There have been approximately 32 school shootings in the US in 2018 (Springer, 2018). Furthermore, more people have been injured or died in US school shootings from 2000 to date than the entire twentieth century. Since 1999, approximately 187000 students attending at least 193 secondary and primary schools have experienced a shooting in school during school hours (Springer, 2018). Although school shootings are a tiny fraction of gun violence affecting the US, whenever a shooting occurs, it spreads panic and fear across the country. Each day, there is a threat that sends classrooms into lockdown while frightening students (Springer, 2018). Thousands of schools across the US are conducting active shooter drills with children as young as four years old where they are taught to hide in darkened bathrooms and closets from imaginary shooters ( Cornell, 2017) . Most of the children who experience school shootings are never the same (Springer, 2018). The US should make radical decisions that will ensure children are safe at school.
Arming Schools
The government should consider arming people to protect students in schools. School shootings usually occur in gun free zones, and the shooters are aware that people in schools have no guns to protect students ( Bond and Bushman, 2017) . Teachers should undergo gun training so that they can protect students and discourage psychopaths from attacking schools. Stricter gun control may only cause more violence because good people will be unarmed while bad people will continue accessing guns ( Bond and Bushman, 2017) . However, there should be proper policies regarding where the guns are placed so that a teacher does not have a bad day and attack students.
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Strengthen Gun Laws
Figure 1 showing a graph of people who are dissatisfied and satisfied with gun laws ( Amos, 2018) .
Although gun ownership is secured by the second amendment, every citizen should realize that the current violence in schools will not stop without restricting gun use. People should prove they are mentally stable as one of the recommendations to own a gun. Furthermore, gun owners should undergo mandatory training such as storing bullets separately, locking a gun, loading and unloading safely, and any other safe gun practices ( Amos, 2018) . Moreover, the police should have powers of inspection on issues such as checking training, gun safes, and safe storage. Additionally, security agencies should investigate the illegal sale of guns. Since it is impossible to get rid of all guns in the country, the government should find ways of stopping and preventing school violence. There are countless gun laws in the country, but they have been ineffective in stopping gun violence.
Improving School Security
Schools should have better security and defensive measures to prevent future crimes. Even if schools are gun free zones, there should be strict security measures. Some people suggest that there should be ‘airport-style security’ in schools ( Amos, 2018) . Such security measures require training, metal detectors, firearms, and tasers. Most schools in the major cities have metal detectors. However, less than 10% of schools have metal detectors ( Amos, 2018) .
Cutting Down Violence in the Media and Video Games
Some studies reveal that increased fictional violence may have a significant impact on real life ( Saidi, 2018) . Over the past three decades, the entertainment industry and media have glorified weapons and killings. Young adults and children are buying video games where they are glorified for shooting and killing perceived enemies or other players. Some video games have become quite complex that a player's mind may start believing that the game is real. Most games are becoming more vengeful and aggressive and may alter players’ sense of reality. Even if it is a billion-dollar industry, it should not succeed at the expense of people’s lives.
Improving Mental Healthcare
Most people have blamed gun laws for increasing school violence. However, it is essential to realize that most of the shooters have mental illness ( Saidi, 2018) . There should be quality mental health facilities and services that will ensure early diagnosis of mental illness. Some mental conditions can be treated in childhood rather than waiting for the children to grow out of the phase. About twenty percent of Americans have mental illnesses especially anxiety or depression. Most of the conditions can be treated through early diagnosis, but if the conditions are not treated, the patients may be a danger not only to themselves but also other people ( Saidi, 2018) .
Increasing the Number of Doors in Classrooms
Classrooms should have two doors. When a shooter attacked Stoneman Douglas High School, one student took shelter in the cooking classroom because it had two doors and if the gunman came in one door, he could go out through the other door ( Amos, 2018) . Shootings with the highest casualties often occur in areas where people are trapped in a limited space, and they cannot protect themselves. Modifying classroom designs may not prevent attacks but may reduce the level of damage done. Moreover, there should be locks to ensure students and teachers can lock the door while giving a chance to students to run out through the other door ( Amos, 2018) .
Focusing on Families and not the Shooter
The media has continuously sensationalized shooting tragedies. Research carried out in Arizona State University a revealed that school shooting often had a ‘contagious period' of approximately thirteen days. When a mass killing or school shooting occurs, it is highly liked that another will occur within thirteen days ( Amos, 2018) . Notably, the media should not ignore school shooting, but it should ignore the shooter and focus on families. Although not naming may have limited effect on school shootings, focusing on families will influence more people to advocate for safer schools rather than focusing on the killer's details ( Amos, 2018) .
Better Parenting
Studies show that young people are less prepared for life challenges than previous generations. An entire generation has been raised on the notion that people should focus on their self-esteem rather than social values. While parents were busy working, children were busy being desensitized to violence through Grand Theft Auto and other violent games ( Saidi, 2018) . Ultimately, an entire generation is being desensitized to violence. Furthermore, parents have focused on protecting children from all disappointments in life rather than allowing them to face the challenges and become stronger emotionally. If all children were taught love, kindness, and empathy instead of violent video games, it is highly likely that the rate of school violence would reduce significantly ( Saidi, 2018) . Gun control may not be entirely effective, but parenting is the primary factor that will solve school violence.
Improving Children’s Social Skills
Studies show that most millennials grew up with their lives on a screen. Furthermore, children prefer playing video games and posting information on social media rather than communicating face to face ( Cornell, 2017) . Excessive concentration on technology has had an adverse impact on their social skills and some children do not know how to seek help when they face problems ( Saidi, 2018) . Some children are disconnected or detached from other people and are stunted emotionally and psychosocially ( Saidi, 2018) .
Conclusion
The US has the highest school violence globally. Arming schools may not solve the entire problem but is a step in the right direction. The research paper has proposed various strategies that will assist the US to reduce school violence such as strengthening gun laws, improving security, reducing media violence, increasing the number of doors, focusing on families, better parenting and improving children’s social skills. Gun violence is a serious issue that requires all stakeholders to work with the government.
References
Amos, O. (2018). Six radical ways to tackle US school shootings. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43118865
Bond, R. M., & Bushman, B. J. (2017). The contagious spread of violence among US adolescents through social networks: American journal of public health , 107 (2), 288-294.
Cornell, D. G. (2017). School violence: Fears versus facts : Routledge.
Saidi, N. (2018). 10 ways to put brakes on mass shootings in schools - CNN Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/14/us/connecticut-shooting-reader-suggestions/index.html
Springer. (2018). Researchers call for action to address worrying increase in the number of mass school shootings in the past two decades. ScienceDaily . Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180419131025.htm
