Over the weekend, I watched the news on and off. It was all sniper all the time, so when I got sick of it, (which was frequently) I just turned it off. On the Sunday afternoon after the random shooting at the Ponderosa near Richmond, the Ashland Superintendent of schools was doing a press conference. He said that outdoor activities would be curtailed but the schools would be open because that was probably the safest place for kids to be.
From DailyPress:
The closing of schools in the city of Richmond and Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover and Goochland counties will affect approximately 200,000 students, Henrico school Superintendent Mark A. Edwards said late Sunday.
Edwards said the superintendents in those communities decided to reverse their earlier decision Sunday to keep the schools open because of the "volume of concerns" from parents and community.
Basically, parents called and complained until the authorities closed the schools. Do we really want our kids to be irrationally terrified that they will be a sniper victim? Is this the way any of us want to live? I think we are (gasp) sending the wrong message here. We should help children overcome irrational fear. It's an important part of their development at human beings.
Closing the school is not teaching this lesson.
Posted by nicole at October 22, 2002 09:18 AMSince I wrote this piece, the news media have begun reporting that a threatening note saying "your children aren't safe anywhere at any time" was found at the Ponderosa (All this stuff feels like some cowboy-era discussion whenever I say "the Ponderosa").
I still maintain my stance, but I find it interesting that the earlier newspaper reports say it was parental outcry.
And you know they didn't find that note on the first search through the scene, right?
Posted by the Author at October 23, 2002 09:28 AM