Shooting on Campus

Newspapers across the country are reporting on yesterday's shooting at Northern Illinois University. In an article entitled, "Gunman was 'Revered' on Campus," the New York Times states, "Records indicated that Mr. Kazmierczak, who had more recently attended a different state school, had no previous police contact, the authorities said. 'It surprises me that he would have had a gun,' said Nathan Jurgenson, the instructor interviewed by The Tribune. 'There were no red flags,' Mr. Grady said. 'Unfortunately, these things happen.'”

Read the Article!!

Discussion Starters for Younger Children

Have your students ever seen somebody hurt somebody else? Why might somebody hurt somebody else? What do students think that they should do if they see somebody hurting somebody else? Why?

If your students could do one thing to try and make this world a more peaceful place what would they do? Why?

Have your students ever broken or lost a toy that they really liked? How did they feel when this happened? Were they able to fix the toy? If so, how did they do it?

Do your students have anything that they like to hold that makes them feel safe? What? What do they like about these things?

Discussion Starters for Older Students

Is it appropriate to discuss whether or not people should be allowed to own guns after a tragedy like this occurs? Why/why not? Do students think that people should be allowed to own guns? Why/why not?

Why do so many people look at mental illness as an embarrassment to the sick person when they certainly would not look at a physical illness in the same way? Do students think that people who have mental illnesses should be embarrassed? Why/why not?

Ask students to imagine that they served as advisers to a university president or high school principal who asked what they could do to ensure that a similar tragedy never occurred at their school. How would they respond? Why would they respond in this way?

Ask students to respond to the following statement: "The killings at Northern Illinois University should never have occurred. People who knew Stephen Kazmierczak, the shooter, and did nothing to stop him should share the blame with him."

Note: This blog post is cross posted on my Schoolnet.com Viewpoint.