The State Police just publicly announced 20 children, 6 adults, plus the murdering fuck dead at the school. One more adult dead at another crime scene, presumably the shooter’s home.
My wife is a teacher. The amount of education, training, planning and hard work that goes into her teaching a single subject to a single grade level is astounding. How a couple of ordinary parents can hope to provide a good, well rounded education from pre-k though high school is something I cannot really understand. English. History. Math (high school algebra??). General science. Biology. Physics. Foreign language. Art. Music. Physican education. You and your wife might have some knowledge in some of these, but ALL of them?
I personally think public schooling is a better option.
Updated totals: 20 kids, 7 adults. Just awful.
Schools have a hard time coming up with the money to pay teachers. I highly doubt most schools (where weapon violence isn’t a big threat) would have the resources to pay someone to do this who would do it well and do it properly.
ETA: 20 kids. Good Lord…
Heh when I was in grade 6 I took a crossbow I made with my dad to school (to be honest he didd most of the work - though I did carve the stock) - the teacher was so thrilled that our whole class was allowed out early so I could demonstrate its use in the little woods behind the school. The teacher took a shot as well.
There was never any suggestion by anyone (and it never even crossed my mind) that this was inappropriate.
This was in the '70s, in Toronto.
This is unfortunate, and sad that yet another situation like this must take place, before there is a real discussion (with action), on the issue.
And I’ll add, it’s one of the most under-appreciated professions in the country, to boot.
The person who presumably let him into the school, not the mother.
Obama’s speech made me tear up. It was really hard to watch when he got too choked up to speak for several seconds.
I feel for the shooter’s brother. Two states away, lost both mother and brother, his brother responsible for something so horrific, and he gets blamed for it for a couple hours, which in social media terms is an eternity.
People posting “burn in hell” on Facebook even though his friends were telling everyone Ryan was still alive.
Briefly: around here, “home schooling” is typically associative. You can get into one of several existing networks of other home-school families. Among all the parents/relative/friends of all these families, subject-matter experts are found (or occasionally, hired) when necessary.
Lack of money doesn’t negate the need, and this sort of work is done all over the world at our embassies, so there are lots of well-qualified contractors out there. It’s really not that difficult to build a hardline at the front door of a building; hell, I could design one myself. Perhaps the money needs to come from federal sources. It’s not a difficult choice between dead kids and live kids. Perhaps our billionaires could help out, instead of donating hundreds of millions to political campaigns. You know, philanthropy instead of purchasing politicians.
You mean she let him in? Or was it somebody in the administrative office?
Either way he is going to notice. This isn’t a Tom Clancy thriller situation.
Oh god. CNN is reporting that the shooter’s brother was found dead in Hoboken. Suicide?
Or there’ll be a round of mental health “think of the children” crackdowns. More people prevented from attending school due to mental health histories, more involuntary commitments (“He’s one of those guys who we are afraid might shoot up a school someday”).
People have talked about that after other massacres, but as far as I know it hasn’t happened. Mental health issues have been pretty well destigmatized overall. I remember dumbass stories about kids getting suspended for writing violent stories in school, but I don’t think there’s been a crackdown on people with mental illness. Even among people who are really sick, most aren’t violent. That seems to be generally understood. The issue, I think, is making treatment available and helping people recognize it to some extent.
I took your comment to mean that the killer’s mom would obviously feel guilty because he was allowed access to the school by virtue of being known as a teacher’s son, and therefore allowed to enter the building…
Have the conspiracy theories in the wacko-sphere started yet? I’m fully expecting a slew of “It’s a plot! Obama and the CIA programmed the shooter so they can confiscate all our guns!”
Yep. Per the Something Awful forums the freepers assert that it’s a liberal Obama conspiracy to force gun control down our throats. Sigh.
Last I heard on the radio about 40 mins ago was that they had his brother in custody and was questioning him. Your news a new update? Gonna search for it…
Here’s the video for others who’d like to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIA0W69U2_Y