Fort Collins – Do kids feel safe in school? The media has covered school shootings extensively, for example, CNN has given a statistic that “there are 50 school shootings per year.” But Americans don’t hear the perspectives of students and teachers as often as they could. A sample of students and teachers at Mountain View High School in Loveland, Colorado, were anonymously interviewed.
Do you feel safe in your school?
The majority of students say that they do not feel safe in school for a multitude of reasons. In several interviews with students, they described their worries about school shootings. It was common for students to talk about bullies in their school. “I feel like where we are right now, nothing is being done, and if there is, then there is very little being done.” In a recent anti-bullying assembly at the school, students felt there was little talk about bullying; instead, their presentation was simply about BMX bikes riding around the gym.
Students say that their concerns about bullying are not being addressed. When bullying reports are brought to the office, they say, the administration ignores them. “I saw a kid get jumped in the bathroom, and the admin did nothing about it.” “Our security doesn’t do much; our admin is useless because you can outrun them, and they won’t try to stop you.” another student brought up the scary statistic, “Student suicide rates in Colorado are up to about 7%, and overall high school student suicide attempts are up to approximately 14% in Colorado.”
The other big issue facing students is the prevalent threat of school shootings that have been happening more and more recently in America. When students were asked if they felt scared about a school shooting happening, one student said, “We live in America and go to a public school.” Pointing out the prevalence of school shootings. “We need more security, and they need to stop focusing on the drugs and more on the security of the students.” There did not seem to be a common idea of how to address the issue of guns at school.A student suggested that we use metal detectors, but then a student made the point, “At a point, safety counteracts privacy.”
It’s not only students who have these thoughts and worries. In interviews with teachers, they’ve had many of the same opinions as the students. A teacher claimed that there are a lot of bullies in our school and that there are a lot of mean kids. They also described some of the experiences she has had with being bullied while teaching.
“Last year’s freshman, they made multiple substitutes and many other teachers cry.” Then she told a story about a substitute she had last year: “They just walked out because of how mean my kids were.” “Bullying doesn’t just affect other students but also teachers that should be able to do their job without fear.” Teachers and administration have been actively attempting to figure out where to go from here. “I think we are trying. I’m not sure if we know the right answer; we aren’t there yet, but I think we are being more upfront about it than we were last year.”
When teachers were also questioned about their worries about school shootings “I don’t worry, but I think about it.” “Would I be the person to jump in front of a bullet for a student? And it is a question a lot of teachers also have to think of.” ” I feel like it’s hard to live in America without fearing a school shooting.” When asked, “What do you think we can do to help solve this?” The teachers said that we have to come up with ways to make them feel more accepted. “If you come here and you don’t feel like you belong here or not, then you won’t try as much, and when kids stop trying, that’s when safety gets more sketchy.”
The question that both teachers and students face is why students decide to bully each other. The teachers think “I think morals are not the same as they were before” and “It’s a different world nowadays.” At the same time, students still think “Anyone I see who is bullying other people seems like there is trouble in their own home life, their self-image, or they seem like they see something they don’t understand and react strongly.”
When the students were asked how they think the issue could be solved they had a lot of good ideas and resources to help with these feelings. “People need to find help, and help needs to be given to more people and not be as seen as you are crazy if you need help with it.“ “If you need help, please contact one of the many mental health hotlines for support.” “Student suicide rates in Colorado are up to about 7%, and overall high school student suicide attempts are up to approximately 14% in Colorado.” “teachers don’t think about how bullying can affect a student mentally, and sometimes it can get so drastic where students may consider suicide.”
