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Why is School SAFETY a growing problem?

Have you ever looked at the news and questioned why something happened? This last school year, I ran into this problem; school safety.

Students participating in the National School Walkout against gun violence in Minnesota. 
Image is free to use under Creative Common Licensing.

I was a first-year teacher settling into my first classroom and the rest of the first that I would eventually experience. Sadly, I looked at my phone and saw the events at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan. My stomach turned into knots instantly. I couldn't help but think of the students, the teachers, and all the people connected to that horrific day.

How could this happen again?

But, one question stuck with me. What if we work with various professionals from different backgrounds to find a solution to prevent the next event?

This transformation would require two big ideas: reevaluating the questions and changing how we look at the process.

Berger's 2014, A More Beautiful Question, explains how we should challenge the what if, how, and why questions we ask in society. This book was the driving experience behind the questions I proposed to work towards solutions to the wicked problem of school safety. The questions posed in my presentation and how we work towards a new solution are essential because lives are at risk without evaluation of current practices.

The eventual change would start with these questions, and the solutions would come from the investigation through the design thinking process. The process, with its five phases, is where we organize our ideas into a path towards a solution (Plattner, H. (n.d.)).
Design Thinking Process- a helpful step towards change

For the future, I have big hopes that events like those we see in the news will less likely happen because we bring collaborative change to this growing issue. When is it enough? Why can't change happen sooner rather than later?

The safety of students, teachers, and staff must be evaluated before another event makes headlines across the globe.

References

Albeck-Ripka, L., & Kasakove, S., (2021, December 9). What We Know About the Michigan High School Shooting. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/article/oxford-school-shooting-michigan.html

Berger, W. (2014). A More Beautiful Question: The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas. Bloomsbury.

Plattner, H. (n.d.). An Introduction to Design Thinking Process Guide. Institute Design at Stanford. https://web.stanford.edu/~mshanks/MichaelShanks/files/509554.pdf

Snow, A., (2022). WPP Presentation- School Safety [Powerpoint Slides]. Google Slides. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1B1p_pQrIM3Ksu2BLuOSXbkFcwlLrDYB3avGe9F10bYI/edit?usp=sharing

Terrar, D. (2018). What is Design Thinking?. Agile Thinking.
http://www.theagileelephant.com/what-is-design-thinking/
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