They report that metal detectors encourage some students to bring weapons to school to see if they can get away with it. Neither are adequate school safety strategies and neither address the underlying causes and contributors to violence on campus. We need to listen to kids for answers to violence reduction and improving school safety. They are the ones in the environment all day. They are the ones experiencing the problems.
Many students feel rejected and angry.
Without listening to the spoken words, essays, or videotapes of our students, we are forced to listen, finally, when they act out. From building design to changing the schedules of seniors and freshmen to monitoring hallways, adolescents have many original and creative ideas which, if implemented, could promote a safer and more caring school environment. We cannot afford to ignore their input on a national problem that continues to reoccur. Wise administrators are listening to students from all sub-groups and cliques in their schools for help in reducing the potential of another school calamity. Compassion and intelligence are needed to make sense of all this and to reach out to our youth in a caring way to keep them safe, all of them.