Students and parents after a gunman shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday. CreditSaul Martinez for The New York Times
THE LEARNING NETWORK
Student Opinion
By MICHAEL GONCHAR FEB. 15, 2018
It would have been a normal school day, before the gunshots. The Times reports:
Every morning at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School begins with an affirmation, which is read over the intercom. On Wednesday morning, the affirmation began with the word life.
“Life supports me in every way possible” were the first words students heard that day.
The announcement went on to speak of Valentine’s Day, and how everyone “deserves a safe and healthy relationship.”
The Astronomy Club announced that it was celebrating Black History Month on Thursday night with a showing of the movie “Hidden Figures.”
But all school events were canceled on Feb. 14, and instead Stoneman Douglas called in grief counselors.
Seventeen students and teachers were killed when a 19-year-old barged into his former high school with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle.
We’ve asked this question many times before — after the mass shootings at a Newtown elementary school, an Orlando nightclub, a Las Vegas concert and a rural Texas church. But it still seems as important as ever to make sure you — students in middle school, high school and college — have a place to share your emotions, thoughts and questions:
What is your reaction to the deadly shooting at a Florida high school?
If you haven't read about this tragic act of violence, click on to the red text above, and read what the New York Times published about this event. Share your feelings about what happened in a well-written paragraph, using the following questions as a guideline:
— Has your school ever faced any sort of gun violence or gun incidents?
— What precautions does your school take to prevent or prepare for a possible school shooting? Do you have active shooter drills? Do you have increased school security? Are there enough counseling resources?
— Do you feel safe at school?
— What should be done to prevent more school shootings? In your opinion, is the problem of school shootings mostly a school problem or is it a larger political or cultural problem in the United States?
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