Violance In Schools

Even Alaska does not escape violence in the schools. Sometimes, living in what seems to be such a remote and detached land, you get the sense the that we are sheltered from the problems of the rest of the world. I guess this feeling has become more intense since I've been living in a cabin with now running water and no tv for the past year just outside Denali National Park. However, this week, in our little (well to do) peaceful school we had a drug bust that stemmed an investigation that uncovered a group of violant minded teens (previously known by staff as good kids). These group (gang) of students, have for the past 3 days, been destroying property and threatening other students who are suspected to have anything to do with the drug bust and suspension of their leader. Teacher's are on high alert to find the members of this gang, and are on a mission to keep the other students safe.

This isn't my first time dealing with a situation like this here in Alaska. My first year teaching in Savoonga, Ak (village on St. Lawerence Island-middle of the Bering Sea) we had a whole school lock in due to the fact that a drunk villager with a gun, was reported to be on his way to the school. At the same school (but a few years before I came to teach there), a High School teacher friend of mine had a student pull a hand gun on another student right infront of him. Thankfully, my friend was able to talk the student to hand the gun over.

Today in the Fairbanks News Miner there is a report of a gang of 8th graders who were reciently busted by athorities for planning to bring weapons to school to hurt or kill other students on their "hit list".

Last night I was at a friend's house and I turned on their TV and saw on all 5 channels nothing but people killing each other, dead bodies, and really gross discriptions of murders..it was bad..is it really suprising that it's spilling over into our schools.

Sometimes, I think that Hollywood and the TV industry should be responsible for paying teacher's salaries.