*The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own and not indicative of the views of Her Campus or Her Campus at VCU*
In light of recent tumultuous events taking place in schools across the country, the question that seemingly no one has the answer to is, where do we go from here, and how do we insure it never happens again? These questions are viable, but the answers vary in opinion, fact and morality, ranging from suggesting that schools implement a gun-wielding teacher militia to students learning CPR in order for them to be able to act in the event that their classmates are shot. While these “solutions” attempt to address the problem of protecting children, they do nothing to offer an answer for the cause of children feeling the need to commit heinous crimes. It is obvious that the central problem to school shootings is children having such easy access to assault rifles, either through their parents or by means of illegal purchase; however, the motivation for children murdering their classmates and peers has barely been acknowledged.
The developmental stages of children are detrimental to the person they are meant to become, and since school is a huge part of childhood/adolescent development, its impact follows students throughout their lives and affects their thoughts and actions. High school is a stressful, confusing time of intense change and acquisition of knowledge, both academic and social. For children who don’t fit the status quo, which, arguably, is everyone, the overwhelming feeling of being misunderstood and alone directly influences how they perform and interact with the world. Often, these students do not have an outlet for expressing their feelings of discontent due to the heavy, intensive curriculum schools stress. Between school, work, and extra curriculars, students have less time to focus and improve on their mental states, and this is where the problem lies.
In no way am I insinuating that all school shootings are caused by mental instability provoked by feeling like a social outcast, but students not having access to an intensive, hands-on therapy program that addresses problems broader than academia. The motivation behind children murdering other children cannot be explained or pinpointed by their feelings of anguish towards a societal standard they feel they cannot meet, but providing them with a resource that directly address the hurt and anger they feel that influenced their decision to take someone else’s life may prevent another child from losing theirs. Helping these students recognize that they are not alone and can seek help within their learning environment is the difference between neglecting a child who feels the need to destroy their own world instead of finding a way to repair and rebuild it.
While the obvious preventative measure to ending gun violence is to ban the means of murder, it is still important to address the reality that children need healthy, professional outlets to confide in about their feelings, emotional turmoil, or mental illness in order to prevent their feelings of discontent from turning into acts of violent anger that could have been prevented had a therapist been able to talk them through their emotions and help them to better understand themselves. If these therapy programs were available in schools, students would have access to a counselor trained to relate to them and facilitate an emotional repair program that provides them with materials and resources meant to encourage students to increase open communication about their emotions, all the while normalizing emotional support and outreach within an educational environment.