Stuck

I heard about today's school shooting right before sitting down to write this evening. I have sat in front of the computer for an hour now, trying to decide how to write a response... but I keep feeling that every sentiment I want to express or question I wish to ask fails as I attempt to put it down.

Working in a high school now has heightened my sensitivity to such news stories, although as a school counselor in training, they have always stood out to me and tend to feel like a punch in the stomach. Or bricks in the chest. Or something sort of stifling and painful with a hint of deep sadness and fluttering anxiety.

All the questions that run through my head surely run through yours as well. It is difficult to make sense out of violence. Keep the people of Knoxville in your prayers. This has been a tragic month for the city.

(not just the stone, but also the ripples...)

I heard a story this morning about a phenomenal response to school violence in Finland that made my school counselor-in-training ears perk up. The program has been developed by a nonprofit group in the city in response to a November 2007 shooting during which 8 students were killed.

Basically, those who developed the program created a walking tour wherein students retrace the shooter's steps, processing how he felt, what actions he took, and the effects his violence had on those around him.

What stands out to me is not only the direct and very honest way in which the event is being discussed and processed (a very necessary step after any crisis and especially after something like a school shooting), but also what a compassionate and potentially therapeutic approach this offers survivors. Not only does it humanize the perpetrator (something we sometimes miss when seeking to resolve a life-changing act of violence), but it also allows students to discuss their own feelings of sadness, anger, frustration and to give and receive feedback with peers and adults about steps one can take to prevent such reactions to internal conflict (or how to identify and help someone around you who is similarly troubled).

To me, the program is amazingly proactive, intensely brave, and highly innovative. The creators of the program suggested something similar might be beneficial for schools in the U.S. - and I think it would be great if we could find some way for school counselors, community counselors, and other mental health professionals to work together to create something equally empathetic and cathartic. As violence increases in our schools and fear and PTSD become more fixed within our national consciousness, seeking a solution that expands and encourages genuine discourse and greater understanding of others becomes ever-more essential to the academic and personal success of all our students.