Aaron Bertalmio
Ending youth violence through education
magine going to
school and instead of arguing with your teacher over whether you were in
fourth period English, you're dodging the machine-gun spray from a fellow
student. The town of Pearl, Miss. is a quiet, peaceful town of just under
22,000 people. For this community, weather reports matter more than
Hollywood gossip, and the biggest annual event is the county fair.
It's not difficult to
imagine townsfolk actually complaining about the lack of excitement. On
Wed., Oct. 1, however, the town saw more action than it could have ever
imagined.It is a gruesome tale of a
16-year-old boy who brutally stabbed his mother to death before going to
school. He went to school, not with the usual notebooks and pens, but
rather with a semi-automatic rifle. As reported in the Los Angeles
A tragedy indeed, but could
it have been prevented? Certainly this young boy
was deeply disturbed, well beyond the intervention stage. He is not a
psychopath, devoid of human emotion, for he broke down in tears during his
confession. He also showed no signs of schizophrenia, telling the police
that he chose this course of action by his own free will.Rather, this is a young boy
who is having the same problems as any other adolescent, but just dealing
with them in destructive ways. Certainly, an adolescent without parental
conflicts or girl/boyfriend problems would be labeled as abnormal. Thus,
the youth in question did not undergo any unusual circumstances that we
know of.Most likely, he was the
product of inadequate parenting and a public school system unable to
shoulder the responsibility of rearing him. Unfortunately, this case is not
an anomaly; it is part of a disturbing trend in youth violence. Unless we
start to treat the cause and not the symptoms, this trend will
continue.The public school system is
partly to blame. At many public institutions, success is measured by
attendance, reduced violence and reduced numbers of expulsions. This not
only gives these kids low standards, but also allows teachers and
administration to be content with mediocrity.At many inner city schools,
officials would be happy to see kids not bring firearms to school, never
mind the grades. It all goes back to attitude.Charles Swindoll, a noted
motivational speaker, said that attitude is the single most important
determining factor for whether or not one will be successful. If these
administrators could instill in these children the right attitudes from day
one, just imagine the results.With the right attitude,
even the most difficult obstacles can be overcome. Additional classes
running the gamut from getting along with parents to discovering who you
are, need to be taught by trained professionals.Ironically, counselors and
psychiatrists only came to the Pearl, Miss. high school after the tragedy
occurred. This is tantamount to waiting until one has a heart attack before
starting to take care of oneself.Of course, the blame cannot
rest solely on the beleaguered shoulders of the under-funded school system.
Parents need to be held directly accountable for instilling in their
children an adequate moral framework, from which that child can build a
unique identity.Parenting is a job unlike
any other, maybe even the hardest job. But, like any other job, adequate
training is necessary -- especially during a time when the role of the
family is becoming increasingly obscure. Parents need to be trained for
this daunting task.Not everyone had stellar
parents. So many who are now parents, didn't have a great example from
which to learn.In this welfare-state in
which we live, it is the job of society to make sure parents are properly
trained to do their job. While someone can have innate nurturing
characteristics, there comes a time when a parent must begin to face their
progeny at eye level.None of us have that inborn
skill. Community colleges and outreach centers must make classes available
to meet these needs, especially for those in low-income areas where
violence is rampant.Parenting is a delicate
balance between loving and letting go, communicating enough without saying
too much, disciplining while allowing children to develop individually.There is no easy answer to
the problem of youth violence. I've only named two sources, but more roots
of this problem exist. It's an alarming trend that continues to rise, as
silver-tongued bureaucrats and school officials propose old solutions to
new problems.There is no single factor
that is causing it. Rather, it is a lack of education and motivation that
leave teens unable to deal with the problems in the family, social and
personal arenas. But soon, we will be in those leadership positions making
the same decisions.And hopefully, we will know
enough to keep another incident, like the one which ripped apart the
community of Pearl, from happening again.Aaron Bertalmio is a junior majoring in psychobiology.