In light of the terrible Virginia Tech massacre, I (like every parent across this country) have been thinking about school safety. Parent bloggers have also touched on this issue: Charlene of Crazed Parent asks the question no parent wants to ask their child's teacher.
A Daily Press article out today suggests that responsible parenting is the key to school safety. The report came from a Pennsylvania-based consulting firm who interviewed educators, administrators, and law enforcement officials on the subject. Overwhelmingly the responses were that parents should stop blaming outside elements (school, single-parenting guilt) and step up to the task of parenting. Said researchers:
Early discipline failures are a primary casual factor in the
development of conduct problems. Harsh discipline, low supervision,
lack of parental involvement all add to the development of aggressive
children.
Another factor—literacy. Researchers found that almost all of the kids in one Utah detention facility couldn't read. Those kids get teased and, well, you can see where the cycle begins.
Is the solution really this simple? Are better parenting and literacy the key to preventing school tragedies? Do Seung Hui Cho's parents bear some responsibility for their son's heinous actions? Feel free to chime in.
[photo credit: AP/Getty]
