By Allison G. S. Knox
Edge Contributor
Last month, Americans heard about yet another horrendous school shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. This incident was particularly heinous as 19 children and two adults were killed, and it is a sad reminder of what took place at Sandy Hook on December 14, 2012.
For decades, Americans have pleaded for these school shootings to stop. Lawmakers have focused on several different solutions ranging from mental health counseling to increasing gun control. But due to the Constitution’s Second Amendment and the concern our founding fathers had about government control, guns are still prevalent in our society. The frustration of the American people is real as innocent lives continue to be lost to these horrific acts of violence.
At the heart of all disasters are administrative failures. Scholars note that some of these administrative failures resulted in the Challenger tragedy or the Abu Ghraib prison abuses. With this recent Texas tragedy, we can say that there was an administrative failure somewhere along the line.
School Shootings Are a Problem with No Easy Solution
Active shooters – especially school shootings – are a “wicked problem” in our society. This type of problem is so complicated that it is difficult to find an effective solution. In addition, fixing one aspect of a wicked problem can result in other problems being created.
Schools Need Special Safety Precautions
Instead of having discussions about gun control or mental health, we need to create simple, fast-acting solutions to curb school shootings. Schools, for example, should have special safety precautions. Front-office staff members should treat each person coming through a door as a threat, even if they know them personally.
Likewise, maybe schools should be converted into security fortresses. While parents may be terrified at the prospect of turning schools into fortresses, the fact remains that school security needs to be a top priority.
Lawmakers at the local level should find the funds to prioritize school safety. Similarly, law enforcement needs to figure out better ways to immediately apprehend active shooters and prevent more lives from being lost in school shootings.
Comments are closed.