A 16 year old Milton, Connecticut high school girl died after a classmate slashed her throat in a school hallway early this morning. It's prom day at the school and a male student approached the girl and asked her to be his prom date. She declined because she already had a date. The boy apparently whipped out a knife and slashed her throat--from ear to ear according to one report. The girl died from blood loss. According to school officials, the girl was an honors student and athlete with a sterling reputation.

What's going on in our society? You don't have to live in Nevada to experience the wild, wild west.

http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Mil ... 429324.php

If I say truthfully what is wrong with this world it'll get moved to the political folder and its nowhere near the political realm...

asu66 wrote:A 16 year old Milton, Connecticut high school girl died after a classmate slashed her throat in a school hallway early this morning. It's prom day at the school and a male student approached the girl and asked her to be his prom date. She declined because she already had a date. The boy apparently whipped out a knife and slashed her throat--from ear to ear according to one report. The girl died from blood loss. According to school officials, the girl was an honors student and athlete with a sterling reputation.

What's going on in our society? You don't have to live in Nevada to experience the wild, wild west.

http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Mil ... 429324.php

Two Fold
1. Mental Health is under funded and overlooked
2. Bad parenting (not necessarily in this case)

First, I actually think this type of stuff is less common than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago. Its just that it makes the press more. The world isn't a more dangerous place today.

And if I had to guess I would say that this is a kid who had serious mental health issues and wasn't getting effective treatment. And effective treatment doesn't just mean treatment fro mental health counselors, it also means having adults (and kids) in the community take an interest in him and try to help him out. It takes a village to raise a child. But, too often we retreat into our own little world, helicopter parenting our own children, but giving no attention to our struggling neighbors. The whole community bears responsibility for these kinds of things.

wataugan03 wrote:First, I actually think this type of stuff is less common than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago. Its just that it makes the press more. The world isn't a more dangerous place today.

And if I had to guess I would say that this is a kid who had serious mental health issues and wasn't getting effective treatment. And effective treatment doesn't just mean treatment fro mental health counselors, it also means having adults (and kids) in the community take an interest in him and try to help him out. It takes a village to raise a child. But, too often we retreat into our own little world, helicopter parenting our own children, but giving no attention to our struggling neighbors. The whole community bears responsibility for these kinds of things.

You are being facetious right? You think what is going on today is less common than in the past?

This type of thing happens much more these days. It is a simple idea to keep in mind. There are now over 300 million people in this nation alone. That creates many many many more social interactions in which things like this now have a higher chance of happening. The more people you cram in to one room the more likely there are to be issues. As the nation and the world continues to grow more and more elbows will be rubbing together and a greater number of conflicts will arise on a small and large scale.

Sad and sick.

bcoach wrote:

wataugan03 wrote:First, I actually think this type of stuff is less common than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago. Its just that it makes the press more. The world isn't a more dangerous place today.

And if I had to guess I would say that this is a kid who had serious mental health issues and wasn't getting effective treatment. And effective treatment doesn't just mean treatment fro mental health counselors, it also means having adults (and kids) in the community take an interest in him and try to help him out. It takes a village to raise a child. But, too often we retreat into our own little world, helicopter parenting our own children, but giving no attention to our struggling neighbors. The whole community bears responsibility for these kinds of things.

You are being facetious right? You think what is going on today is less common than in the past?

Crime, including murders, rapes, and other violent crimes are way down. Though we still have much more violent crime than Europe and most of the developed world (we always have).

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/20 ... -safer-now

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06 ... -lows?lite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_t ... _over_time

wataugan03 wrote:

bcoach wrote:

wataugan03 wrote:First, I actually think this type of stuff is less common than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago. Its just that it makes the press more. The world isn't a more dangerous place today.

And if I had to guess I would say that this is a kid who had serious mental health issues and wasn't getting effective treatment. And effective treatment doesn't just mean treatment fro mental health counselors, it also means having adults (and kids) in the community take an interest in him and try to help him out. It takes a village to raise a child. But, too often we retreat into our own little world, helicopter parenting our own children, but giving no attention to our struggling neighbors. The whole community bears responsibility for these kinds of things.

You are being facetious right? You think what is going on today is less common than in the past?

Crime, including murders, rapes, and other violent crimes are way down. Though we still have much more violent crime than Europe and most of the developed world (we always have).

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/20 ... -safer-now

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06 ... -lows?lite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_t ... _over_time

First of all I don't believe for one moment that the violent crime rates are down no matter what these articles say. But you said this type of thing and by that I would think you were referring to this student on student thing that has become an epidemic in this country. A student slashing another students throat, or coming in and shooting other students was not a common thing 20-40 years ago. It just wasn't. We have a very serious problem in this country and it does not help to trivialize it. To say that it only makes the news more is plain ridiculous. At this time in our history the village is not the solution it is the problem.

Here are the official stats, whether or not you choose to believe them.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/cr ... 3-2012.xls

That's not to say that events such as the recent slashing in Connecticut were common 20-40 years ago. It certainly wasn't my experience growing up in the 50's and 60's. But, often perception is different than reality. No doubt, with 24 hour news channels, the internet, etc., we become more aware of these things as they happen.

hapapp wrote:Here are the official stats, whether or not you choose to believe them.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/cr ... 3-2012.xls

That's not to say that events such as the recent slashing in Connecticut were common 20-40 years ago. It certainly wasn't my experience growing up in the 50's and 60's. But, often perception is different than reality. No doubt, with 24 hour news channels, the internet, etc., we become more aware of these things as they happen.

Hapapp
I really don't believe them but that is really a side issue to my response. My response was to these type of things. I could only take that as student on student homicide. Back when I was a kid if students were slashing each others throats and shooting each other by the dozens there would be no way to keep it out of the press. We would not need 24 hr news channels to get the news out.
If I am wrong about the general crime rate I couldn't be more happy to be wrong. I am absolutely positive though that I am not wrong about what is happening in schools across the country. Kids back then were not shooting up schools and malls like they are today.

Anyone who contends that deadly violence in our schools is not way out of whack from where it was 40,30,20 years just is not thinking straight - sorry, but that's as about as nice as I can say it --- When I began teaching (in the Dark Ages) some of the constant problems were making sure kids weren't chewing gum, late for class, throwing food or shooting straws in the cafeteria and on and on --- NEVER ONCE was I concerned a kid might bring a gun to school!!! - IT IS OUT OF CONTROL AND I FEAR FOR WHEN OUR GRANDDAUGHTER BEGINS SCHOOL --- ALL THIS VIOLENCE AND MANY OF THE REASONS FOR IT MAKE ME FEEL LIKE PUKING!!!

WVAPPeer wrote:Anyone who contends that deadly violence in our schools is not way out of whack from where it was 40,30,20 years just is not thinking straight - sorry, but that's as about as nice as I can say it --- When I began teaching (in the Dark Ages) some of the constant problems were making sure kids weren't chewing gum, late for class, throwing food or shooting straws in the cafeteria and on and on --- NEVER ONCE was I concerned a kid might bring a gun to school!!! - IT IS OUT OF CONTROL AND I FEAR FOR WHEN OUR GRANDDAUGHTER BEGINS SCHOOL --- ALL THIS VIOLENCE AND MANY OF THE REASONS FOR IT MAKE ME FEEL LIKE PUKING!!!

And for most in schools today, that is still the case. Let's not assume that this is SOP in all schools today. Again, one can't diminish these acts and how many today deal with their frustrations or anger. But, the vast majority of schools in this country are free of these incidents. I guess the difference now is that one never knows where it could happen next.

I realize that some are skeptical of reports that don't conform to their perception (in fact all of us refuse to fully accept things that run counter to what we "believe"). So take this for what it is worth.

http://curry.virginia.edu/research/proj ... ence-myths

hapapp wrote:

WVAPPeer wrote:Anyone who contends that deadly violence in our schools is not way out of whack from where it was 40,30,20 years just is not thinking straight - sorry, but that's as about as nice as I can say it --- When I began teaching (in the Dark Ages) some of the constant problems were making sure kids weren't chewing gum, late for class, throwing food or shooting straws in the cafeteria and on and on --- NEVER ONCE was I concerned a kid might bring a gun to school!!! - IT IS OUT OF CONTROL AND I FEAR FOR WHEN OUR GRANDDAUGHTER BEGINS SCHOOL --- ALL THIS VIOLENCE AND MANY OF THE REASONS FOR IT MAKE ME FEEL LIKE PUKING!!!

And for most in schools today, that is still the case. Let's not assume that this is SOP in all schools today. Again, one can't diminish these acts and how many today deal with their frustrations or anger. But, the vast majority of schools in this country are free of these incidents. I guess the difference now is that one never knows where it could happen next.

I realize that some are skeptical of reports that don't conform to their perception (in fact all of us refuse to fully accept things that run counter to what we "believe"). So take this for what it is worth.

http://curry.virginia.edu/research/proj ... ence-myths

True - there are many, many schools where there are no serious problems and I hope this number grows substantially - but the days where we practiced hiding under desks if there was a nuclear attack (actually true statement for you young ones) have been replaced with evacuations and lock-down plans because a killer is on campus ---

Now I haven't seen much research on a causal link here, but I would not be the least bit surprised if sometime in the future we learn that all this over-medication (ADD/ADHD and other psychoactive prescriptions) are what's causing the spike in madness in this country.

We have a slough of politicians sitting right in big pharma's pocket. They're allowed to freely advertise "miracle cures." Kids are drugged up for not being able to sit still or pay attention, ie the normal side effects of being an 8-year-old boy. And it comes at the cost of the collective American immune system and mental health.

hapapp wrote:

WVAPPeer wrote:Anyone who contends that deadly violence in our schools is not way out of whack from where it was 40,30,20 years just is not thinking straight - sorry, but that's as about as nice as I can say it --- When I began teaching (in the Dark Ages) some of the constant problems were making sure kids weren't chewing gum, late for class, throwing food or shooting straws in the cafeteria and on and on --- NEVER ONCE was I concerned a kid might bring a gun to school!!! - IT IS OUT OF CONTROL AND I FEAR FOR WHEN OUR GRANDDAUGHTER BEGINS SCHOOL --- ALL THIS VIOLENCE AND MANY OF THE REASONS FOR IT MAKE ME FEEL LIKE PUKING!!!

And for most in schools today, that is still the case. Let's not assume that this is SOP in all schools today. Again, one can't diminish these acts and how many today deal with their frustrations or anger. But, the vast majority of schools in this country are free of these incidents. I guess the difference now is that one never knows where it could happen next.

I realize that some are skeptical of reports that don't conform to their perception (in fact all of us refuse to fully accept things that run counter to what we "believe"). So take this for what it is worth.

http://curry.virginia.edu/research/proj ... ence-myths

Let's be fair here. The subject is that this type of crime is on the rise not that there are schools where it is not happening. I will bet that people were saying it is not happening here, the day before it happened.
You were very fortunate to work in a system that is better than most but there is no guarantee for tomorrow.

If we're defining "this type of thing" as student on student homicide in schools then, there simply isn't any data going far enough back to know if its on the rise or the fall. But, there are so few school homicides that the I doubt you could find a pattern even if we had all the data going back to 1950. Regardless, today's students are vastly more likely to be killed or hurt at home than in school. School is a very safe place for young people.

But, if we're talking about violent crime generally, or violent crime committed by young people - i think its very obvious that its way down (ps: teenage pregnancy rates are also down). I've never heard of a study or researcher who didn't come to that conclusion. Rather, than choosing not to believe the data I would recommend you reexamine your own perceptions about the world.

I'm way back at how a 16 year-old kid could be so infatuated...so obsessed...so motivated to control his classmate of the opposite gender...a young lady that he knows...that he'd grab her in the school hallway with witnesses everywhere around them; overpower her; slash her throat deeply from ear to ear; stab her in the heart and throw her down on a terrazo floor and kick her in the face and in the crotch--all because she turned him down for a date to the prom...apparently because she wouldn't ditch her real date for him, on the day of the event.

That's the work of a sick, sick mind. I'm unable to comprehend the kind of obsession and anger in a chap so young that would lead to such an evil and tragic outcome. It's unthinkable; yet very real. Also unable to comprehend the apparent "professionalism or skill" with which he carried out the kill. It's almost as if he's done this before to perfect the technique. Geez...there are no words.

wataugan03 wrote:If we're defining "this type of thing" as student on student homicide in schools then, there simply isn't any data going far enough back to know if its on the rise or the fall. But, there are so few school homicides that the I doubt you could find a pattern even if we had all the data going back to 1950. Regardless, today's students are vastly more likely to be killed or hurt at home than in school. School is a very safe place for young people.

But, if we're talking about violent crime generally, or violent crime committed by young people - i think its very obvious that its way down (ps: teenage pregnancy rates are also down). I've never heard of a study or researcher who didn't come to that conclusion. Rather, than choosing not to believe the data I would recommend you reexamine your own perceptions about the world.

There is no possibility that you can be serious. If you think that kids were going into schools and shooting them up 40 years ago you need to examine reality.

bcoach wrote:

wataugan03 wrote:If we're defining "this type of thing" as student on student homicide in schools then, there simply isn't any data going far enough back to know if its on the rise or the fall. But, there are so few school homicides that the I doubt you could find a pattern even if we had all the data going back to 1950. Regardless, today's students are vastly more likely to be killed or hurt at home than in school. School is a very safe place for young people.

But, if we're talking about violent crime generally, or violent crime committed by young people - i think its very obvious that its way down (ps: teenage pregnancy rates are also down). I've never heard of a study or researcher who didn't come to that conclusion. Rather, than choosing not to believe the data I would recommend you reexamine your own perceptions about the world.

There is no possibility that you can be serious. If you think that kids were going into schools and shooting them up 40 years ago you need to examine reality.

RIGHT ON!!! BCOACH!!! - (that's also something from 40 years ago) --- some of us were actually there in the schools 40 years ago and know the difference!!!