by Charlie Brooks posted in Parenting

Very few things have bothered me more as a parent than getting an email from my kids' school that outlined their new active shooter drill procedures. It feels like a failure on virtually every level. Sorry kids, this is the future I provided for you -- one where you have to rehearse for school shootings.
I've got nothing against the school in this case. Active shooter drills are unfortunately necessary in this day and age. But it feels like we adults should have done a better job of keeping them from being necessary. And, at the very least, I hope we never deem mass shootings to be inevitable.
Some parents I?ve spoken to used to be of the belief that no such problems could strike our rural area. This attitude was worrisome on its own, but now those same people seem to believe that school violence is an inevitability -- something akin to a natural disaster that we can prepare for but never stop. Perhaps these sort of disasters are inevitable in the short-term. But talking about them in the same light as earthquakes or tornadoes takes away the fact that, whatever the reason behind this type of violence, it is a human problem. That means humans can reduce the issue, possibly even eliminating it in the long run.
I will admit that at times it seems like this problem will never go away. What was a shocking and unexpected incident in the 1990s has become all too commonplace now. Attempts at a solution have become centerpieces on the politica...