Despite what vote-grubbing politicians and sensationalistic media types say adn imply, violent school deaths are actually declining. Surprisingly, our local Pravda, the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, admitted this in today's paper. Credit where credit is due - Way to go, guys, for telling the real story!
SCARED NEW WORLD: Violent school deaths declining
Not sure how long the url will be good, so here's the text:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>SCARED NEW WORLD: Violent school deaths declining
Dan Hulbert - Staff
Sunday • February 27
Despite headline-grabbing atrocities in recent years, statistics indicate that violence in schools really isn't escalating. Nationally, the number of violent school deaths fell to 93 for the three school years ending in the spring of 1999, from 106 for the previous three school years, according to the National School Safety Center.
Ninety percent of secondary schools had no violent incidents in recent years. Although precise statistics for violence aren't available for metro schools, observers believe troubles may be abating here as well; one indication of this is the number of weapons confiscated on school grounds, which has decreased lately.
But the worry over violence lingers like the acrid reek of gunsmoke. From Pearl, Miss. in 1997, to Littleton, Colo., and Rockdale County in 1999, nine highly publicized school shootings shook the nation. They may have numbed the nation too, judging by the low-key media coverage of a 13-year-old boy wounding four classmates in Fort Gibson, Okla., in December --- an incident that would have dominated headlines and shocked readers just a few years earlier.
Still, the possibility of violence committed against --- or by --- their 12-and-under children remains the single biggest concern of parents, according to a recent poll by Parents magazine and Rob Reiner's I Am Your Child Foundation. [/quote]
SCARED NEW WORLD: Violent school deaths declining
Not sure how long the url will be good, so here's the text:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>SCARED NEW WORLD: Violent school deaths declining
Dan Hulbert - Staff
Sunday • February 27
Despite headline-grabbing atrocities in recent years, statistics indicate that violence in schools really isn't escalating. Nationally, the number of violent school deaths fell to 93 for the three school years ending in the spring of 1999, from 106 for the previous three school years, according to the National School Safety Center.
Ninety percent of secondary schools had no violent incidents in recent years. Although precise statistics for violence aren't available for metro schools, observers believe troubles may be abating here as well; one indication of this is the number of weapons confiscated on school grounds, which has decreased lately.
But the worry over violence lingers like the acrid reek of gunsmoke. From Pearl, Miss. in 1997, to Littleton, Colo., and Rockdale County in 1999, nine highly publicized school shootings shook the nation. They may have numbed the nation too, judging by the low-key media coverage of a 13-year-old boy wounding four classmates in Fort Gibson, Okla., in December --- an incident that would have dominated headlines and shocked readers just a few years earlier.
Still, the possibility of violence committed against --- or by --- their 12-and-under children remains the single biggest concern of parents, according to a recent poll by Parents magazine and Rob Reiner's I Am Your Child Foundation. [/quote]