The Bush administration has announced it will shortly convene a school
violence summit to discuss possible federal action to help communities
prevent violence and deal with its aftermath. Short of placing metal
detectors and armed guards in every public and private school in the country
it does not appear much can be done to guarantee the safety and security of
students from sick minds that look for vulnerable schools to prey upon.
The danger now is that other unstable people will see this horror on
television and think they can replicate the carnage in their towns to
redress some past grievance or to give themselves a few seconds of
significance or notoriety.
People who educate their children at home are likely to think they made the
right decision in the face of tragedies like this one. Not even a seemingly
safe Amish school can guarantee a child's protection from outside threats.
Perhaps in addition to exploring ways to make schools safer, the Bush
administration's summit on school violence might also recommend ways to make
it easier for parents to educate their children at home. Individual states
might join in by giving tax credits for home school parents, since children
educated at home do not cost taxpayers money in public schools.
Any analysis has to conclude that life is uncertain and that protection
against evil is always problematic. No parent knows what might happen after
a child leaves home for school and no child can be protected from every
possible threat. But one does not expect something like this to happen in
Amish country where education is an extension of the home.