Wally Lamb’s The Hour I First Believed depicts a tragic school shooting in which two murderers killed thirteen people and injured many more. Maureen, the school nurse, was present during the shooters' rampage and battled mental health issues for the remainder of her life. The Columbine shooting and Maureen’s illustrate the many school shootings that have occurred in the United States, causing an increase in deaths, mental health issues in survivors, and structural changes in the education system.
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb shows the Columbine shooting and the consequent severe mental health effects in not only survivors but also the families of the survivors. Maureen, who hid several feet from the shooters, experiences mental
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School shootings directly impact survivors, as they have an “increased incidence of a range of negative mental health outcomes, among them post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression” (Lowe and Galea 1). The connection between school shooting survivors and increased rates of mental health disorders reveals the long-lasting consequences of school shootings on innocent children, teachers, and other faculty. These disorders can contribute to a decrease in the quality of life of the survivors, a decrease in their lifespans, and an increase in unemployment as survivors may undergo little to no motivation or an inability to function without flashbacks that leave them paralyzed. Without help, the victims remain trapped in their disorders, which prevents them from living full lives. An example of negative mental health consequences is apparent in ten-year-old Catilyne Gonzales, a survivor of the Uvalde shooting, who experiences mental health decline after hearing a shooter murder her best friends across the hall. Izadi and Powers convey that Catilyne struggles with being alone and separated from her mother. If she is left alone, she has severe meltdowns (21:42). Catilyne’s situation exemplifies the effects of school shootings on children, though each victim reacts differently, and expresses …show more content…
One source found that “anti-depressant prescriptions for young adults in the vicinity of school shootings tend to rise after they occur” (McKnight et al. 2). The rise of anti-depressant prescriptions further proves that school shootings create mental health issues. Mcknight illustrates the effect such a tragic event has on a community. While anti-depressants provide relief to these sufferers, they also have harmful side effects that may interfere with their physical health, such as fatigue, nausea, and fatigue (Mayo Clinic Staff 1). In addition to increased prescription rates, school shootings affect children in the community more than violence in other locations because children know the victims, and school shootings break children's trust in school safety (Rossin-Slater 2). This analysis concludes that after a school shooting, students no longer feel safe at school and suffer more acutely due to personal connections with the victims. If the effects and feelings of the students become severe, students may need to seek professional help to resolve their pain and misery. After a school shooting, community members will often seek psychiatric help to combat their trauma and suffer immensely due to their personal ties to the victims, which may result in professional
Mass Shootings The evidence that was provided by Butler was very clear and understanding. First, Butler uses the study published in The American Journal of Public Health, authors Johnathan Metzl and Kenneth Macleish, find that in mass shootings “notions of mental illness” mirror “cultural stereotypes and anxieties about “race/ethnicity, social class and politics. ”(Butler 1). Furthermore, each race seems to have a label.
In the book “Columbine” by Dave Cullen, several unknown truths are unfolded about the school shooting that shocked and confused many. Upon the beginning
School-related shootings, particularly those that are dramatic in nature, evoke strong public outcry, and justifiably so. Following an apparent spate of incidents occurring between 1997 and 2001, it seemed as if the USA was on the brink of a moral panic concerning delinquency to young youth. Since then, "Columbine has become a keyword for a complex set of emotions surrounding youth, risk, fear, and delinquency in 21st century America" (Muschert 2007). One alarmist (Stein 2000) went so far as to label Columbine as a metaphor for a contemporary crisis of youth culture.
Mental Health Services a Defense against School Violence by Robert Ross spoke to me on many levels. Concentrating on various school shootings action needed to be taken to find a solution to these violent shootings. Leaders came together including President Obama and Senator Rubio. The idea that it was “cheaper and more effective to stop violence before is starts” was a fantastic thought. In order to do so we must understand the source of the violence.
As more and more information came up after the shooting, it hit the hearts of many people in the United States. Parents struggled to send their kids to school, which before was a positive place where students could learn with their friends. Teachers worried for their lives but even more for the lives of their students when they arrived at school every morning. Furthermore, children and teenagers were instilled with fear of schools. The feeling that parents, children, teachers, and most everyone during this time felt can best be described as terror.
Imagine you’ve just sat down for class when you hear loud popping noises coming from the hallway. Suddenly you realize those popping noises are gunshots, they are coming closer, and you 're trapped in your classroom with only a door separating you and the shooter. Right now you 're right in the middle of the Sandy Hook School shooting. Adam Lanza was the man holding the gun, and the students in Sandy Hook were his victims. Unfortunately the students weren’t the only victims, Adam was also a victim to lack of mental health treatment for most of his own life.
School Shootings: How We All Miss the Point... The aftermath of a school shooting is tragic, depressing, and causes hatred for the lives lost and the person who took them. Everyone, especially the media, tries to interpret why the shooter killed their victims, or why they felt the need to end others’ lives and their own. How We All Miss the Point on School Shootings, by Mark Manson, explains what and why these mass shootings happen. He starts by using examples of shootings and the murderer’s past.
Many schools in today’s society suffer from shootings at some point while children are attending school. Shootings in schools are not a new occurrence, and America has dealt with multiple shootings in public schools in which the lives of many children and teachers have been undeservingly taken (Elliott 528). Because of school shootings, this leaves our children in danger with no way to protect themselves. Gun violence in schools is an evident problem, and there are several ways to reduce the number of incidents, such as mental health screening for owners of guns, interconnectedness of communities, and more school funding.
Although most of us are not physically involved, our nation itself is highly affected by these incidents. Every school shootings come with a political debate between gun violence and mental health and arguing which side to blame. Whether it is because of guns, mental health, or the school’s security itself something needs to be done to limit these horrid
So with all these kids dying wouldn't you agree that we need better mental health support, so we can prevent all these shootings? I believe that if we had good and strong mental health support services in the USA then tragic events like Columbine H.S. & Sandy Hook would probably never happen. That is why I am supporting for the USA to talk more about how to create more mental health support programs to help prevent gun violence events. Bibliography Works Cited CNN Library "Columbine High School Shootings Fast Facts" CNN.com (Updated April 5, 2017) (Internet) (http://www.CNN.com/2013/09/18/us/columbine-high-school-shootings-fast-facts) Culp-Ressler, Tara "10,000 Kids Are Injured Or Killed By Guns Each Year In The U.S." Pediatrics Think Progress (2014) (Internet) (https://thinkprogress.org/10-000-kids-are-injured-or-killed-by-guns-each-year-in-the-u-s-bfb1e3bf70dc)
A nonprofit group that attempts to prevent gun violence called “Everytown for Gun Safety,” released a statement about school shootings. The organization claimed that the school shooting at “[Marjory Stoneman Douglas High] is the 18th school shooting in the U.S. in 2018.’” (Cox and Rich). In less than three months, there have been eighteen school shootings. This shows that schools are no longer a safe environment.
Informative Speech Going Out with a Bang General Purpose: To inform. Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the causes of school shootings in America. Central Idea: The main causes for school shootings are easy access to guns, mental instability and trauma. INTRODUCTION I. (Attention Getter)
Ever since the inception of this country 240 years ago, guns have been an integral part of the American identity; a sense of lawlessness, individualism, personal autonomy and freedom. They were the tools that liberated us, and gave us independence over a tyrannical, unrepresentative empire. However, in more recent years, these tools have been used more and more frequently in mass shootings, some of which are occurring at schools, targeting teachers and children. Since the infamous shooting at Columbine High School 19 years ago, we have had several shootings at schools, and we tend to get “thoughts and prayers”, a gesture with good intentions, but little actual progress made. This problem can be contributed to the increasing power of guns, and a lack of mental health coverage, gun
Since I made the initial decision to pursue school psychology as a career I wanted to work in Chicago with students of color. Specifically, I want to work on the South or West sides of Chicago. Working in these students necessarily means addressing the traumas that students experiencing gun violence face on weekly basis. The evidence of the long-term detrimental effects of adverse childhood experiences have on a student’s life and their ability to learn is clear. And it is imperative to have more school-based professionals who understand these issues and who can work with students and their families.
Shootings are bad, regardless of where they happened. But there is a question that always has the same answer, something the victims of school shootings often say,