It is so easy to point fingers when school violence occurs. The truth is, these things may occur no matter what we do or don't do. However, the latest school shooting does bring up some important challenges for those who teach children as well as for parents.

I was waiting for a bus the other day, on my way to work when I saw a young man standing a few feet away from me with a tattered book bag. There were reasons why I noticed him. He didn't appear to be more than six or seven years old, yet he was standing on the street corner all alone. He had beautiful curls which were probably blonde when washed but appeared a dusty brown. He had the saddest eyes I had ever seen on such a young child. Actually, I only glimpsed his eyes because he hung his head and watched his feet as if he were ashamed. This child was literally in tatters and rags. He looked hungry, tired and dirty. He was presumably waiting for the bus to take him to his school. I couldn't help but wonder why he was allowed to go in such a state of neglect. Surely someone at his school had reported this child's plight to the authorities.

Now, I know many families are poor and just do the best they can. However, in 18 years of substitute teaching in the inner city areas, I had never seen a child who looked this neglected. Of course I wanted to take him in my arms, take him home and feed him, clean him up, etc, and of course I didn't. In fact, I didn't do a thing. There just didn't seem to be anything appropriate that I could do at the time. I couldn't report his circumstances because I didn't know his name. I couldn't ask because I felt it would frighten him. So I just let it go. This child has been on my mind a lot. He realizes his appearance is unacceptable. Is he made fun of at school? Does this add to his anger and sadness? Do the teachers try to stop it? It's sort of hard to do that on the playground, isn't it? Will this adorable little boy be a child who grows up to take his anger out on others?

Maybe it's time we stopped worrying about the question of "whose morals?" and just start implementing some moral training. Parents and teachers need to talk to children about "the golden rule" about kindness and goodness towards others. This kind of talk might go a long way toward decreasing and preventing violence in our society.

About Anita Biase...

Anita Biase received her B.A. from Chapman College in 1975 and her Teaching Credential from National University in 1988. She is currently working on an M.A. in Educational Technology from National University. Ms. Biase is a substitute teacher and a writer and has published primarily articles relating to education and the family. She lives in San Diego and can be reached at: abiaseteach@aol.com.