I am in shock. Just heard the news of a mass murder of elementary school children in Newtown, Connecticut.
CNN says “close to 20” were killed.
News reports on AOL says it is 27, including at least 18 children and the principal.
They say the killer wore a bullet-proof vest and brought guns to the school.
His mother was a teacher at the school. She is dead.
I keep thinking that we have huge problems in this society, and our policymakers only want to talk about test scores.
It may be time to think about other things that matter more.
So heartbroken for the parents and the children of Newtown.
Let us pray for them all.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So right, Diane. We have to get back to our humanity and stop this madness. We can do better.
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It is time for all of us to call all of our elected officials and demand sensible gun control. No one needs a semi-automatic. This has to stop.
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Wrong. The ONLY solution is to allow teachers to arm and train themselves if they so wish. We protect our children 17 ours a day. Can we not put trust in our school system to another 7 hours ?
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This is just a few days after the mall shooting in Oregon. Sad.
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Been following off and on all morning. It is a horror beyond horror for the parents, children, staff and the community. Apparently the school did have security practices in place…not sure how extensive…but if someone is determined enough, even an armed security presence might not have been enough. Littleton, CO…Newtown, Connecticut… hard to imagine more normally peaceful areas…just too many dangerous and sick people out there…and far too many guns……….
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Thanks…..We have a right to keep pistol in home, not automatic for so many “rounds”….just to protect against rapist/invaders into our shelters. We need small class sizes, mental health facilities and nurses/psychologists in every school to work with families and kids, which would increase levels of test scores because of good mental health, etc. Taking that away or not providing that kind of assitance to our society is what is a good part of our problem…..
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It is so sickening. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Newtown.
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Hopefully this hideous tragedy will be the last straw. There is absolutely no reason for our citizens to be equipped with assault rifles. We need to look to countries like Canada and do what they do. I’m going to write to my representatives in DC and I hope all of you do also.
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It would be nice if someone listens. The usual refrain after the past couple of high-profile shootings has been: “Now is not the (day/time) to discuss this.” One can infer from this the time to discuss is never.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/white-house-school-shooting_n_2302251.html
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I hate to sound like one of “those guys,” but criminals by definition don’t obey laws. They will simply continue to use guns illegally like they usually do.
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Yes, but it’s often not the “criminals” who commit these crimes, but just “ordinary” people with mental health issues. Surely there is some kind of compromise.
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Dr. Ravitch,
Being a historian, has there ever been a time in our country where our policies and our own humanity did a better job of caring for each other verses feel we have to be the best in the world in so many things?
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Try 1935–1980.
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Can you please expand?
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The period of the New Deal through the Great Society, which ended with Reagan’s election. A time when we had a stronger sense of community and social responsibility.
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Perhaps it would be best to start your time period after Brown v Board…. My Gay friends might argue the last five years have been far better for them as they seem to be included in our community now.
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The question wasn’t about gays; it was about a period in which the public took better care of itself. Sadly, it wasn’t perfect—and I didn’t write that it was—but I think the period I mentioned was one during which we had a more caring public policy and less violence than today.
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I focused on the statement “…when we had a stronger sense of community”. The community that mattered was largely limited to white heterosexual males.
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I’m replying here to avoid the very narrow posting. Yes, the 60s was a time of love and understanding, especially for minorities in the south. During the 50s, women enjoyed unprecedented access to high-powered careers.
Your history is tainted with ideological glasses.
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You missed the point. The question was about public commitment. I never wrote it was perfect.
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I’m saying it wasn’t better. I didn’t miss the point. There are no good old days if you take everything into perspective and not just the selective feel-good memories.
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I didn’t write “good old days”. We just had better public support and a stronger sense of community then; that was the question. I’m not being selective. For my parents generation as well as my youth, children could stay out late, walk and play without adults, and interact with adults whom they didn’t know, without fear. Public schools were open spaces and still safe. The public supported a stronger safety net and demanded stronger public services. That all changed quite strongly as the ’80s progressed.
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You do know that Medicare and Medicare both started in the mid 60’s, nearly the end of your time period. And as for safety, listen to Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit.
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Yes, I know that; I was alive then. And the fact that that legislation was near the “end” of my time period is irrelevant. Same for Billie Holliday’s song. I never said there wasn’t violence and injustice back then. In fact if you actually listen to and think about the lyrics, you might realize that much of the civil right legislation of the ’50s and ’60s was in response to the violent racism of in the South, which only proves my point since the trend since the ’80s has been to undo public welfare and civil right legislation so we call all be “free” to beat on each other.
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moosesnsquirrels,
I agree with you. We’ve always had horror in our society and this is a great example. But I was wondering if we ever had policies that worked towards a better humanity verses competition.
And while we may never get to that point, I wonder what more can be done? Do we need policies around gun control, yes? Do we need policies around better mental health care, yes?
Do we as human beings need to learn how to . . . . I don’t know love – in a way that allows us to understand each other and resolve problems in ways that don’t lead to incomprehensible actions?
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We are moving, slowly and with some backwards steps, towards a better humanity. There are fewer people in the world living in abject poverty. Not a smaller percentage of people ( which is also true), but fewer in absolute numbers. In the US, women and various “others” have gained rights as full human beings. When was the last time you heard about a lynching? Google the song “Strange Fruit” if you want to learn about the good old days and take a listen to Billie Holiday.
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Dear God! How can this keep going on?
Yes, we need to control guns. But it’s time we started controlling ourselves too. We can’t continue to perpetuate the culture of mutual hate that we’ve been cultivating for decades and continue to be surprised by these events. I won’t even call events like this tragic, because they’ve become so woven into our cultural fabric. Rational people have to take control of our government and social institutions and start building a cultural base for all Americans to share, instead of fomenting the violent insanity we have now. I can only dream of that happy day.
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Shooter was the son of a teacher there. He apparently killed his father in NJ this morning, then went to CT. It sounds like he killed his mom and many of her students, though that last is not yet confirmed.
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From the NYT a few minutes ago:
The gunman, who was believed to be in his 20s, walked into the classroom where his mother was a teacher. He shot and killed her and then shot 18 students in her classroom. He also shot seven other adults.
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We have prepared for this nightmare with our intruder drills, hoping that we are practicing for nought. Is there a word that goes beyond horrible to describe this? God help us. We have a teacher in that school with ties to our school. We are waiting for news.
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We have people in our school with connections to that school too. I hope the news for us all does not become any worse.
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This is a travesty and so sad. Has anyone looked at the number of incidents since Columbine and how our society has not provided a safe, nurturing learning environment for our children. God Bless the families and everyone else affected by this tragedy. .
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In other news …
Bill expanding concealed-carry access passed by Michigan Legislature
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That’s right, Jon. The collective amnesia is incredible.
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Concealed carry is not the problem here.
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Bravo!!!!
Murray Polner
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Very easy access to any type of gun.
Very limited access to any kind of mental health care/screening.
The American way.
I am so sorry for the students teachers and families.
Beyond horrible.
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This is sickening.
The poor children and adults who had to go through this–those who were shot and those who saw and heard others get shot.
Something strange is in the air, in our society overall–it’s difficult to define, but it’s a continual pressure, a selfishness, a lack of mercy. It affects people in subtle ways–and those with a mental instability may be much more severely affected.
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In the name of these innocent children.. we need strict gun control. to hell with the NRA
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Explain strict gun control, please..
Im afraid the media has brainwashed you as well.
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The state of Michigan recently made it legal to carry weapons to schools. The Supreme Court claims it is unconstitutional to ban weapons.
It is the time to talk gun control.
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Inverness…you are wrong. Gov. Snyder hasn’t signed it yet. Until his signature is on the paper, it isn’t law and you can’t take a gun into a school. He is taking a week to think about it more before he signs it he said, especially “in light of yesterdays shooting.”
So as of right now, in the state of MI, if you take a gun into a school, a legal gun that is, you are breaking the law. However, the criminals don’t really care about legality.
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I just wrote to both my senators as well as my representative in Congress. Please do it now while you are angry. It’s super easy and fast with the computer.
It’s time for gun sanity in our country. Perhaps the Second Amendment needs to be eliminated or changed. We can do it.
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Linda, very treasonous comments.
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Guns Guns Guns Guns Guns
Social services – social services – social services – social services
Community/School/Social Agency Networks
Universal health care that INCLUDES mental illness
& Yes – schools have gotten really good at detecting kids who are isolates and learning warning signs of troubled kids and work with community agencies and parents (in denial) but social services and Child Protective Services are flooded with cases and not enough staff.
AND we’ve gotten good at lock downs and lock outs and buzzer systems and even metal detectors; but, they don’t stop TERRORIST ATTACKS and that is what these are.
Schools – malls – movies – Coffee with the Congresswoman – all susceptible. We’ll never eradicate these but America could do a hell of a better job of reducing the risk by getting rid of the guns, with social services that work, with networking, and owning up to mental health issues.
Do you think the now deceased parents of the shooter knew their son had problems? Of course – and maybe he was getting help – but too many people don’t have a place to turn or the health care or the community system to support them.
So – Mr. Obama – put the whole education and excessive testing nightmare as the #3 domestic issue and now that you don’t have to worry about re-election – #1 Screw the NRA (sorry) and GET RID OF THE FREAKING GUNS; and #2 Ignore the “socialist” and “socialism” whiners and put community agencies and mental health services and child protection services back as priorities.
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Words fail.
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How would we get rid of guns? Even if all gun sales ceased immediately, there are millions of them around already, and they can remain functional for generations with minimal care. Those who possess them legally are not likely to get rid of them, and those who are criminals are not likely to be swayed by the law.
That Pandora’s box is not easily closed.
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Our country also is one of the most violent of the world’s societies. Our problems are constantly solved with violence. We have been at war for over a decade in the Middle East in the name of “democracy building”. In the meantime, ironically,democracy is diminished at home as special interests such as the powerful gun lobby buy off legislators and control governmental processes. Assault rifles are strictly for killing humans. Why guns such as these are so important to a non military sector of our society is the question. The other question is how do maniacs have easier access to these ultimate weapons than they do to mental health care?
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Lame Duck & Cover …
Michigan Lawmakers Vote for Guns in Schools
There’s a serious mental health problem in this country …
And that’s just the politicians …
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My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of all the children in that school. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like for those parents. With that said…
The bodies aren’t even cold yet and already the gun Nazi’s are crawling out of the woodwork. You can have ALL the gun laws you want to create. You can make the whole world a gun-free zone. But the reality is this…Guns don’t kill, the people behind them kill. Chicago has one of the more stricter gun control laws and look at the number of killings there. DC has the most restrictive guns laws around and look at their crime stats. When countries enact gun control and make the law-abiding citizens give up their guns, all it does is let the bad guys know that everybody is fair game. Ask the Brits what happened during the riots last year or so. Britain has outlawed guns. So baseball bats were the weapons of choice. And those that needed them were hard pressed to find them so they could defend their property and businesses.
You can also put Child Protective Services back as well as mental health services etc back in place. Once you reach a certain age, you cannot force someone to do something they don’t want to. Seeing somebody for mental problems is one of them. You can provide all the counseling you want and all the help a person with mental problems needs, but you can’t force them to do utilize the services. Institutionalizing doesn’t help either because once they are out, they don’t have to utilize the services again.
The sad thing about all the shootings is not that innocent people died because they did and that in itself is horrible, but if there had perhaps been some one with a legal right to carry a concealed weapon, 20 kindergartners wouldn’t be dead, if the theater in Colorado had not been a gun free zone, perhaps those people wouldn’t be dead either. You can confiscate all the guns you want and you are still going to have shootings. Why?? Because as cliche as it is…when the good guys DON’T have guns, the bad guys will, and that makes us all victims in waiting.
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I call you on your lies. The fact is that in countries that have much stronger regulation of guns there are far, far fewer deaths from guns and far, far fewer tragedies. No one is raising the straw man argument that gun control will eliminate tragedy and dander from our lives. It will, however, prevent a lone gunman, as in Connecticut, from being able to walk into a room of Kindergartners and rapidly fire over 100 rounds of ammunition at innocent children.
I am a 1st grade teacher and I am numb with grief and in shock. I simply cannot comprehend how a family and community deal with such a tragedy. Getting these war weapons out of the common market will be one step forward that will help the children I teach be a little bit safer on Monday than they are today. My tears and my grief will be turned into political action and a strong commitment to protect the children of America from senseless gun crimes. My prayers for the families and the victims will be my bread and my strength.
I teach and live in Florida where last week we reaches a grim statistic of over 1 million citizens receiving concealed carry permits and where 2 beautiful young men were shot and killed under cover of the ludicrous “Stand Your Ground” law. Enough is enough. Our children are more important than your political philosophy and I have every confidence that many millions of Americans will join me in saying “enough!”.
FACTS About the Effects of Gun Control:
Gun Deaths – International Comparisons
Gun deaths per 100,000 population (for the year indicated):
Homicide Suicide Other (inc Accident)
USA (2001) 3.98 5.92 0.36
Italy (1997) 0.81 1.1 0.07
Switzerland (1998) 0.50 5.8 0.10
Canada (2002) 0.4 2.0 0.04
Finland (2003) 0.35 4.45 0.10
Australia (2001) 0.24 1.34 0.10
France (2001) 0.21 3.4 0.49
England/Wales (2002) 0.15 0.2 0.03
Scotland (2002) 0.06 0.2 0.02
Japan (2002) 0.02 0.04 0
Data taken from Cukier and Sidel (2006) The Global Gun Epidemic. Praeger Security International. Westport.
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Brian…Call me on my lies. They aren’t lies. It is a proven fact that when only the bad people have guns, the crime rates go up.
I was not talking about the foreign countries crime except for Britain, I am talking about the United States.
http://theacru.org/acru/harvard_study_gun_control_is_counterproductive/
Not only is the D.C. gun ban ill-conceived on constitutional grounds, it fails to live up to its purpose. If the astronomical murder rate in the nation’s capitol, in comparison to cities where gun ownership is permitted, didn’t already make that fact clear, this study out of Harvard should.
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=409
A review of the areas in the U.S. with the most restrictive firearm laws, including such areas as Washington, D.C., Chicago, IL, New York, NY, and the state of California, shows that these areas have some of the highest crime and especially violent crime rates in the U.S.
http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/230964/gun-control-has-failed-this-country
http://rense.com/general32/nine.htm
There have been state-by-state analyses, county-by-county research, and crime trend studies. All the research shows that allowing good citizens to protect themselves outside their homes is a
policy that saves lives. The anti-self defense lobby advances many
proposals in hopes that it will “save only one life.” Reform of concealed carry laws is a policy that saves many lives, so it is a policy that should be supported by the gun control lobby, if saving lives is really their interest.
http://godfatherpolitics.com/501/gun-and-baseball-bat-control-in-great-britain/
So what does the law abiding citizen do? He shops on Amazon for baseball bats! He can’t buy guns, so he gets the next best thing, a metal version of the Louisville Slugger. In a 24-hour period, sales for baseball bats on Amazon UK rose by more than 6000 percent.
Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/501/gun-and-baseball-bat-control-in-great-britain/#ixzz2F4xOszwz
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I live and teach in Connecticut. I am angry that the gun nuts in our country refuse to see how their “liberties” are affecting our society. Parents have the right to expect that the little ones they send off to school will make it home alive. Their rights supersede your right to own assault rifles with large magazine capacity.
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I know how frustrating this can be, but I think we should apply Godwin’s rule and declare this thread closed.
There is little we could say here that would help those most in need in any case.
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“There is little we could say here that would help those most in need in any case.”
Really? REALLY? I think talking about how we can prevent this tragedy from being reenacted in a month or two is a great help to the millions of school children in America and honors the lives of those who died today and in the last 6 or 7 school shootings.
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If you think you have any original ideas to contribute and that the policy makers of this country will respond to your posts here, you should certainly spend your time posting.
I will have dinner with my children.
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This is what often happens: A very angry, very drug-crazed, or very mentally ill person decides to take his anger out on others. And so he grabs a gun and goes out to shoot babies and other people. This sort of thing would not happen without guns. Yes, people kill and they do it a lot faster when guns are available.
I pray that this is the last straw. We need gun control and we need it now.
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Quite frankly, I am appalled that this discussion would turn into a “gun control” discourse. That isn’t the point. How can we, as a caring and empathetic nation, best console and comfort the victims’ families and friends, the survivors families and friends’, the First Responders and LEOs? How can I continue to protect the kids in my own classroom?
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Laurie Giff and her husband have just opened a Dinosaur’s Paw children’s bookstore in Newtown. Their location is a child-friendly, non-threatening place where counselors, teachers, parents and children might use to meet for mutual support, especially for those newly traumatized students who need to be reintroduced to learning in an alternate environment.
Give them some love!
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Diane — I am deeply saddened by what happened in Connecticut. We did not have students in school today. We had a Staff Development Day. Teachers were examining data and writing Student Learning Objectives due to the teacher evaluation process in New York State. I am thankful that the students were not in school and that I did not have to try to explain what happened today in Connecticut. When 911 occurred I tried to comfort the children by telling them to watch for the HEROES that come in to focus during a tragedy. On the NEWS tonight , I am hearing parents say that the teachers were HEROES. That they did what they were supposed to do and that was PROTECT the children. Now , more than ever, I feel in my heart that our job is to protect the children from what we know is WRONG. Let’s stand UNITED AND PROTECT THEM FROM THE INSANITY OF STANDARDIZED TESTING AND THE INSANITY OF HAVING TEACHER EVALUATIONS TIED TO TEST SCORES.
I am speaking from the heart.
Marge
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Those teachers and staff are heroes. They did all they could to protect those babies. God bless them and their families. I’m hugging my own children and little tighter tonight, and going to school on Monday with the resolve to do the same to protect my students. I hope I never have to do it, but I hope I would be a hero like they are.
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Marge and Jennifer first use the word “hero” starting at 7:15pm. Thanks. We should be seeing names, perhaps some survivors will have stories.
In the meantime, we can recall Dave Sanders and Shannon Wright:
Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 5, 1999)
Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to salute America’s educators during Teacher Appreciation Week. It is essential in these trying times at our schools that we pay tribute to the professionals who give so much to their work with our communities’ children.
Every day 3 million American teachers go to work. They arrive early in the morning and often stay late at night. Their dedication under supremely difficult circumstances cannot be adequately described, but through all this hard work they open a world of opportunity for our children and bring endless possibilities to our communities and to the future of our country. Every day they work their miracles in the classrooms. We entrust them with our most precious resource, our young people.
Tragically, Mr. Speaker, some pay the ultimate sacrifice. Teachers like Dave Sanders of Littleton, Colorado, or Shannon Wright of Jonesboro, Arkansas, and astronaut Christa MacAuliffe are American heroes. We salute their memory and their colleagues this week.
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I am really proud of the teachers at that school. Parents and authorities are saying that their quick thinking and bravery saved other students who may have been killed as well.
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This event is a tragedy of the worst kind. In times such as this, we often ask ourselves “Where was God in this mess?” Well, He was there http://alivewithchrist.com/connecticutschoolshooting/
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In light of the horrendous tragedy in Sandy Hook, CT, I was very disturbed to learn tonight that my daughter, who teaches on the shoreline in CT, does not even have a key to her own classroom!!!!! During lock down drills, she has been advised to pretend to lock her door!! Is an armed intruder going to pretend to shoot? The outside door is also not locked. I wonder if this is typical or somewhat unique? In this day and age, it’s highly disturbing and potentially deadly. I taught in a quiet, small, rural community in NE CT and we had a very sophisticated security system. The doors were always locked and all teachers had a key. It’s like leaving your keys in your car and having it stolen. The difference is cars can be easily replaced, precious, innocent children cannot. Are there any CT teachers here who can address this issue regarding security in their schools?
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I teach in Connecticut, in another small rural district. We used to have doors that only locked on the outside, so during intruder drills we actually had to open our doors, go out in the hallway, and then lock them. Not a very effective way of protecting students. Eventually the locks were replaced so that we never had to open the door to lock it. My school was built in the 50s during saner times. No one anticipated that schools would have to become fortresses. I am surprised that the front door to her school is not locked. After Columbine I thought that was standard procedure. My pet peeve is the teachers who wedge open side doors so they don’t have to keep taking out their keys when going in and out of the building. I would hire a locksmith for your daughter as a holiday gift. School maintenance takes forever: 2 years to fix a leaky faucet in my classroom.
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The world is second to violence as it is first in mental illness. We are desensitized to violence and in denial about our state of mind–a toxic pair that have deadly consequences.
While these tragedies may be shocking, it is not a surprise that they will continue to happen. We say the shooter left many unanswered questions as to what happened by killing himself. Believing that this statement is true, only makes these situation more acceptable, if you will. For instance, why are more people committing suicide let alone mass-murder suicide and are we willing to find answers and resolution? Do we really know who lives next door? Is it true to say that we were closer to our neighbors a generation ago and family was more stable?
We need to make the world a safer place by not putting more locks and security inplace, but by teaching our children (people in general) how to cope with anxiety and depression. There is plenty of blame to go around on this one. Unless we are willing to change our beliefs and values, we will continue to live in fear and if we don’t then we are in denial.
As a tie to education, we seem to care more about testing than the mental health of our children. I’m sure educators see what I see everyday that our children are falling apart and many need more than academics regardless of their SES.
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