Some thoughts about the Memorial shooting

There probably isn't a student, parent, teacher or administrator in the Joplin R-8 School District (and probably neighboring districts, as well) who hasn't spent considerable time today thinking about the shooting incident at Memorial Middle School. My teaching career began four months after Columbine, and it was still a major topic for students though it was a different school year. But the discussion at that time was about something that took place in Colorado. Last week, it was in Pennsylvania. Now, it has hit home, though fortunately, with no casualties.
When our principal's voice came over the intercom this morning, telling us to immediately check our e-mails, it was obvious something was up. That was when South Middle School's faculty discovered what had happened to cour colleagues at Memorial and to their students.
After a quick check, and following the lockdown procedures at our school (primarily taken to allay the natural fears of some of our parents), which we tried to do quietly and unobtrusively while continuing our lessons. I first heard students talking about it in the halls between classes before fourth hour. Apparently, a few had been contacted by their parents, told what was going on at Memorial, and naturally, began spreading the word.
It was a strange atmosphere. Students always react when word of these shootings is broadcast, but this was something that had happened to their friends, and in their town.
During my third-hour planning period, I will admit I did little planning today. I would guess the same held true for most of our faculty. I spent much of the hour checking out the reporting from KZRG, the Joplin Globe and the Joplin Daily. At least when you are looking up information, you have the feeling that you are doing something useful. The Globe was rapidly spilling out copy, much of it appearing on the internet looking unedited, and many of the assertions made early changing as more facts became available.
The Globe had an early beat because of the presence at the site of employee Blake Spivak, who offered a first-hand account of the atmosphere outside of the school. The Daily took a more responsible approach, not going after teen comments.
After school, as I drove home, I listened to KZRG's coverage and heard one of the dj's say that since the seventh grader who fired the gun reportedly had not had previous troubles at the school, that showed that normal people could also be responsible for school shootings.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if someone brings a gun into a school building, that does not meet my definition of normal.
Finally, I watched the coverage of our three local television stations, which appeared to act responsibly.
Unfortunately, on all three stations, I heard that Governor Matt Blunt was offering the suggestion that teachers start packing guns. If that is the kind of leadership he plans to offer to prevent school violence, he hope he keeps any other sage advice he has to himself.
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I was a bit taken aback, but I received four e-mails from Joplin residents who told me that today's situation at Memorial Middle School made them realize how much truth there was in Small Town News, my novel about what happens when the media crush hits an unprepared community." As in that book, I imagine there were many good guys in the media and a few who took the opposite approach. The readers gave different variations of that sentiment, but it caught me offguard.
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Finally, a word about the administrators and faculty who were at Memorial this morning: If kids are looking for heroes, they don't need to look much further than Assistant Superintendent Stephen Doerr and Principal Steve Gilbreth, and I am sure there are others among the faculty and staff at that school who would have stepped forward if the situation had presented itself.
Today's incident and the shootings in recent weeks are not due to problems in education, public or private...the problem is in our society.