Editorial: Questions dwarfing answers

Thursday, April 22, 1999 | 11:57 a.m.

The shooting rampage that resulted in the deaths of 15 people in a suburban Denver high school has renewed a national debate on how violence can be curbed in our schools. The televised images of the Littleton, Colo., tragedy were haunting, offering reminders of recent gun-related shooting deaths elsewhere: four girls and a teacher were shot to death by two boys -- ages 11 and 15 -- in Jonesboro, Ark., in 1998 and three students were killed by a 14-year-old in West Paducah, Ky., in 1997.

A national conference on school violence released a report in October that found -- statistically speaking -- it is safer for the nation's 53 million school children to sit in a classroom than it is for them to walk down a street. But these statistics don't comfort parents; they assume their children will be safer when in school.

Another reason why these recent shootings have shaken many Americans is that it shatters the stereotype of deadly violence occurring only in urban schools. It brings home the fact that if a disturbed child has access to a gun, or has the wherewithal to build a bomb, then this could happen in any community in this nation.

The Clark County School District hasn't been immune from violence. Donnie Lee Bolden -- the only student in Clark County who ever died in a school-day shooting -- was shot on the first day of the school year in 1990. School officials here say they are doing a better job this year in confiscating guns and point to a new program -- Z-squared -- that attempts to reduce school violence.

Beyond stepping up security -- and not crossing the fine line between what is appropriate for a school yet doesn't create a prison environment -- one of the biggest issues that has to be addressed is that too many children are losing touch with basic values. Some of our children no longer cherish life, and in Littleton, the two students who went on the shooting spree reportedly laughed as they gunned down fellow students.

Adults need to reach out to children more, and the federal government recently unveiled a program that would provide more than $300 million to 50 cities to help prevent future school violence. The grants would help fund programs to prevent truancy and promote conflict resolution. The funds also could be used to buy security equipment and foster after-school activities.

It's important to have a national dialogue on this issue, but the most important dialogue is what occurs between a parent and a child. A parent needs to know what is going on in his child's life and make sure he understands the difference between right and wrong. Also, while it is unknown so far where the students in Colorado obtained their weapons, if a parent is going to keep guns in his home then he needs to make sure they are locked up.

There are no easy solutions to preventing such senseless acts of violence. If anything, this nation's deadliest school massacre has left us with more questions than answers. But it is imperative that parents -- and children -- try to sort through these difficult issues together if further tragedies such as those at Littleton, Jonesboro and West Paducah aren't to be repeated.