From staff reports

Tuesday’s gun-related incident at a Miami school was a near-miss, but it has highlighted a problem that must not go ignored.

Thursday, December 16, 1999

Tuesday’s gun-related incident at a Miami school was a near-miss, but it has highlighted a problem that must not go ignored.

No, we’re not talking about children taking guns to school. That problem is blatant, and the topic of thousands of conversations and policy discussions nationwide. If something can be done about such violence, it will be.

There is another problem here. The cause.

On Tuesday, a 14-year-old Miami boy walked into his high school biology class with two guns, ordered the teacher out and declared ”this is how we’re going to do things.” He put a bullet into one weapon before surrendering without incident.

Afterward, the boy said he was sick of being &uot;picked on.&uot;

There is no question the boys’ actions were wrong; he was charged with possession of a firearm on school property, possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, armed kidnapping and aggravated assault. He will be punished.

But while the boy is being dealt with, it is worth examining closely his being &uot;picked on,&uot; one possible cause of the incident.

Did it happen? How often? Did teachers see the bullying? Did they respond, or ignore it?

Unquestionably, many students endure excruciating bullying during their school years, which leaves lifelong scars and lowered self-esteem.

May are alienated, the target of continued verbal abuse throughout their schooling.

What outcome should we expect of this type of abuse?

It remains to be seen – if anyone bothers to stop patting themselves on the back about their response long enough to look – whether the Miami 14-year-old was indeed &uot;picked on,&uot; and to what extent.

But clearly, schools can do a better job of making sure bullying does not happen, period.

Every student must be given an environment in which learning and personal growth are possible. Parents have a right to demand bullying be stopped, or to pull their children out of schools that cannot guarantee it.