Fight School Shootings By Arming Kids With Critical Thinking Skills

I've never met Alan Boraas, but whenever the Kenai Peninsula College professor has has a comment piece in the Anchorage Daily News, I know it's going to be well written and  cut right to the heart of the issue. 

In today's piece he did just that once again.  He starts right off by challenging most peoples' feel-good solution:

"If I thought banning assault weapons would help aver school killings, I'd be for it."

He goes on to say that Lanza (and others) could have done their deeds with conventional weapons.  He goes on to talk about a variety of things  - particularly "Call of Duty" video game.  How difficult it must have been for the unperfect Lanza to grow up in the perfect idyllic community. 

He ends by saying:

Banning guns or arming teachers won't do much.  But we can arm the curriculum with the power of analysis.  Teach how to deconstruct mythology that subconsciously effects behavior.  Bring to the surface the values embedded in movies, television, social media and video games.  Expose the message that the gun is not  the solution to problems, nor is the size of your pistol a measure of your manhood.
Arm kids with the knowledge that perfectville is not the only notion in a diverse world of possibilities.  Fight back with critical thinking.

Alan nails it.  


I'd link you to the article, but the ADN has begun to block their website unless you sign up.  I got a letter recently saying as a subscriber I could get in.  But the popup window they are using is one of the most annoying and impenetrable ones I've seen. I can't shut it down.  And they don't have a choice for me to say I'm a regular paper subscriber.  And their answer machine, after saying they are getting a heavier call load than normal and the wait will be long (I wonder why?), then says they are closed and not taking calls.  This is not the best way to initiate online registration.  More likely to send people to other sources of news.