Tuesday; October 5

As I was scrolling through the headlines the other day, I saw one that really tempted me. A major online service asked the question, “Should we have police in our schools?”. I was tempted to fall for the clickbait, but thought better of it – I am not sure my blood pressure needed a spike that day. For those of you who might not know about my past life, I was a School Resource Officer for a large part of my Law Enforcement career. I was originally hired on a Cops In Schools grant in the late 1990s and helped address school safety and security issues in the post-Columbine era. However, while school safety may have driven the presence of officers in schools, the thing that makes the program effective is placing another positive adult role model in the lives of young people. Sure, it is great to have an armed officer protecting the school, yet the real value is when young people are exposed to someone who cares about them as people. When you have good influences interacting with students, it takes some of the stress out of adolescence.
Should we have officers in schools? Yes! We should also have positive mental health professionals, social advocates, nurses, volunteers, social workers, mentors, coaches, teachers, administrators and staff. It isn’t just about the job they do or the tasks they perform, it is about having quality people interfacing with our children! If we truly believe our children are a valuable community resource, let’s do everything we can to surround them with those people who can help them be physically safe and emotionally sound.

Oh, and by the way, if you have a talent that can be a benefit to our young people – find a way to use it for good. There are enough bad people out there, let’s overcome the evil with good.

Think About It!

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