The one lesson every parent should teach their child after the Bend school shooting
Three children and a teacher were killed on Oct.15 at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, just 20 minutes from our home in central Oregon.
Four precious lives were stolen, leaving families facing a grief no parent, spouse, or loved one should ever have to endure.Children who should be coming home to their families will never walk through those doors again.
A teacher who devoted a life to educating and caring for children is gone.Among the critically injured is 7-year-old Saylor, a child who had previously been honored in Bend as a "Sparrow" through a program that supports children facing serious medical challenges.Already familiar with adversity, she is now fighting for her life after being shot in the face.
Our hearts break for Saylor and for all the other victims of this devastating violence.Our community and our nation are in mourning.ARMED BYSTANDER FATALLY SHOOTS SUSPECTED TEEN GUNMAN AFTER 3 CHILDREN, 1 ADULT KILLED AT OREGON SCHOOL: FEDSAs an anti-bullying specialist and expert witness, I've witnessed more than 20,000 students around the world publicly apologize for bullying and related behavior.Some of these apologies have helped prevent students from harming themselves or others.We don't know the motives of the 16-year-old shooter.
We don't know whether he was bullied at Silver Rail or any other school.But this tragedy raises questions about a destructive pattern that requires entire communities—not just teachers and schools—to confront bullying.
After all, bullying is a cultural problem, not merely a "school problem."The Secret Service's report, "Protecting America's Schools," examined 41 targeted school attacks.Among the 35 attackers whose backgrounds were analyzed—all male—80% had experienced bullying.
For 57%, that bullying was persistent.There is no evidence at this point that bullying played any role in the Silver Rail attack.But research into past targeted school attacks shows why bullying remains one of the behaviors commun...