. Two weeks pass by and no one speaks of it anymore. No one cares anymore. People forget...America forgets. We need to break this catastrophic pattern, starting with the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

As students, teachers, and administrators, we need to bring light and positivity to school instead of casting a shadow of darkness. The only way this pattern can be broken is through us, through me, and most importantly, through you.

If we are educated, all students will know the value of human life. We can't ignore these issues; by ignoring, we're essentially saying it's okay.

Others will scream safety or gun laws, when these are only a means of carrying out the problem. The problem will end when we combat where it begins: in the heart. The importance of respect, and kindness, and life must be taught.

I do think that new gun control laws could aid in patching the holes in our current system. However, it is important to understand that this should not be an all or nothing approach. We need to focus on the problems facing us at this moment, it is not the time for political division. It is so important for the students of any high school to do one simple thing: pay attention. Everybody is so caught up in their own lives that they often miss the tell tale signs that someone is deeply troubled and that there needs to be action taken upon it.

Mental health is an issue, but it is not THE issue; it is one piece of a very large and twisted puzzle.

In light of the more frequent school shootings, restrictions need to be enforced and strengthened in order to protect lives. Registrations NEEDS to be required. Background checks NEED to be strengthened. Those with mental illnesses should NOT be given access. Training classes and tests NEED to be mandatory.

The way I view it is if we support one another that will lead to things such as kindness, an end to bullying, an increase in safety, only positives.

If the students at Atlee supported each other as we do the football team, everything would come together, we would come together as a student body.

The root of the epidemic lies within each of us--our mental health.

There is such a lack of communication and awareness of mental health in schools that we either ignore it or deny it. Students aren't aware of symptoms and warning signs in their peers, which typically develop aound age 14. Even teachers, the sole connection from society to youth, aren't educated to recognize "red flags" in students. Indicators of a potentially threatening student could be identified earlier and addressed before there is any significant danger, which in turn would save lives.

We are in a deficit--a lack of understanding and awareness of mental health--which requires action to change the fate of our nation. We can secure our schools and restrict guns, but until we can help those suffering from mental illness, we will not have any significant foothold in the battle against school violence.

Rather than forcing our own beliefs on others, we need to learn compromise and truly try to understand each other before throwing different opinions in the trash pile.

Another way to keep our schools and communities safe is to be prepared. Having drills is not enough. Schools need back up plans. In most events, the shooter is a student or a former student from the school, which means they know how the drills work. They know where everyone hides and what the codes mean. Atlee is a very safe community, but so was Parkland. Saying this could never happen to you, I believe, is very naive.

Whenever a massacre happens, the deranged lunatic that performs it is always unabated; there is no chance of self-defense against a man with a gun. Unless, that is, the victim has a gun. Suddenly, it is no longer a shooting range for the psychopathic monster--the targets can fight back.

Schools can have over 1,000 students in them with only one police officer. Schools with outdoor campuses or different buildings can be incredibly difficult to secure and keep safe with only one officer. In schools with multiple buildings, there should be one officer per building; that way one officer will not have to run from building to building trying to locate the danger. By the time an officer gets to the buiding in danger, the suspect could have easily moved onto another one. For large one building schools, there should be an officer per floor, or one officer per 400-500 students. Extra support can never hinder the safety of students.

The change will start with us....Be 1% better. The officer change will come with time, as will anything to do with guns, but we can start right now and there are no excuses not to make a change.

Facebook posts and angry tweets will not fill the void of families who found themselves without children. What will chagne this horrible culture of school shootings is gun control.

I would like to believe that a culture shift is on the horizon for America. The sheer amount of tragedies has desensitized us as a country. We have forgotten what it's like to love and be loved. When will we remember?

This is what we need America, we need open ears and open minds. Nothing and I mean nothing is going to change if this is the America we think is right.

I'm always talking or writing my feelings out in some way, but this event has rendered me completely speechless. I am at a loss for words when I think of the pain that the students and staff must be feeling. What I do know, is that this must be the last time that students are killed in a building where they should feel safe and loved. There is no way to change all of society at one time, but the "ripple effect" is stronger than any of us give it credit for. We need to start making this change at Atlee High School, and hope that other schools make the same changes we do. We, as students, need to show everyone love and kindness.

Thousands upon thousands of Americans are killed each year from gun-related incidents. It would seem like the only solution would elminate all guns in the United States, but it is not that simple. Even though the guns are a huge deal, the bigger problem is the senseless human beings who use these weapons in order to kill innocent adults and children. Guns are not the problem; people are.

Arming teachers is another big debate that many are arguing about in today's world. Giving all teachers guns is not the way to go. Teachers are paid to teach, not to shoot.

Security is determined by the choices and actions of each individual. In order to ensure that schools remain safe, the students and teachers need someone to become vocal. See something and hope that someone else says something is not an option.

Technology creates lots of outlets for manipulation, addiction, and cyber bullying. In this way, our generation is saturated in negative energy. Mental health is definitely a bigger issue now then it has been in the past. THere needs to be effort in providing help for people with these issues.

We stay silent until we hear that ringing of a gun going off. And after our silence is broken, we start blaming. We place the blame on Congress. On the President. Administrators. Lawmakers. However, the blame also falls on all of us.

We need to become better listeners. Each of us face struggles, but unfortunately, none of us take the time to listen and understand what our neighbors are going through. We do not listen until it is already too late.

This system of living has become like a broken track, a song playing over and over. It's a pattern. Headlines are hit with heartbreaking news, people are left hurt or miserable, and the people that are not affected are left with an empathy and striving motivation to take action. Realistically, in the piles of work, the cosntant call-to-action headlines becomes a burden to our "normal" lifestyle because "there's not enough time in the day." Gradually, the devastating news becomes forgotten and left as yesterday's news. No one cares enough to life a finger, for the ones who lost their lives. We, as a society, need to fix the broken track, starting with the most recent school shooting at Parkland, Florida.

Once we can finally stop politicizing school shootings, we can start to understand one another's opinions and can work towards a solution that will work.

If arming teachers cannot be done, there are thousands of unemployed veterans that already have firearm training. If we use a careful vetting process to choose veterans that are mentally stable and qualified to protect our schools, we could create jobs for those who served our country, and we could better protect the future of our country.

As we work to change our approach to both mental health and guns, we need to remember this. Our future we are changing. When tragedies happen, we must change. We need to change how we see mental health and how we treat guns. These things don't change by themselves and without all of our work, we will never make any progress.

Children are the future, as we often say, and they can't live to be in that future if they are killed in schools because of violence. The way we solve this problem does not matter in the end, what matters is that we, as a country, actually take some action, instead of making false promises and hope towards making things better. We need to stop talking, and agruing and speculating and actually do something before the situation progesses even further.

Changes should've been made after the first school shooting--not hundreds later. The fight on gun violence always seems to develop after a traumatic event, but the battle diffuses as time goes on--only to arise once more when something else goes wrong to bring it to the public's attention. It's an endless cycle. A mistake, an attempt to fix it, resolving for nothing, and repeat. We need to learn from our mistakes. Instead of putting up a temporary fight, we must put in the effort to make the change permanently. All or nothing. And if we do nothing, then these school shootings and hundreds of wasted lives are guaranteed to keep coming.

All counties nationwide need to adopt the "signal blue" plan of action which immediately alerts all county police officers of a school intruder and acn react to the scene. Hanover County is fortunate to have this plan of action, but this needs to be a national priority.

As our weapons evolve, our restrictions must evolve as well. There are other ways to help keep our schools safe, but getting guns out of the hands of dangerous people, as well as banning the most lethal weapons wil lnot only be the most effective way to keep our schools safe, but it will also protect people everywhere.

Tests and classes should be required before one is allowed to carry or buy a gun. Think about how much work is put into gaining a driver's license and all the prep that goes into acing the permit test. Why is the process so thorough and obnoxious? Automobiles are highly dangerous and, if used incorrectly, can cause a lot of harm. It's almost as if cars are machines that could do terrible things is handed off to an uneducated man with no experience or common sense. Stricter qualifications are necessary. Guns should be more heavily policed.

This issue is not black or white. This issue is not no guns or everyone needs a gun.

We need to help these people to achieve a better life. This is especially true for social media. Instead of making us more social, social media is isolating people from each other, and making it seem as if we lead perfect lives. This is leading to depression and other mental issues more and more. These problems can be addressed to students in our schools. The aggressors are typically described as outsiders, and these people exist in every high school in the nation.

While gun control may be a solution, people still could find guns like they do drugs, and would still allow for people that shouldn't have guns to possess guns.

Bullying and exclusive behavior must stop in our schools, social media, and ultimately, our society. Us as students should be inclusive and outgoing to the "outcast."

The road to curtailing school shootings is going to be long and arduous. In order to create any positive changes, the government and community will have to work together. The government needs to elminate the practice of straw buying, but in case someone obtains a gun anyway, schools need to prepare students to hide and stay calm.

My other solution, although farfetched, is to arm teachers or administrators. I support Atlee High School's resource officer, but if teachers have small firearms on them, even possibly tazers, it would at least give them some kind of safety against a possible intruder. This idea isn't new. For the past 15 years teachers in Utah have been able to bring their weapons and there has been no shootings. Not every teacher would need one as well but the idea could help scare shooters from even thinking about it.

I am not worried about my safety at AHS as the teachers and administrators do a great job. However, I believe that we, as a country, are blaming the wrong thing here, and it's time to change something for the better.

I want to finish this with a profound apology to those who lost friends or family in the tragedy at Parkland. You are never alone. The world cries with you.

Students are the change.