After Tullahoma High School was placed in a soft lock down on Nov. 8, parents are beginning to speculate whether or not it is safe for their kids to be attending public schools. 

A thorough search was conducted and no evidence was found leading towards the threat being true. That doesn’t keep the thoughts of scared parents at bay.

School threats can be so much more than a couple words slipping out of a student’s mouth. It can be a person meaning to kill and/or harm the students inside the building. Thinking about sending a child to a school where a threat was recently made is a nightmare. 

In the 2020-2021 school year, there were 46 shootings causing injury and death out of around 131 injuries or deaths. This outstanding number nearly quadrupled the average. These years are the highest the statistic has been since 2001. 

“Low test scores are not going to kill a child. A bullet will.” Daniel Domenech, the executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, could not have said this line any better, but people must also look at possible causes before any blame is placed. 

However, the problem is not as big as most people point it out to be. The hidden issue we’re looking at here is violence in schools altogether, as it is one of the causes of threats being made. 

Physical fights can be a very painful, embarrassing experience for a lot of students. If they’ve lost, they have to suffer from bullying from their peers and heal from any damages caused. Even if there is no fight and it’s just a conflict, teenagers are still going to be easily angered about the smallest of arguments.  

Bullying is one of the most common causes any school shooter gets their spark for their ideas. Bullying leads to depression, a state of “it’s never going to get better,” so after thinking it through, they’ve decided shooting up the school was the correct way to take out their anger. The consequences don’t seem too terrible to someone who’s lost hope.

The focus should be placed on the methods that have been proven to keep gun control in schools to a minimum. Some of these ideas include better storage of our guns, creating prevention programs in schools, and building an environment where students feel welcomed.